GreenoughHarbourEnvironmental Protection Plans

Wildlife Management Plan

Introduction

Over the past several years, the GreenoughHarbour site has been studied extensively and wildlife has been a significant component of the study protocol. The planning process for wildlife has been a proactive planning process where protection through avoidance has been the major mitigation approach.

This submission will examine the impacts to wildlife generally and specifically in the preconstruction, construction and post construction phases of the development.

Background

The GreenoughHarbour community constitutes a relatively large forest block with dry, rocky meadows, wetlands and shoreline habitat. The combination of forest, meadow, wetland and lakeshore environments creates a diverse habitat for a wide range of wildlife species including birds, mammals and herpetofauna. The planning process has recognized this potential and as a result, has integrated many wildlife management considerations into the planning and design for this community. Large blocks of open space will be retained throughout the community in a natural condition. These natural habitat areas will be contiguous with similar woodland areas on adjacent lands.

The proposed development form retains natural habitat buffers around the perimeter of the site. These vegetated setbacks are contiguous with areas supporting natural vegetation including a 30 metre setback from the dripline of the trees along the water’s edge. Throughout the waterfront lots, natural vegetation and wildlife habitat will be retained to provide ample natural linkages between areas forest habitat cover. There will be no hard barriers to wildlife movement within the community.

As outlined in the Natural Habitat Retention Plan for the Greenough community (Condition 24), the residential lots will only be partially cleared to provide a building envelope for the building and associated facilities. From a wildlife perspective, these habitats will function much as they do today.

The community plan was conceived with wildlife habitat requirements as a fundamental underlying philosophical design principle.

The following features illustrate the implementation of this basic principle:

  1. Large Blocks of Natural Habitat have been set aside and will be preserved
  2. Restrictive Covenants have been established for parts of the landholding and areas for conservation purposes
  3. Wildlife access to the shoreline area will be maintained
  4. Detailed Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake surveys have been undertaken
  5. Construction Monitoring in snake movement zones is underway
  6. Large ANSI area to the north will be maintained virtually intact
  7. Corridors and linkages are retained within the community.

Wildlife Management: Community Life Cycle Phases

To satisfy Condition 17c, the following section will address general construction practices related to wildlife management practices and subsequently will discuss specific species within the game species and designated species (VTE identified on site) categories specified in condition 17c.

As noted earlier, wildlife management requirements for the more general games species category and VTE species were considered in the design of the community and are addressed in the EIS document.

The following section deals with the pre-construction and occupational (post-construction) phases of community development. Aspects of the wildlife management plan will be elaborated upon in the other Conditions.

Pre-construction: Residential Lot Assessment (see Condition 24)

Wildlife management strategies are applicable on a lot-by-lot basis. As part of the assessment to determine the optimal building envelope, significant wildlife habitat has been assessed. Based on these field assessments, the configuration of the building envelope on each lot will be established.

Site specific wildlife habitat conditions that will influence building envelope configuration include the following:

  • 30 metre setback (Restrictive Covenant) from lakeside to tree dripline;
  • Breeding/gestation areas for reptiles, in particular the Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake (Sistrurus catenatus catenatus);
  • Potential snake hibernacula sites;
  • Prime avian nesting areas/trees;
  • Identifiable wildlife corridors;
  • Snag trees for cavity nesters;
  • Deer grazing and slumber areas;
  • Black bear hibernation habitat;
  • Other.

These factors, based on a site specific assessment will provide the basis for the determination of an appropriate building envelope.

In addition, based on the habitat conditions present on each lot, recommendations will be made as to the appropriate season (timing window) for vegetation clearing to avoid active breeding and nesting periods. The final building envelope configuration will be developed when a design for the building is proposed.

The objectives for the pre-construction assessment are to minimize the general habitat loss to wildlife, to evaluate priority features and to integrate these with the design for the building.

Construction Phase

The road clearing for the community access road was completed in the fall of 2004. Breeding birds and EMR movement periods were considered and avoided within the workplan. No construction activity was undertaken in the priority EMR habitat areas during the restricted timing windows.

The removal of wildlife habitat on the individual lots will be undertaken according to the procedures outlined in the Natural Habitat Retention Plans for the lots. The Habitat Retention Plans are completed on a lot by lot basis.

