NOVA Gas Transmission Ltd. Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Northwest Mainline Expansion April 2011 / 7212 APPENDIX 5 WILDLIFE HABITAT ASSESSMENT FOR THE PROPOSED NOVA GAS TRANSMISSION LTD. NORTHWEST MAINLINE EXPANSION Page A5-1 WILDLIFE HABITAT ASSESSMENT FOR THE PROPOSED NOVA GAS TRANSMISSION LTD. NORTHWEST MAINLINE EXPANSION April 2011 7212 Prepared for: Prepared by: NOVA Gas Transmission Ltd. TERA Environmental Consultants A Wholly Owned Subsidiary of TransCanada PipeLines Limited Suite 1100, 815 - 8th Avenue S.W. Calgary, Alberta T2P 3P2 Calgary, Alberta Ph: 403-265-2885 NOVA Gas Transmission Ltd. Wildlife Habitat Assessment - April 2011 Northwest Mainline Expansion 7212 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page 1.0 INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Traditional Ecological Knowledge ....................................................................................... 2 1.2 Objectives ........................................................................................................................... 2 2.0 METHODS ....................................................................................................................................... 4 2.1 Study Area Boundaries ....................................................................................................... 4 2.2 Literature / Desktop Review ................................................................................................ 4 2.3 Species with Special Conservation Status ......................................................................... 4 2.4 Collection of Traditional Ecological Knowledge .................................................................. 5 2.5 Field Data Collection ........................................................................................................... 5 3.0 RESULTS OF LITERATURE / DESKTOP REVIEW ....................................................................... 7 3.1 Land Use and Environmental Setting ................................................................................. 7 3.2 Provincial Databases .......................................................................................................... 8 3.3 Provincially Identified Wildlife Areas ................................................................................... 8 3.4 Environmentally Significant Areas, Parks and Protected Areas ....................................... 15 3.5 Species with Special Conservation Status ....................................................................... 15 4.0 GENERAL DESCRIPTION ............................................................................................................ 17 4.1 Horn River Mainline (Kyklo Creek Section) ...................................................................... 17 4.2 Northwest Mainline (Timberwolf Section) ......................................................................... 17 4.3 Tanghe Creek Lateral Loop No. 2 (Cranberry Section) .................................................... 18 5.0 RESULTS OF THE FIELD WORK ................................................................................................. 20 5.1 Traditional Ecological Knowledge ..................................................................................... 20 5.2 Horn River Mainline (Kyklo Creek Section) ...................................................................... 20 5.2.1 Mammals .............................................................................................................. 20 5.2.2 Birds ..................................................................................................................... 21 5.2.3 Amphibians .......................................................................................................... 22 5.3 Northwest Mainline (Timberwolf Section) ......................................................................... 22 5.3.1 Mammals .............................................................................................................. 22 5.3.2 Birds ..................................................................................................................... 24 5.3.3 Amphibians .......................................................................................................... 24 5.4 Tanghe Creek Lateral Loop No. 2 (Cranberry Section) .................................................... 25 5.4.1 Mammals .............................................................................................................. 25 5.4.2 Birds ..................................................................................................................... 26 5.4.3 Amphibians .......................................................................................................... 26 5.5 Species with Special Conservation Status ....................................................................... 27 5.5.1 Status and General Habitat Requirements .......................................................... 27 6.0 DISCUSSION AND MITIGATION RECOMMENDATIONS ........................................................... 32 6.1 Traditional Ecological Knowledge ..................................................................................... 32 6.2 Recommended Supplemental Surveys............................................................................. 32 6.3 Wildlife Recommendations ............................................................................................... 32 7.0 SUMMARY ..................................................................................................................................... 35 8.0 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................... 36 8.1 Personal Communications ................................................................................................ 36 8.2 Literature Cited .................................................................................................................. 36 Page i NOVA Gas Transmission Ltd. Wildlife Habitat Assessment - April 2011 Northwest Mainline Expansion 7212 LIST OF APPENDICES Appendix A Wildlife Species with Conservation Status that have Potential to Occur in Proximity to the Proposed Project ..................................................................................... 42 Appendix B Photoplates ....................................................................................................................... 56 Appendix C Wildlife Observations in the LSA ....................................................................................... 63 Appendix D Summary of Winter Track Count Surveys - Winter 2011 .................................................. 67 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1 Regional Location ............................................................................................................... 3 Figure 2a Proposed Horn River Mainline (Kyklo Creek Section) ...................................................... 11 Figure 2b Proposed NW Mainline Loop (Timberwolf Section) .......................................................... 12 Figure 2c Proposed Tanghe Creek Lateral Loop No. 2 (Cranberry Section) ................................... 13 Figure 3 Overview of Provincially Identified Wildlife Areas ............................................................. 14 Figure 4 Environmentally Significant Areas, Parks and Protected Areas ....................................... 16 LIST OF TABLES Table 1 Summary of Wildlife Surveys and TEK Study Program for the Project .............................. 6 Table 2 General Land Use and Environmental Setting ................................................................... 7 Table 3 Horn River Mainline (Kyklo Creek Section) - Observed Site Series ................................. 17 Table 4 Northwest Mainline (Timberwolf Section) - Observed Ecosite Phases ............................ 18 Table 5 Tanghe Creek Lateral Loop No. 2 (Cranberry Section) - Observed Ecosite Phases .............................................................................................................................. 19 Table 6 Locations of Beaver Activity in the Vicinity of the Horn River Mainline (Kyklo Creek Section) .................................................................................................................. 21 Table 7 Locations of Beaver Activity in the Vicinity of the Northwest Mainline (Timberwolf Section) ......................................................................................................... 23 Table 8 Locations of Beaver Activity in the Vicinity of the Tanghe Creek Lateral Loop No. 2 (Cranberry Section) ................................................................................................. 26 Table 9 Summary of Species with Special Conservation Status with Potential Habitat Along the Proposed Pipeline Loops .................................................................................. 29 Table 10 Wildlife Mitigation Measures ............................................................................................. 32 Table C1 Horn River Mainline (Kyklo Creek Section) ...................................................................... 64 Table C2 Northwest Mainline (Timberwolf Section) ......................................................................... 65 Table C3 Tanghe Creek Lateral Loop