Wildlife Management Plan for the Historic Buildings Block of the Booth Street Complex

Transcription

1 Wildlife Management Plan fr the Histric Buildings Blck f the Bth Street Cmplex Draft Reprt Submitted T: Mary Jarvis Canada Lands Cmpany Suite Metcalfe Street Ottawa, ON K1P 5L4 KILGOUR & ASSOCIATES LTD. 2285C St. Laurent Bulevard, Unit 16 Ottawa, Ontari, K1G 4Z6 Canada T: F: Prject Number: CKC638 apf \\kalfileserver\kilguractive\30000 kal prjects\clc\clc 638\5000 reprts\5100 drafts\clc - wildlife management plan dcx i

2 Wildlife Management Plan fr the TABLE OF CONTENTS 1.0 INTRODUCTION PROPERTY INFORMATION SITE TREES AND OTHER VEGETATION...ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED. 4.0 TREE MITIGATIONS...ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED. List f Tables Table 1. Tree Plant Inventry... Errr! Bkmark nt defined. List f Figures Figure 1. Bth Street Cmplex... Errr! Bkmark nt defined. apf i

3 1.0 INTRODUCTION (KAL) was retained by the Canada Lands Cmpany t develp three separate reprts related t the prtectin f natural heritage elements present r ptentially present within a neblck area f the Bth Street Cmplex in Ottawa, prir t any redevelpment f that area. This reprt is the wildlife management plant fr that prperty. 2.0 PROPERTY INFORMATION The subject blck within the Bth Street cmplex is a highly develped, highly disturbed industrial area. Vegetatin n the site is limited t small, rnamental trees planted within gravel beds r planters, a few small shrubs alng building edges, and sme very narrw fringes f mwed lawn arund three edges f the blck. Nne f the grassed areas are mre than 2 m in width and they are bunded n bth sides by paved sidewalks and radways, r industrial buildings. The ptential fr wildlife n site is limited. 3.0 WILDLIFE ON SITE Only limited numbers f animal species cmmn t and tlerant f suburban envirnments may ccur n site. 3.1 Birds Three runds f mrning bird surveys were cmpleted n site in June Birds bserved there are presented in Table 1. Table 1: Bird species bserved n site during site bird surveys in June and July, Cmmn Name Species Behaviur American Crw Crvus branchyrhynchs Transiently present in the area but n nests apparent n site American Rbin Turdus migratrus Transiently present in the area but n nests apparent n site Eurpean Starling Sturnus vulgaris Transiently present in the area but n nests apparent n site Huse Sparrw Passer dmesticus Transiently present in the area but n nests apparent n site Mallard Anas platyrhynchs Fly ver Rck Dve Clumba livia Ring-billed Gull Larus delawarensis Fly ver In the area but n nests directly bserved n site. Nesting may be pssible in Building 5 Sng Sparrw Melspiza meldia Transiently present in the area but n nests apparent n site All f the birds bserved n r near the site are cmmn, urban species. With the exceptin f Rck Dves (i.e. pigens), it is highly unlikely that almst any f the bserved birds actually reside n site. N nests were bserved n the utside f any site buildings r within any site trees. It is pssible hwever, that pigens culd be rsting within site buildings, r in nks n the building rfs ut f site. Pigens hwever, were nly bserved in very small numbers (i.e. ne bird n each f tw ccasins near the edge 2