General management considerations during the construction phase include:

  • Schedule clearing of building envelopes to reduce impact on wildlife (post breeding/fledgling period for avian species);
  • General maintenance throughout construction phase to minimize impact on wildlife and the natural habitat (garbage removal, litter, construction equipment and materials storage);
  • Dead wood in the natural habitat zones should be retained as it may be important to wildlife (forage, cover, nesting) however, it is recognized that dead wood clearing may occur around residential areas and edges for landscape purposes. Clearing of wood from residential lands may be beneficial because it will reduce the number of snake/human interactions. Standing snags and downed wood both provide habitat for birds, small mammals and herptiles. Standing wood will be removed in zones immediately surrounding building envelope where it may constitute a hazard.
  • Environmental Construction policies will be implemented to instruct construction crews that they are working in a natural area and that conflict with wildlife should be avoided (harassment, hunting and destruction of habitat).
  • Building envelope will be fenced during active construction using snow/wire fencing with geotech fabric; the limit of the 30 metre setback along the shoreline must be clearly visible.

We recommend that the building envelopes be cleared in the early spring prior to the occupation of nests (May to mid July). Clearing can be completed before nest occupation or after the young have fledged and left the nest in mid-July.

We do not believe it is possible to restrict construction activities during the EMR movement periods. If necessary an on site inspector can be employed to escort delivery vehicles through the movement zones. Snake movements elsewhere on site will take place. Workers and delivery people will be informed and requested to report EMR when observed as stated in the Monitoring Program.

Post-Construction Phase: Occupation

Unlike the previous phases, this phase involves a long-term commitment. To minimize the impact on wildlife and the natural heritage areas, residents should be advised on how to minimize negative impact to the surrounding area (Condition 25 Stewardship). Residents can enhance the wildlife habitat on their own individual lots. Some enhancement activities include:

  • Provide nesting habitat for a range of species (bird and bat boxes);
  • Provide cover for small mammals and herptiles (brush piles and small bushes);
  • Control ground fires;
  • Plant natural species which act as a food source for local wildlife;
  • Minimize use of pesticides, herbicides and insecticides which negatively impact wildlife directly or indirectly;
  • Control of domestic pets. Cats and dogs have a significant impact on the local flora and fauna. Residents are strongly encouraged to maintain their pets on a leash or in the dwelling.
  • Garbage should be carefully managed so as not to attract wildlife and cause human/animal conflicts.

The general principle for the occupation stage is to minimize the ongoing effects of human occupation in an essentially natural heritage area.

Species Specific Comments

In the following sections, several species or group of species are highlighted. The Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake is a listed (Threatened) species and has been a major consideration in the overall design of the community. White-tailed deer is probably the major game species on site; locals use the site for deer hunting on an annual basis. Black bear is also present. Black bear is considered a big game species within this Wildlife Management Unit. As such, this species is open to a fall hunt that occurs from September to November. It is not known if any hunting for this species currently occurs within the GreenoughHarbour property, but will not be permitted once residency occurs.

The community organization (Greenough Harbour Preservation Corporation) has decided the property will not remain open for hunting purposes. Posting the property (no hunting and no trespassing) will need to occur as many people have been hunting on this land for numerous years.

Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake

The Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake has been observed throughout the property. The increase of construction will create more forest canopy clearings providing more opportunities for rattlesnake habitat and will therefore increase the amount of snake-human encounters. It is important the local residents understand the importance of this federally-protected species and that there may be legal ramifications for harming this species. Residents need to be informed on how to co-exist with this venomous snake. The EMR will be discussed in the residence guide prepared under Condition 25.

Over the years Ecoplans Limited has conducted numerous field investigations to identify EMR habitat. Perhaps the most crucial field investigation conducted for this property was a radio telemetry based study on the Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake (Sistrurus catenatus catenatus); a threatened species in Ontario. This was a two year tracking study that enabled Ecoplans Limited to establish areas of significant habitat vital for the survival of the Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake. The results of this study aided managers in the determination of significant portions of snake habitat that were then alleviated from the construction and development process. The findings are documented in the Ecoplans report titled, Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake Radio Telemetry Study, 2001 and Response to Comments (April 2002). The main habitat areas outlined in this report have been protected.

Throughout the road construction process, Ecoplans Limited has had an environmental inspector on site to protect rattlesnakes that may be affected by the construction process. Throughout this time, roads were monitored for snake presence and signage posted to bring awareness of snake presence. Snakes that were observed were removed from harms way and a GPS location recorded for the final location. Daily records were maintained by the environmental inspector and are available on request. There was no construction in the travel zones during the identified travel windows.

