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

Gold Canyon Resources Inc.
Springpole Gold Project
Road Alternatives Assessment
management focus on caribou, combined with the abundance of the late winter moose habitat,
the significance of the potential environmental effects is low. Mitigation will involve avoiding
moose wintering areas during access road construction where possible.
Colonial bird nesting sites - The only colonial nesting birds located within the study area were
Bonaparte’s gulls. There is little quantitative information on the effects of human activities on
gulls, but Bonaparte’s gulls are considered to be intolerant of human activity (OMNR 2010),
therefore the potential negative environmental effects are considered to be high. The effects of
roads on Bonaparte’s gulls nesting is unknown, but the Stand and Site Guide (OMNR 2010)
assumes disturbance will be similar to Great Blue Heron Rookeries, with roads affecting the
location, size, and occupancy of colonies. Moreover, roads landings, and aggregate pits create
large canopy gaps in forest surrounding nests. Significant colonial bird nesting sites are those
that are the only known sites in the area, support several species of concern and have high
numbers of species. Significant sites also have little disturbance, and a long history of use.
Bonaparte’s gulls are not considered “at risk”, and are considered of moderate conservation
concern. Therefore, the significance of the potential environmental effects on the nesting colony
is considered to be low due to the fact that other nest sites occur throughout the area, the
colony is in an area with moderate disturbance, and there are no species of concern or other
known nesting species. Following the direction provided in the Stand and Site Guide (OMNR
2010), a 150 m radius buffer will be maintained around the nesting colony to mitigate potential
disturbance and allow for the retention of nesting habitat. The access road will be kept below
the 20 m recommended maximum width in close proximity to the nesting colony site.
Waterfowl stopover and staging areas - There are no known waterfowl stopover and staging
areas within the RSA.
Waterfowl nesting sites - A ring-necked duck nest was located near the Springpole camp. There
are no species of waterfowl considered to be “at risk” in Canada or Ontario, however, ringnecked
ducks are considered to be high priority for conservation planning (NAWMP 2004).
There is very little information pertaining to the reactions of nesting waterfowl to road
construction or the consequences of disturbance in general, but reactions are likely highlycontext
specific (OMNR 2010). Ground nesting waterfowl such as ring-necked ducks tend not to
flush from the nest until humans are very close (1-6m), therefore the Stand and Site Guide
recommends a minimum of 10 m buffering distance of occupied nests (OMNR 2010). Potential
nest sites for ring-necked duck are not considered rare within the RSA (grassy sites within 200
m of water (OMNR 2010)). There is no evidence of nest fidelity in ring-necked ducks, nor does
this site support large concentrations of nesting waterfowl, other species of conservation
concern, or a variety of waterfowl species, therefore the significance of the potential
environmental effects to nesting ring-necked ducks should be negligible and would require no
mitigation.