Revised Final Environmental Study Report (24 MB) - Gold Canyon ...

Gold Canyon Resources Inc.
Springpole Gold Project
Road Alternatives Assessment
trout (Salvelinus namaycush), northern pike (Esox lucius), whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis),
white sucker (Catostomus commersoni) and lake herring (Coregonus artedii). Coolwater fish
species include walleye (Sander vitreum), northern pike (E. lucius), and yellow perch (Perca
flavescens). Fish species known to inhabit Springpole Lake include: lake trout (S. namaycush),
walleye (S. vitreum), lake whitefish (C. clupeaformis), pike (E. lucius), common white sucker (C.
commersoni), yellow perch (P. flavescens), rock bass (Ambloplites rupestris), fine-scale dace
(Chrosomus neogaeus), brook stickleback (Culaea inconstans) and nine-spine stickleback
(Pungitius pungitius).
Cyprinid species whose known ranges overlap the study area include northern redbelly dace (C.
eos), lake chub (Couesius plumbeus), golden shiner (Notemigonus crysoleucas), emerald
shiner (Notropis atherinoides), blacknose shiner (N. heterolepis), spottail shiner (N.
hundsonicus), mimic shiner (N. volucellus), bluntnose minnow (Pimephales notatus), fathead
minnow (P. promelas), blacknose dace (Rhinicthys atratulus), longnose dace (R. cataractae)
and pearl dace (Semotilus margarita) (Scott and Crossman 1998). The known ranges of Iowa,
johnny and river darters (Etheostomus exile and E. nigrum and Percina shumardi respectively)
also overlap the study area. Longnose sucker (Catostomus catostomus), shorthead redhorse
sucker (Moxostoma macrolepidotum) and log perch (Percina caprodes) may also occur in the
study area.
Preliminary investigations of the water courses in the study area indicated that the waterbodies
are typical of boreal shield creeks, ponds and lakes with flat to moderate channel gradients and
sections of steeper, faster moving water usually associated with bedrock outcrops. Many of the
creeks in the area appear to be ephemeral and for the most part, have discontinuous flows
during the dryer times of the year. The aquatic habitats found in the study area are common and
widespread throughout the area, capable of supporting a wide range of aquatic species
throughout all life stages.
The Birch River has its outflow at the eastern end of Springpole Lake, draining Springpole into
Fawcett Lake. The Birch River is known to provide some of the most important walleye
spawning habitat in the study area and may serve as year-round habitat for walleye. Lake trout,
northern pike and whitefish all likely show seasonal use of the river, as either feeding (lake trout,
northern pike, whitefish) or spawning (whitefish) habitat. The drainage from Cromarty Lake into
the southwest corner of Springpole Lake also represents important walleye spawning habitat in
the study area. While the area with strong currents is small, the drainage is likely used
seasonally by lake trout, northern pike and whitefish as either feeding or spawning habitat. Dead
Dog Creek, occurring in the southeast corner of the study area, may serve as spawning and
nursery habitat for northern pike. The smaller creeks in the study area likely support relatively
depauperate fish communities comprised of a limited number of cyprinid, stickleback and darter
species.
A Lake Sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens rafinesque) survey on Springpole Lake was conducted
in 2012. To date, a total of 44 large mesh gill nets have been fished at depths ranging from 2 m
to 33 m in an effort to determine the presence or absence of sturgeon. Large mesh gill nets