Vantage Pipeline Project Environmental and Socio-Economic Assessment Appendix I: Vegetation Baseline Information and Field Results DENSITY INFESTATION DISTRIBUTION LOCATION WEED SPECIES SCORE NW 6-4-19 W2M yellow sweet clover 10 Canada thistle 10 yellow sweet clover*, alfalfa, crested wheatgrass 10 NW 9-2-18 W2M Canada thistle 10 NE 9-2-18 W2M Canada thistle 12 SE 4-1-16 W2M kochia*, foxtail barley 11 Note: * indicates dominant species, for which density distribution score is reported 4 CONCLUSIONS The proposed Project is known to traverse roughly 74.5 km of native prairie. An additional 17 km of native prairie is noted on the Vantage Pipeline Project (Jacques Whitford – Axys 2009) in contiguous portions of pipeline that could not be assessed in 2010. This area will be assessed in 2011. The construction and operation of the Project may contribute to the direct and indirect losses or alteration of plant species and their associated vegetation, the further fragmentation of native prairie, and the introduction of noxious and invasive non-native species. The field work in 2010 was limited by difficulities in obtaining land access, and the timing of the field surveys. Additionally, pipeline route revisions have been made after field work was completed. Consequently, not all quarter sections traversed by the Project were ground-truthed or surveyed. Due to the senescence of vegetation, some tracts of native prairie to which access was granted, were also not surveyed in 2010. Approximately 75 % of the vegetation and rare plant surveys for the identified areas of native prairie were completed in 2010. An additional 10.9 % of the entire pipeline, which may also contain areas of native prairie remains to be assessed or surveyed in 2011. A total of 22 rare plant species were identified during the 2010 field surveys. An additional species has previously been reported to be in the vicinity of the pipeline route, but was not found in 2010. Although rare ecological communities are not currently tracked in Saskatchewan, eight communities of interest were identified along the Project route. The data collected during the 2010 surveys will be used to determine priority areas for rare plant surveys in 2011. Surveys will include early-season rare plant surveys for the complete route, as well as late-season surveys for the areas of the route that were not surveyed in 2010. Survey sites will include a sample of all landuse types to ensure the detection of any rare species, which may occur. Additionally, communities of interest will be confirmed and mapped in detail for those communities that are determined to be distinctive. Given some discrepancies in the location of the proposed pipeline, and possible errors, which GPS accuracy may have introduced, surveyed areas will be analyzed to ensure that the surveyed sites reflect the actual route of the pipeline. There were 29 noxious weed species identified during the intial baseline weed surveys conducted in 2010. Weed surveys will continue in 2011 for those areas that were not accessible in 2010, and a preconstruction weed survey will be completed prior to construction. Mitigation measures to minimize disturbance to native vegetation have been described in the Vegetation section of the Environmental and Socio-Economic Assessment (Section 13.3.5) and the Environmental Protection Plan (EPP) (Appendix A). Site specific mitigation measures have not been identified at this time, and will be determined at the conclusion of the 2011 field surveys. 23 Vantage Pipeline Project Environmental and Socio-Economic Assessment Appendix I: Vegetation Baseline Information and Field Results 5 REFERENCES 5.1 Literature Cited Adams, B.W., Poulin-Klein, L., Moisey, D., and R.L. McNeil. 2004. Rangeland Plant Communities and Range Health Assessment Guidelines for the Mixedgrass Nautral Subregion ofAlberta. Rangeland Management Branch, Public Lands and Forests Division, Alberta Sustainable Resource Development, Lethbridge, Alberta. Pub. No T/03940. 101 pages. Adams, B.W., Poulin-Klein, L., Moisey, D., and R.L. McNeil. 2005. Rangeland Plant Communities and Range Health Assessment Guidelines for the Dry Mixedgrass Nautral Subregion of Alberta. Rangeland Management Branch, Public Lands and Forests Division, Alberta Sustainable Resource Development, Lethbridge, Alberta, Pub. No T/040. 106 pages. 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Cent., Edmonton, Alberta. 484pp. Lancaster J. (ed.). 2000. Guidelines for Rare Plant Surveys. Alberta Native Plant Council, Edmonton, Alberta. Maher, R. V., G. W. Argus, V. Harms and J. Hudson. 1979. The rare vascular plants of Saskatchewan. Issued as Syllogeus No. 20. National Museum of Natural Sciences, Ottawa, Ontario. 138 pp.