White tailed Deer

White tailed deer are common in the BrucePeninsula. They are generally perceived as a positive feature of the natural heritage landscape. White tailed deer, however, can cause problems for residents when they begin to browse on landscape plantings. Once deer find a feeding site, they will often return. This potential problem can be alleviated by the use of:

  • Use of repellents;
  • Fencing around plantings;
  • Scare devices (loud noise, flashing lights, sprinklers)
  • Remove unharvested fruits and vegetables;
  • Planting of deer deterrent species (maple, beech, ash, geraniums, clematis);
  • Adapt to the presence of deer as part of the local landscape and accept some level of interaction.

It is also important to inform the public of deer presence in the form of road signs and deflectors to help reduce deer-auto collisions.

Currently, the GreenoughHarbour area is subject to an annual deer hunt. Hunters have been observed on the property. It is the developer’s opinion that no hunting should occur.

Black Bear

Bear sign is common within the study area. Precautions need to be taken when living within or close proximity to bear habitat. Many things can be done to prevent conflicts including:

  • Never feed bears;
  • Keep garbage in a bear-proof container or locked inside a building;
  • Keep meat scraps in the freezer until garbage pickup;
  • Keep compost piles away from the house;
  • Wash garbage containers frequently to reduce odors;
  • Fill bird feeders only during winter months;
  • Keep pet food inside;
  • Keep barbecues clean;
  • Remove ripe fruit from ground and trees
  • Do not put meat in the composter.

Bears are adaptable to human activity especially when they begin to associate people with food. This can lead to bears loosing their natural fear of humans leading to potential conflict between bears and humans. It is recommended that communal bear-proof dumpsters or individual bear-proof bins be maintained throughout the Greenough Community to prevent bear/human conflicts.

For more information on Black bears please refer to the Ministry of Natural Resources Bear Wise website.

Birds of Prey

Many bird of prey species were observed flying overhead within the GreenoughHarbour community area. Birds such as Bald Eagle, Merlin, Red-tailed Hawk, Broad-winged Hawk, Great Horned Owl and Turkey Vulture were observed and occupy the surrounding area. These birds are beneficial because they will feed on local rodents. The areas to be cleared have been inspected for actual and potential nesting sites to ensure that no active nests are affected when the lots are established. The presence of bird of prey species within a lot limit will also establish when clearing can take place on the lot (avoiding nesting and fledging times). If possible the nest site will be avoided.

Coyote

Coyotes are highly intelligent, adaptable animals and will inhabit urban rural areas if an adequate food source is available. It is rare for attacks on humans to occur, but as a precaution these simple rules should be followed:

  • Never approach or try to touch a coyote;
  • Eliminate all outside food sources (pet food, food scraps) around dwellings;
  • Put garbage in an animal-proof container;
  • Keep brush and wood piles well maintained to avoid attracting small rodents (prey) in proximity to the house;
  • Do not allow household pets to roam free. Keep pets indoors or accompany them outdoors.

In residential areas coyotes are attracted to food sources such as garbage, compost piles, vegetable gardens, pet food and small animals including dogs and cats.

Abundant Wildlife

Wildlife species may be viewed as a “nuisance” by local residents. These potential species include: raccoon, skunk, bears, rodents, and even deer when they affect residential landscaping. Control through poisoning and shooting is discouraged. Alternative management techniques must be adopted (live trapping and removal). Garbage should be stored in “bear proof” containers to avoid attracting potential problemencounters. Despite the issues these animals may create, these animals are part of the natural landscape and should be accepted as such.

Porcupine

Porcupines are solitary, nocturnal animals. Beyond popular belief, porcupines cannot throw their quills. Instead the animal will turn its back on an approaching predator, raise its quills and strike with its tail. The barbed hooks are only detached from the porcupine when it becomes embedded into the attacker. This animal is considered a “pest” because certain individuals may gnaw on woodwork, furniture, tools, rubber, window frames or anything that has come into contact with humans and carries salt deposits from perspiration. Dog and porcupine encounters are common in cottage country.

Summary

The GreenoughHarbour community is a resource based development. The wildlife array and the wildlife habitat that will be part of the community must be viewed as part of the community and not something that constitutes a threat or a nuisance to be controlled.

Many elements of wildlife management and protection have been integrated into the overall project design of the GreenoughHarbour community including habitat retention, timing of construction, reduction of clearing, and maintaining corridors and linkages. During the occupational phase, wildlife and human interactions must be brought into balance. Pet control, nuisance species management, perceived harmful species and waste disposal all must be considered.

It is important that the residents be informed about their relationship with their natural surroundings. A stewardship guide will be given to each home owner that will emphasize the importance of co-existing with wildlife and the resident’s part in maintaining this relationship.