Private Landowner - Permit for activities to achieve an overall benefit to a species and/or to pay a species conservation charge (ESA s.17(2) (c))

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Type d'acte: Permit for activities to achieve an overall benefit to a species and/or to pay a species conservation charge (ESA s.17(2) (c))

Numéro du REO
019-7359
Numéro de référence du ministère
SW-C-006-23
Type d'avis
Instrument
Loi
Endangered Species Act , R.S.O. 2007
Affiché par
Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks
Étape de l'avis
Décision
Décision publiée
Période de consultation
Du 17 août 2023 au 16 septembre 2023 (30 jours) Fermé
Dernière mise à jour

Cette consultation a eu lieu :

du 17 août 2023
au 16 septembre 2023

Résumé de la décision

The Minister has issued an overall benefit permit under the Endangered Species Act, 2007, to a private landowner so they can construct a residential home that will adversely impact Dwarf Hackberry and its habitat.

The permit includes actions to benefit the species and minimize adverse effects, and outlines monitoring and reporting requirements.

Détails de l'emplacement

Adresse du site

Timberwood Trail
Grand Bend, ON
N0M 1T0
Canada

Carte de l'emplacement du site

L'épingle de localisation correspond à la zone approximative où a lieu l’activité environnementale.

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Promoteur(s)

Private Landowner
Elmtree Drive
Parkhill, ON
N0M 2K0
Canada

Private Landowner
Elmtree Drive
Parkhill, ON
N0M 2K0
Canada

Détails de la décision

On February 12, 2024, the Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks issued an overall benefit permit to a private landowner concerning Dwarf Hackberry, to allow for the construction of a single-unit residential home in Grand Bend, Ontario.

The permit was issued under the Endangered Species Act, 2007 (ESA) and authorizes the landowner to:

  • kill, harm, harass, collect, possess, and transport four Dwarf Hackberry individuals
  • damage or destroy 0.0723 hectares of Dwarf Hackberry habitat

Protecting species under the Endangered Species Act

Our government is committed to protecting species at risk and providing strong environmental oversight, while working to support development opportunities in the province.

Businesses, municipalities, and other proponents are expected to take steps to ensure their projects avoid any adverse impacts on species at risk or their habitats. However, where avoidance is not possible, the ESA gives the Minister the discretion to authorize activities if certain conditions can be met.

The permit includes conditions that require the private landowner to undertake measures that will:

  • minimize adverse effects to Dwarf Hackberry
  • achieve an overall benefit for Dwarf Hackberry within a reasonable time frame

Actions to minimize adverse effects to species

The permit requires the landowner to carry out actions to minimize adverse effects on Dwarf Hackberry, including:

    • engaging qualified professionals to oversee that the permit conditions and mitigation measures are properly implemented on the site.
    • uniquely tagging all Dwarf Hackberry individuals within 10 metres of the development footprint for identification.
    • identifying and clearly marking boundaries where vegetation removal will occur.
    • installing protective fencing around the viable rooting zone of all Dwarf Hackberry plants that are being retained.
    • transplanting Dwarf Hackberry individuals within the development area to an identified planting area that has been properly prepared.
    • carrying out Dwarf Hackberry transplantation:
      1. during a time of root-dormancy to ensure stress to transplanted trees is reduced.
      2. using appropriate methods and tools to minimize disturbance.
    • tending to and watering transplanted Dwarf Hackberry individuals as necessary for a period of five years.
    • actively managing vegetation (e.g., hand-pulling, mechanical removal) within 60 centimetres of transplanted Dwarf Hackberry individuals for a period of five years to ensure success of transplants.
    • monitoring of mitigation measures to ensure their effectiveness for a period of five years.
    • conducting all vegetation clearing for the project between November 1 and March 31 to minimize disturbance.

