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10 wildlife values. The assessment identified important concerns and made recommendations for monitoring and mitigation. The results, emerging decades later, have not been promising, including high mortality rates for black bears. The following is from (Greenpages Canada http://thegreenpages.ca). In eight years (2000-2008), three companies working in the oilsands in northern Alberta (Syncrude, Albian Sands, and Suncor) reported a total of 164 NON-AVIAN animals killed as a result of their operations. Among the animals listed as killed were black bears (27), red foxes (31), coyotes (21), white-tailed/mule deer (67), and slightly lesser numbers of muskrat, beaver, red-backed vole, martens, weasels, moose, grey wolves, and little brown bats. All these are in addition to the "infamous dead ducks" incident that made the national news when over 1,600 migratory birds landed on a Syncrude oilsands tailings pond in April 2008, and all but a few died. Of the three operations, Syncrude was responsible for the majority of mortalities, including 43 deer, 20 red fox and eight black bears. Possible causes of mortality include euthanasia of problem wildlife, drowning or oiling from tailings, animals hitting infrastructure (e.g., buildings), or vehicles and electrocution. According to independent scientist Kevin Timoney the numbers of dead animals reported to government underestimated true mortality because they were derived from ad hoc reporting by companies rather than from a scientifically valid and statistically robust sampling design. As in British Columbia, the Alberta government has made significant cuts to its monitoring, enforcement, and reporting capacity B. REVIEW OF PROPOSED TRANSMISSION LINE-increased grizzly bear mortality The proposed transmission line corridor will also be a significant source of grizzly bear mortality and disturbance to habitat use. Although the route attempts to use existing roadways, it will establish an 80 km east-west linear corridor, having a near-continuous access road all the way from near the Fraser River to the Prosperity Mine site. The Taseko EIS underplays the impacts this will have on grizzly bears. Despite promises by Taseko to gate and control access, few proponents and no government agencies have ever done this effectively. There is no demonstrated correlation between access control and wildlife impact mitigation from industrial roads. Various studies and much local and professional experience shows this is not a viable mitigation approach, nor will it work to keep out unregulated motorized access by hunters and recreationists, using ATVs and snowmobiles. Again, as noted by Horejsi (1999) administrative road restrictions such as signs, gates and regulations have little impact on preventing human access and the resulting bear mortality. Nor do such measures reduce the rate of habitat displacement. As noted in my report on deactivation of fireguards from the Brittany 2003 fire, hunters and mushroom pickers built ATV access roads around all blockages (McCrory 2005). Illegal ATV access roads have also been built into Brittany Creek and portions of the upper Taseko for hunter access (McCrory 2009). At the Chilcotin-Fraser Junction protected area, BC Parks attempted to control access but both the gate and the fence were removed by unauthorized people in short order (Glen Davidsen pers. comm.). In a study I did for the Wildlife Branch of legally closed, signed and blocked/gated access roads in the B.. Pasayten and North Cascades, motorized hunting groups violated all access points. Thus, the consequences of improving access to build and maintain this lengthy linear corridor will be to lead to further displacement of grizzly bears and unreported mortality from uncontrolled motorized access. The will be additive to the both the reported and unreported
11 grizzly bear mortality that I predict will be caused by the mine industrial access corridor and mine site itself. As an example of the danger of closed (gated) and open roads to threatened and endangered grizzly populations, a study in the endangered Selkirk grizzly ecosystem in Idaho showed this low population of approximately 50 grizzly bears suffered 18 deaths between 1982 and 1996, 11 associated with open roads and 4 on closed (gated) roads (Wakkinen 1993, Wakkinen and Johnson 1997). C. REVIEW OF PROPOSED MINE SITE DEVELOPMENT AREA My review was constrained by what appeared to be a lack of information and map on Taseko’s mineral tenure area surrounding the proposed mine development area, as well as associated exploration roads and other activities. i. Habitat losses Again Taseko has concluded that this 8,000 ha? mine development will cause no significant impact on wildlife species (and Xeni Gwet’in plant gathering areas). They arrived at this conclusion partly through the utilization of an ecologically misleading formula that determined the relative size of each habitat type to be eliminated by the mine and them compared the loss to much larger areas. This is highly misleading since it does not take into account the differences in how wildlife species disproportionately utilize different seasonal habitats to a much higher degree than other ones. A prime example is how Taseko discounts the loss of 400 ha or so of wetlands/riparian areas. In Taseko (2009) under: Alpine and Parkland, Wetlands and Grasslands they state: “The changes in area of alpine and parkland, wetland and grassland ecosystems from baseline to maximum disturbance are presented in Table 15. No alpine or parkland ecosystems are affected by the Project. The loss of grassland ecosystems is small in both the Regional and Eastern Trapline Study Areas (
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file:///C|/Documents%20and%20Settin
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SESSION-SPECIFIC COMMENTS & REQUEST
