WILDLIFE CORRIDOR AND HABITAT PATCH GUIDELINES FOR THE BOW VALLEY Updated 2012 The Bow Corridor Ecosystem Advisory Group: Town of Canmore Town of Banff Municipal District of Bighorn Banff National Park Government of Alberta Wildlife Corridor and Habitat Patch Guidelines 2012 Bow Corridor Ecosystem Advisory Group Copies of this document may be obtained from: Information Centre - Publications Alberta Environment and Alberta Sustainable Resource Development Main Floor, Great West Life Building 9920 108 Street Edmonton, Alberta T5K 2M4 Telephone: (780) 422-2079 Municipal District of Bighorn Box 310 No. 2 Heart Mountain Drive Exshaw, Alberta T1W 2M4 Telephone: (403) 673-3611 Town of Canmore 600 - 9th Street Canmore, Alberta T1W 2T2 Telephone: (403) 678-1500 Superintendent Banff National Park Box 900 Banff, Alberta TOL 0C0 Telephone: (403) 762-1500 Biosphere Institute of the Bow Valley Suite 201, 600a - 9th Street Canmore, Alberta T1W 2T2 Page i Wildlife Corridor and Habitat Patch Guidelines 2012 Bow Corridor Ecosystem Advisory Group TABLE OF CONTENTS Page 1.0 INTRODUCTION.............................................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Purpose............................................................................................................................... 1 2.0 DEVELOPMENT PROPOSALS....................................................................................................... 3 3.0 DEFINITIONS .................................................................................................................................. 4 4.0 DESIGN STANDARDS .................................................................................................................... 6 4.1 Wildlife Corridors - Width and Length ................................................................................. 6 4.2 Habitat Patch Area..............................................................................................................7 4.3 Slope ................................................................................................................................... 8 4.4 Hiding Cover ....................................................................................................................... 8 5.0 STEP-WISE APPROACH ..............................................................................................................10 6.0 WILDLIFE CORRIDORS AND HABITAT PATCHES IN THE BOW VALLEY ............................... 15 7.0 LAND USE MANAGEMENT .......................................................................................................... 19 7.1 Acceptable Activities within Wildlife Corridors and Habitat Patches................................. 19 7.1.1 Best Practices within Wildlife Corridors and Habitat Patches.............................. 19 7.2 Acceptable Activities adjacent to Wildlife Corridors and Habitat Patches ........................ 21 7.2.1 Best Practices adjacent to Wildlife Corridors and Habitat Patches ..................... 21 8.0 HABITAT PATCH - EVALUATION SUMMARY ............................................................................. 23 9.0 DEVELOPMENT APPROVAL REQUIREMENTS ......................................................................... 25 10.0 RECOMMENDATIONS.................................................................................................................. 26 11.0 REPORT REFERENCES...............................................................................................................27 LIST OF APPENDICES Appendix A Literature Review .............................................................................................................A-1 Appendix B Example Calculation Using the Stepwise Approach........................................................B-1 Appendix C Wildlife Corridor Maps..................................................................................................... C-1 Appendix D Wildlife Corridor Data Sheets.......................................................................................... D-1 Appendix E Habitat Patch Maps..........................................................................................................E-1 Appendix F Habitat Patch Data Sheets...............................................................................................F-1 Appendix G 3D View Maps ................................................................................................................. G-1 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1 Wildlife Corridors and Habitat Patches in the Bow Valley .................................................. 2 Figure 2 Step 1: Shape ................................................................................................................... 11 Figure 3 Step 2: Length and Width of Wildlife Corridors................................................................. 12 Figure 4 Step 3: Topography........................................................................................................... 13 Figure 5 Step 4: Vegetation Hiding Cover....................................................................................... 14 LIST OF TABLES Table 1 Definitions ........................................................................................................................... 4 Table 2 Minimum Design Standards for Wildlife Corridors and Local Habitat Patches................... 6 Table 3 History of Wildlife Corridors and Habitat Patches in the Bow Valley ................................ 15 Table 4 Wildlife Corridors in the Bow Valley.................................................................................. 17 Table 5 Habitat Patches in the Bow Valley.................................................................................... 18 Table 6 Summary of Habitat Patch Evaluation .............................................................................. 23 Page ii Wildlife Corridor and Habitat Patch Guidelines 2012 Bow Corridor Ecosystem Advisory Group 1.0 INTRODUCTION The Bow Valley is located in southwestern Alberta along the Bow River and extends over an approximate 120 km distance to include the communities of Lake Louise, Banff, Harvie Heights, Canmore, Exshaw, Seebe and Kananaskis Village. The valley is located within the Montane subregion of the Rocky Mountain Natural Region and is bordered by steep sub-alpine and alpine slopes on either side. The low elevation valley bottom supports a diversity of wildlife species and serves as a vital linkage corridor for large mammals between the Kananaskis Valley, Banff National Park and areas to the north (Paquet 1993; Paquet et al., 1994; Gibeau 2000; Callaghan 2002). The cumulative effect of human activity and development footprint has resulted in habitat loss and alteration, increased sensory disturbance to wildlife and an overall increase in habitat fragmentation and alienation (Alberta Tourism, Parks and Recreation [ATPR] 2010a). Wildlife corridors and habitat patches in the Bow Valley are necessary to preserve functional wildlife habitat, to allow daily and seasonal wildlife movement to avoid genetically isolated wildlife populations and to reduce human-wildlife conflicts. The Bow Corridor Ecosystem Advisory Group (BCEAG) was established in 1995 and prepared the Wildlife Corridor and Habitat Patch Guidelines for the Bow Valley in 1998 to protect corridors and habitat patches in light of the rapid population growth associated with residential, commercial, industrial and recreational expansion in the town of Canmore and surrounding area. This document was revised in 1999 (BCEAG 1999). The document identified guidelines for land managers to be applied as a consistent approach to development applications as well as standards for wildlife corridor and habitat patch design. The area of interest was the southern segment of the Bow Valley that extends from Harvie Heights to Seebe (Figure 1). A provision of the document was continued review, adjustment and modification to the guidelines and standards as new information became available. The BCEAG contracted TERA Environmental Consultants (TERA) to review the 1999 BCEAG document. This report provides the results of the review that was conducted to ensure the guidelines are still relevant based on current scientific information and to update the document as needed. This task was completed in 2010. The report was subsequently reviewed by the BCEAG members including respective Councils in 2011 and 2012, and any changes have been incorporated. The following report represents the end-product and provides an updated version of the 1999 Wildlife Corridor and Habitat Patch Guidelines for the Bow Valley (BCEAG 1999). Much of the original information is still relevant and remains the same, although revisions have been made and additional information is provided. The results of a literature search conducted as part of the review are provided in Appendix A. 1.1 Purpose The purpose of this document is to identify the current wildlife corridors and habitat patches in the Bow Valley and to provide land management agencies with guidelines for assessing development applications that have the potential to impact adjacent wildlife corridors and habitat patches. The objective is for land management agencies to apply a consistent approach based on current information that will ensure the viability of wildlife corridors and habitat patches in the Bow Valley (see Figure 1). This document provides the following: guidelines