Actions to achieve an overall benefit to species

The permit requires the landowner to carry out the following actions to achieve an overall benefit for the species within a reasonable timeframe:

  • enhance 0.0592 hectares of Dwarf Hackberry habitat
  • control or eliminate threats to Dwarf Hackberry individuals using methods determined to be appropriate by a Qualified Professional (i.e., to reduce canopy closure, reduce or eliminate invasive and competing species, reduce impacts of fauna species)
  • propagate and plant at least 20 Dwarf Hackberry seedlings, which is a ratio of 5:1 relative to the four Dwarf Hackberry individuals being removed
  • complete follow-up monitoring and tending to the propagated Dwarf Hackberry individuals

The overall benefit activities are intended to result in:

  • increasing the overall number of Dwarf Hackberries planted on the landscape within its native range
  • supporting future Dwarf Hackberry populations through seed production and species distribution

Government response statement for Dwarf Hackberry

Ontario has published a government response statement (GRS) under section 12.1 of the Endangered Species Act, 2007 with respect to Dwarf Hackberry. You can access this statement through the ministry’s website: Common Hoptree and Dwarf Hackberry government response statement | ontario.ca

Consideration was given to the GRS and proposed permit conditions align with the objectives in the GRS, including:

  • removal of invasive plants that threaten and compete with Dwarf Hackberry populations.

Other information

The following reasonable alternatives, including alternatives that would not adversely affect the species, were considered:

  • not proceeding with the proposed project; however, this would not meet the landowner needs to build a residential home.
  • proceeding with activities with no mitigation and/or compensation; however, this alternative would not integrate measurements to avoid and/or mitigate impacts to the species at risk or its habitat and is not considered a viable alternative.

The best alternative, which has been adopted, includes a plan to:

  • proceed with the proposed project, while minimizing adverse impacts and achieving an overall benefit to the species as described.

This alternative strikes a balance between achieving the project’s objective of building a residential home while limiting the adverse effects to Dwarf Hackberry.

Commentaires reçus

Par l'entremise du registre

1

Par courriel

0

Par la poste

0
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Effets de la consultation

We received one comment on this project. The comment suggested the monitoring of Dwarf Hackberry individuals for seven years after planting.

The issued permit requires the Proponent to complete ongoing monitoring and maintenance of planted Dwarf Hackberry individuals for five years, which is consistent with past monitoring efforts, and as such, no changes to the permit resulted.

Documents justificatifs

Consulter les documents en personne

Certains documents justificatifs peuvent ne pas être accessibles en ligne. Si tel est le cas, vous pouvez demander à consulter les documents en personne.

Veuillez communiquer avec le bureau mentionné ci-dessous pour savoir si les documents sont accessibles.

Species at Risk Branch
Address

40 St Clair Ave West
Toronto, ON
M4V 1M2
Canada

How to Appeal

Les appels ne sont pas autorisés

Ce type d’acte ne peut être porté en appel. En savoir plus sur notre processus de consultation.

Communiquer avec nous

Contact

Katy Hynes

Phone number
Email address
Office
Species at Risk Branch - Permissions and Compliance
Address

50 Bloomington Rd
Aurora, ON
L4G 0L8
Canada

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Proposition initiale

Numéro du REO
019-7359
Numéro de référence du ministère
SW-C-006-23
Type d'avis
Instrument
Loi
Endangered Species Act , R.S.O. 2007
Affiché par
Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks
Proposition affichée

Période de consultation

17 août 2023 - 16 septembre 2023 (30 days)

Détails de la proposition

A private landowner is seeking a permit under clause 17(2)(c) of the Endangered Species Act, 2007 (ESA), for impacts to Dwarf Hackberry, to construct a single unit-dwelling, servicing the lot, and landscaping at Timberwood Trail Grand Bend, Ontario

The proposed activities may adversely impact:

  • four Dwarf Hackberry trees
  • approximately 0.0723 hectares of Dwarf Hackberry habitat

Protecting species under the Endangered Species Act

The Ontario government is committed to protecting species at risk and providing strong environmental oversight, while working to support development opportunities in the province.

Ontario provides protections for species at risk and their habitats under the ESA. Subsection 9(1) of the ESA prohibits the killing, harming, harassing, capturing or taking of endangered, threatened and extirpated species, while subsection 10(1) prohibits the damage or destruction of the habitat of endangered or threatened species

Dwarf Hackberry is listed on the Species at Risk in Ontario list, under O. Reg. 230/08 of the ESA as threatened.

The main threat to the survival of Dwarf Hackberry is habitat loss.

Under clause 17(2)(c) of the ESA, the minister may issue a permit authorizing a person to engage in an activity that would otherwise be prohibited by sections 9 or 10 of the Act if the minister believes that:

  • either:
    • an overall benefit to the species will be achieved within a reasonable time through the conditions of the permit, or
    • the person who would be authorized by the permit to engage in the activity has agreed to pay to the Species at Risk Conservation Fund any Species Conservation Charges that are required by the permit
  • reasonable alternatives have been considered, including alternatives that would not negatively affect the species, and the best alternative has been adopted
  • reasonable steps to minimize negative effects on individual members of the species are required by conditions of the permit

The option to pay a species conservation charge is only available for a species designated by regulation under the ESA as a conservation fund species. Dwarf Hackberry has not been designated as a conservation fund species.