Page 5 and 6: Attachment A Written Submission for
Page 7 and 8: Attachment B Written Submission for
Page 9 and 10: Education Attachment D Dr. Gordon H
Page 11 and 12: 3 Prosperity EA Review. Taseko Mine
Page 13 and 14: Prosperity Mine Aquatic Impact Asse
Page 15 and 16: 4 • Remain stable and capable of
Page 17 and 18: something that is proposed and ‘p
Page 19 and 20: adjacent meadow or lowland areas ar
Page 21 and 22: Concluding Comments The proposed co
Page 23 and 24: The following briefing on mine-rela
Page 25 and 26: Impact of Shift/Rotation Schedule o
Page 27 and 28: Impact of Shift/Rotation Schedule o
Page 29 and 30: Boom/Bust Cycle of Mining Industry
Page 31 and 32: Social Change in Cohesion of Commun
Page 33 and 34: Social Change in Cohesion of Commun
Page 35 and 36: Impacts on Culture • Consequences
Page 37 and 38: Impacts on Community Resources •
Page 39 and 40: Impacts on Community Resources Incr
Page 41 and 42: On the Positive Side on Things…
Page 43 and 44: LITERATURE CITED 1 Heiler, K., Pick
Page 45 and 46: 23 Story, K. and L.C. Hamilton. 200
Page 47 and 48: AN INDEPENDENT REVIEW OF THE TERRES
Page 49 and 50: I. GENERAL APPROACH & OVERVIEW BY M
Page 51 and 52: A. REVIEW OF PROPOSED TASEKO LAKE/W
Page 53 and 54: occasionally used for wild horse do
Page 55: 9 with other direct and indirect mo
Page 59 and 60: 13 mortality as a result. I predict
Page 61 and 62: LITERATURE CITED: 15 Austin, M.A.,
Page 63 and 64: 17 Wakkinen, W.L. and B. Allen-John
Page 65 and 66: � Forestry-wildlife research �
Page 67 and 68: � Spirit Bear (Cross-Country Cana
Page 69 and 70: McCrory, W. 2006. Bear hazard asses
Page 71 and 72: McCrory, W. 1997a. Preliminary eval
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2010 Xeni Gwet’in Community‐bas
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY TABLE OF CONTENTS
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iii
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These longer‐term impacts could w
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Adaptation to climate change is typ
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5. Develop a realistic and practica
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Conclusions concerning the impact o
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Awareness raising and capacity buil
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3.2. Geography The study area is lo
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The XGCA is a remote, wilderness ar
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Figure 3: XGCA BEC Zones 14
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station closest to the Study Area w
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• Overall: Winter weather has got
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Source: Theo Mlynowski, UNBC Precip
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Figure 7: Comparison of Mean Annual
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Gwet’in Territory. It should be n
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Glaciers 28 Like snowmelt, glaciers
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Table 7: Research studies ongoing i
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interation under different scenario
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elatively uniform climate are calle
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Box 2: The importance of curre nt a
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Box 3: Forest Fire Hazard in the XG
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will likely be scattered Douglas‐
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• Effects of climate change: Kinn
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• Whitebark Pine: Of the two tree
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This section provides a summary of
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Past climate changes and their impa
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Projected Climate Changes and Impac
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system. They are relatively healthy
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6.2. Health and Safety At present,
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The Xeni Gwet’in depend on a vari
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obligated to finance these repairs
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the ecosystem may experience over t
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they traditionally have as well as
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• Dam and store water at Abelache
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8.3. Water Supply Protection and Co
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so no further elaboration is requir
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• Re‐introduce fire and allow n
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Biodiversity Protection and Conserv
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Preserve Wild Plants & the Habitats
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Water Supply Protection and Conserv
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Increase Preservation of Wild and C
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Adaptation Objective Develop Nature
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Adaptation Strategies into Local Go
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Ecolibrio (2009). Xeni Gwet’in Co
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Nelitz³, M. and M. Porter. 2009c.
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ANNEXES - BACKGROUND PAPERS (NOTE -
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Stratus Consulting Memorandum (4/16
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