4 f the site) and nne were ever bserved emerging frm the buildings. Pigens are nt prtected under any legislatin. 3.2 Bats Night surveys were cnducted by KAL bilgist Anthny Francis. On ten nights in June 2017, Dr. Francis visited the site t lk fr bats, Chimney Swifts and Cmmn Nighthawks. The first six surveys (June 7, 8, 9, 11, 11, 12 and 13) each lasted half an hur t frty-five minutes. They were cnducted at varying times, starting as early as sunset and as late as 02:00. During the surveys, Dr. Francis wuld slwly walk arund the perimeter f the site several times, listening fr and recrding bat calls using an Ech Tuch ultrasnic bat micrphne. On three ccasins, he recrded Big Brwn Bats, always alng Rchester St. (nce at the nrth end, nce at the suth end, and nce alng the middle f the blck). These bat bservatins were all made during surveys cnducted after 11:30 pm, i.e. lng after the bats wuld have emerged frm their rsting lcatins. In each instance, the calls were nly recrded ver a very brief perid (less than ne minute) and suggested nly a single bat was present. The final fur surveys (June 14, 16, 18,19) were cnducted starting at sunset. During these surveys, Dr. Francis statin himself near the lcatins where the Big Brwn Bats had been recrded (ne each night, with the last survey statin alng the east side f the site). During the surveys, he watched the buildings there, sweeping them with a sptlight, t nte any emerging bats. One hur after sunset, he circled the entire blck twice, again listening and watching fr bats. N bats were ever bserved emerging frm any building r were recrded at any time during these surveys. The bat survey results suggest that the Big Brwn Bats bserved n site were nt resident within any f the site buildings. Thse bserved were cnsidered t be transients, rsting in ther lcatins within the brader vicinity. 3.3 Other Mammals N ther mammals were bserved n site. The extremely limited treescape there des nt prvide sufficient habitat space t supprt even cmmn urban arbreal species (e.g. squirrels). The grunds f the site are almst entirely hardened (i.e. paved) such that the ptential fr grundhg r ther similar species presence is negligible. Rats r ther vermin may be pssible within the buildings but thse species wuld nt be prtected. 4.0 WILDLIFE MITIGATIONS While n wildlife is anticipated n site, the fllwing standard wildlife prtectin prtcls shuld still be implemented during cnstructin fr due diligence t ensure n impacts t site fauna. Fr wrk cmmencing after April 2018, a bilgist must inspect buildings prir their demlitin t identify any new wildlife issues (e.g., hibernating animals r nursing mthers and their yung, etc.) and t infrm r adjust mitigatin plans as needed. This mitigatin is aimed primarily at, but is nt necessarily limited t, the presence f Big Brwn Bats n site. While n Big Brwn Bats are currently cnsidered t be resident n site, they d ccur in the vicinity and frequently rst in ld buildings. Bat rting/hibernatin areas are mst sensitive during the mnths f June, and 3

5 Nvember thrugh April. Outside these perids, bats can be safely remved by a qualified pest management cmpany if present. Tree clearing shuld be planned t nt ccur April 1 and August 15. Prir t any tree clearing within this perid, a bilgist must first cnfirm the absence f nesting species. All nest searches must be cnducted within fur days f site clearing. If active nests are present, tree clearing must be pstpned until after all nestlings have fledged. Areas t be cleared are t be pre-stressed t encurage wildlife t mve away frm a site prir t the nset f cnstructin. Methds f pre-stressing include having ne r mre peple walk the site while talking ludly r playing lud music, r placing pieces f clth r ther bjects that carry a strng human scent int animal dens. Cmmn pre-cnstructin activities, such as surveying, r installing prtective fencing, can cntribute t pre-stressing. Cntractrs and ther n-site wrkers are t be briefed n apprpriate measures t reduce human-wildlife cnflict during the wrk. Thse measures must als be prvided n a laminated handut t be kept n the site fr review. Measures/infrmatin shuld include: General prvisins e.g., d nt harm, feed r unnecessarily harass wildlife; drive slwly and avid hitting wildlife where pssible; keep site tidy and secure; Cntact infrmatin fr: Prject bilgist / wildlife service prvider Wildlife rehabilitatrs and veterinarians (fr rphaned r injured wildlife) Measures must be in place t address hw t avid attracting wildlife t the prject area. The fllwing cmmn attractants must be cntrlled r eliminated: Fd wastes and ther garbage effective mitigatin measures include waste cntrl (prevent littering); keeping all trash secured in wildlife-prf cntainers, and prmpt remval frm the site (especially in warm weather). Shelter effective mitigatin measures include cvering r cntaining piles f sil, fill, brush, rcks and ther lse materials; capping ends f pipes where necessary t keep wildlife ut; ensuring that trailers, bins, bxes, and vacant buildings are secured at the end f each wrk day t prevent access by wildlife. 4