Providing an overall benefit to a protected species under the ESA means improving circumstances for the species in Ontario. Overall benefit is:

  • more than "no net loss" or an exchange of "like for like"
  • grounded in the protection and recovery of the species at risk
  • more than mitigation measures or "replacing" what is lost

Actions to achieve an overall benefit to the species

The private landowner is working to identify ways to provide an overall benefit to Dwarf Hackberry. These may involve

  • manage minimum of 592 m2 of land on the subject property to protected and maintain a natural state for the benefit of existing, planted and transplanted Dwarf Hackberry individuals
  • collect Dwarf Hackberry seeds to propagate in a nursery, and to plant minimum of 20 Dwarf Hackberry trees within the subject property

These actions are expected to achieve an overall benefit to the species by:

  • plantings at a ratio of 5:1 relative to the four Dwarf Hackberry individuals to be removed on the subject lands
  • increasing the overall number of Dwarf Hackberry’s planted on the landscape within its native range
  • supporting future Dwarf Hackberry’s populations through seed production and species distribution

Reasonable alternatives being considered

The private landowner is considering alternatives, including alternatives that would not adversely affect Dwarf Hackberry and their habitat. This may include not proceeding with the proposed development.

The private landowner has considered:

  • not proceeding with the proposed project; although this would not meet the landowner needs to build residential home
  • proceeding with activities with no mitigations/compensation; this alternative does not integrate measures to avoid and/or mitigate impacts to species at risk habitat and is not considered a viable alternative

The best alternative for carrying out the project is to proceed with the proposed development, while minimizing adverse impacts and achieving an overall benefit to the species as described.

Actions to minimize negative effects to the species

The private landowner is seeking ways to minimize adverse effects on Dwarf Hackberry and its habitat. These may include:

  • the four Dwarf Hackberry within the construction footprint are transplanted outside the construction footprint to a safe location within the property before construction starts
  • to minimize transplant shock transplanting the Dwarf Hackberry to be completed during the spring or fall dormant season (March 15 - April 30 or October 20 – December 1)
  • all transplanted individuals are to be watered and mulched immediately upon replanting
  • Dwarf Hackberry within 10 of the construction footprint to be clearly marked with flagging tape to avoid inadvertent damage during vegetation removals and site grading activities.
  • before vegetation clearing and site grading, construction personnel will be notified and shown the locations of any Dwarf Hackberry that occur within 10 m of the construction footprint
  • boundary of the construction footprint to be marked with stakes during the tree cutting period and later with silt fencing prior to grading to mitigate accidental damage or removals beyond the construction footprint
  • the homeowner will be provided with an educational brochure that will include notification about the presence of the Species at Risk Dwarf Hackberry on the subject property and the significance of this species within the Lambton Shores area

Other information

The Province has published a government response statement under section 12.1 of the ESA with respect to Dwarf Hackberry.

The government response statement will be considered before a decision to issue an overall benefit permit. A copy of the government response statement for Dwarf Hackberry is available at: Dwarf Hackberry government response statement | ontario.ca.

Posting this proposal on the Environmental Registry does not imply that we will issue a permit. A permit may only be issued where the legal requirements set out in clause 17(2)(c) of the ESA have been satisfied.

More information on species at risk overall benefit permits.

Documents justificatifs

Consulter les documents en personne

Certains documents justificatifs peuvent ne pas être accessibles en ligne. Si tel est le cas, vous pouvez demander à consulter les documents en personne.

Veuillez communiquer avec le bureau mentionné ci-dessous pour savoir si les documents sont accessibles.

Species at Risk Branch - Permissions and Compliance
Address

50 Bloomington Rd
Aurora, ON
L4G 0L8
Canada

Commentaire

La consultation est maintenant terminée.

Cette consultation a eu lieu 17 août 2023
au 16 septembre 2023

Communiquer avec nous

Contact

Todd Copeland

Phone number
Email address
Office
Species at Risk Branch - Permissions and Compliance
Address

5520 Hwy 101 East
PO Bag 3020
South Porcupine, ON
P0N 1H0
Canada