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1 Significant wildlife habitat technical guide

This guide supports the Natural Heritage Reference Manual. It provides detailed information on identifying, describing and prioritizing significant wildlife habitat. Planning authorities — or anyone involved in assessing wildlife habitat significance — should use, or require proponents to use, the guide when completing an ecological site assessment. Available in English only.

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Acknowledgements

This document has undergone numerous reviews. We would like to thank all those who reviewed this document and contributed comments.

Main contributors to the technical guide include:

Kerry Coleman – Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources
Al Sandilands – Biological Consultant
Tim Haxton – Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources
Dave Bland – Biological Consultant
Vivian Brownell – Biological Consultant
Richard Rowe – Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources

Main contributors to the appendices include: Ruth Grant – Biological Consultant

Don Cuddy – Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources
Mike Oldham – Natural Heritage Information Centre

1. Introduction

In May 1996, the Provincial Policy Statement (PPS) was issued under the Planning Act. This document identified matters of provincial interest to be considered as part of the land use planning process in the province of Ontario. Section 3 of the Planning Act requires that planning authorities shall “have regard to” the PPS when exercising any authority that affects municipal planning matters.

Among other things, Section 2.3 of the PPS requires that “natural heritage features and areas will be protected from incompatible development” and that development and site alteration will be permitted on or adjacent to these areas “if it can be demonstrated that there will be no negative impact on the natural features or ecological functions for which the area is identified.”

Significant Wildlife Habitat has been identified as a natural heritage area for the purposes of Section 2.3 of the PPS. Wildlife is described as:

all wild mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fishes, invertebrates, plants, fungi, algae, bacteria and other wild organisms” (Ontario Wildlife Working Group 1991)

The PPS specifically identifies wildlife habitat as:

areas where plants, animals, and other organisms live, and find adequate amounts of food, water, shelter, and space needed to sustain their populations. Specific wildlife habitats of concern may include areas where species concentrate at a vulnerable point in their annual or life cycle; and areas which are important to migratory or non-migratory species.

Wildlife habitat is considered significant where it is:

ecologically important in terms of features, functions, representation or amount, and contributing to the quality and diversity of an identifiable geographic area or Natural Heritage System. Criteria for determining significance may be recommended by the Province, but municipal approaches that achieve the same objective may also be used.

The Natural Heritage Reference Manual–June 1999 (OMNR 1999) and this document the Significant Wildlife Habitat Technical Guide were prepared by the Ministry of Natural Resources to assist planning authorities and other participants in the land use planning system. Both documents represent the most up to date information available at the date of publication on specific technical issues.

The Natural Heritage Reference Manual is a general reference manual that applies additional information on technical issues relative to Section 2.3 of the PPS. The manual is intended for use by those who have a basic understanding of the Planning Act process and the intent of the PPS. It will be of most interest to those involved in the development and review of policy documents and the review and approval of development applications.

The Significant Wildlife Habitat Technical Guide is a more detailed technical manual that provides information on the identification, description, and prioritisation of significant wildlife habitat. This manual is intended for use by ecologists, biologists, environmental planners, and others involved in the development of strategies to identify and protect significant wildlife habitat in the municipal planning process. More specifically it:

describes in more detail some of the techniques, issues, and processes identified in the Natural Heritage Reference Manual
provides recommended approaches to describe, identify and prioritise significant wildlife habitat
provides a compilation of relevant technical support materials and references

Neither of these documents should be read in isolation of the PPS. They are advisory only and may be updated as technology or techniques improve. They provide information to assist in understanding the policy. They do not add to or detract from policy. Except as otherwise specified (e.g. where requirements are established by legislation or regulation), they do not represent the only acceptable approaches. There may be other ways to achieve the results established in the PPS. However, in all cases planning authorities must have regard to the PPS.

This technical guide is intended for use in the municipal policy and development process under the Planning Act. However, this document may also be useful in considering applications that must fulfil other approval processes (e.g. Class Environmental Assessments). In cases where matters are subject to other legislation (e.g. Endangered Species Act), appropriate references are noted in the text.

The Significant Wildlife Habitat Technical Guide consists of three sections:

Background and approach to significant wildlife habitat (Chapters 1–2)
Identifying significant wildlife habitat (Chapters 3–7)
Evaluating and ranking significant wildlife habitat (Chapters 8–11)

Technical information has been included in the appendices to this document. The appendices are voluminous and presented in a separate document. The intent is to make updates of these appendices permissible as new science and information becomes available.

1 Significant wildlife habitat technical guide

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Acknowledgements

1. Introduction

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