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

Gold Canyon Resources Inc: Final Environmental Study Report Review
March 30, 2013
and there was no background information provided regarding report interpretation or date
of publication.
The baseline study for woodland caribou consisted of a single aerial survey
conducted on February 5, 2011 and database analysis from sources that were out of
date and had no data available;
Aerial survey was not conducted over known woodland caribou wintering, calving or
refuge areas;
Aerial survey was not conducted over an area relevant for the eastern corridor
project;
Database analysis for woodland caribou was referenced as having little to no
available data for the study area.
A thorough woodland caribou study needs to be conducted which takes into account
the following parameters, relevant to eastern corridor development;
Churchill woodland caribou herd numbers;
Caribou herd range of occupancy; calving, refuge wintering areas, etc;
Range disturbance by eastern corridor;
Impact on food source;
Degree of habitat fragmentation resulting from eastern corridor;
Increased predation, hunting and vehicle kills;
Cumulative impacts assessment on caribou; forestry, hunting, predation;
First Nation involvement and traditional knowledge.
The ESR and Technical Report state that insufficient data was available on woodland
caribou to make any conclusions about the herd. Therefore, no conclusions
regarding woodland caribou can be drawn from this study, and impacts to woodland
caribou resulting from the eastern corridor cannot be regarded as insignificant.
Recommendation: GCU in conjunction with Stakeholders, First Nation communities and
the OMNR needs to undertake a thorough environmental assessment of woodland caribou
within the regional project study area, utilizing areas relevant to the eastern corridor.
Recommendation: Future desktop analysis of woodland caribou by GCU must include
current data, and if the data is not available, GCU must clearly state that it is lacking.
5.3.1.3 Large mammals and furbearers
Large mammals and furbearers were also assessed using the February 5, 2011 aerial
survey. No additional follow-up studies were conducted. Empirical data on large mammals
and furbearers (i.e. gray wolves, black bears, marten, lynx, beaver, muskrat, river otters,
red fox, fisher) is absent from any reports generated by GCU.
In the absence of data it is nearly impossible to draw any substantive conclusions about the
environmental impacts to the flora and fauna in the Trout Forest and, hence, impossible to
offer any mitigation measures to offset these environmental impacts. Nevertheless, GCU
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