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Proposed Authorization Summary
| Proponent: | Tartan Land Consultants Inc. |
|---|---|
| Project: | Residential Subdivision Development - Stittsville |
| Location: | Ottawa See location on Google Maps  |
| Species: |
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| Sector: | Construction or development |
| Environmental Registry Number: | 011-5086 |
| Permit Proposal Status: | Permit issued |
| Authorization Type: | 17(2)(c) - Overall Benefit Permit The Endangered Species Act, 2007 (ESA) provides for the protection of endangered, threatened (and in some cases extirpated) species on the Species at Risk in Ontario (SARO) List. The ESA also addresses the protection of habitat for species at risk. |
Environmental Registry Posting:
Tartan Land Consultants Inc. has applied for an overall benefit permit under clause 17(2)(c) of the Endangered Species Act, 2007 (ESA) with respect to Butternut trees (Juglans cinerea) for the purpose of building a residential subdivision located in the Stittsville portion of Ottawa.
Proposed Permit Details:
The proposed activities would have an overall benefit for the Butternut species. In order to develop the residential subdivision, 319 retainable Butternut trees would need to be to be removed and up to a maximum of 125 retainable Butternut trees may be impacted in order to accommodate the grading and infrastructure required to build a residential subdivision.
Butternut is listed on the Species at Risk in Ontario (SARO) List (in Ontario Regulation 230/08 of the ESA), as an endangered species. Section 9 of the ESA provides for the protection of Butternut. Habitat protection under section 10 of the ESA does not currently apply to Butternut.
The ESA allows some activities to proceed under a permit with specific conditions if avoidance and reasonable alternatives have been considered and an overall benefit would be achieved for the species. Tartan Land Consultants Inc. has applied for a 17(2) overall benefit permit to authorize the proposed subdivision construction under the ESA.
The health of 810 Butternut trees at this site has been assessed by a qualified Butternut Health Assessor and 567 were determined not to be severely affected by Butternut Canker, therefore these trees are considered to be retainable. The identification of retainable trees is based on an assessment of tree crown dieback and the coverage of the stems and roots by cankers and is conducted by a qualified Butternut Health Assessor. Retainable trees do not qualify for the exemption from protection in section 5 of Ontario Regulation 242/08 under the ESA and can not be removed without an authorization. Three hundred and nineteen (319) of the retainable Butternut trees within the project area are proposed to be removed. In addition, up to 125 retainable Butternut trees may be potentially impacted by the proposed subdivision.
The ESA allows some activities to proceed under a clause 17(2)(c) permit with specific conditions if; avoidance and reasonable alternatives have been considered, adverse effects will be minimized and an overall benefit will be achieved for the species. Providing an overall benefit to a protected species under the ESA involves undertaking actions to improve circumstances for the species in Ontario. Overall benefit is more than ‘no net loss’ or an exchange of ‘like for like’. Overall benefit is grounded in the protection and recovery of the species at risk and must include more than mitigation measures or “replacing” what is lost.
The Minister may issue a permit to an applicant under clause 17(2)(c) of the ESA that authorizes the person to engage in an activity that would otherwise be prohibited by section 9 or 10 of the ESA if the Minister is of the opinion that the main purpose of the activity authorized by the permit is not to assist in the protection or recovery of the species specified in the permit, but, the Minister is of the opinion that:
(i) an overall benefit to the species will be achieved within a reasonable time through the conditions of the permit;
(ii) reasonable alternatives have been considered, including alternatives that would not negatively affect the species, and the best alternative has been adopted; and,
(iii) reasonable steps to minimize negative effects on individual members of the species are required by conditions of the permit.
Following the assessment of retainable Butternut trees, Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) staff worked with the applicant to explore reasonable alternatives and to develop the proposed mitigation and overall benefit plans for Butternut on this site. Optimized overall benefit for Butternut in this proposal includes a combination of Forest Gene Conservation Association (FGCA) recommended ratio plantings and other beneficial actions.
Test 1 - An overall benefit to Butternut would be achieved by the following:
Tartan Land Consultants Inc. would collect fifty scions (cuttings) to enable grafting from two Butternut trees on site that have to date demonstrated resilience to Butternut canker disease and hold potential to protect and recover the Butternut tree species through propagation and research. This would result in the collection on one hundred scions. Fifty scions would be grafted by the FGCA and would become part of their butternut recovery program plan as approved by MNR. The remaining scions would become part of the Ontario Forest Research Institute (OFRI) butternut grafting research. This would benefit the species by increasing the number of potentially disease resistant Butternut cuttings that would provide seeds to the FGCA butternut recovery program and the OFRI butternut research
Two-thousand (2000) seeds would be collected by Tartan Land Consultants Inc. over multiple years from retainable butternut trees that are proposed for removal, and if necessary, from other local retainable trees to ensure 2000 seeds are collected. These seeds would be maintained for one year by Tartan Land Consultants Inc. and would then become part of the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority (RVCA) butternut recovery program (a partner with FGCA) as per a plan approved by the MNR. This would benefit Butternut in Ontario by resulting in increased acquisition of pure butternut seeds and the resulting increased propagation opportunities for the RVCA Butternut recovery program.
Additionally, Tartan Land Consultants Inc. are proposing to plant a total of 848 new Butternut seedlings. These Butternut would be planted in locations suitable to support Butternut as approved by MNR.
Additional seedlings would be planted, or seeds would be collected, to provide overall benefit for the 125 trees that may be impacted. This could result in planting an additional 238 trees or collecting an additional 952 seeds. As the number of trees to be impacted may be reduced in the final project plan, the associated overall benefit for these potentially impacted trees would be adjusted using established ratios.
This proposed permit would include conditions that allow for the removal and/or impact to an additional small number of newly discovered Butternut trees, if found on site during construction. This condition would increase the overall benefit for circumstances such as new Butternut saplings that may have germinated since the original assessment in 2009. Adjustments would be made using the established ratios.
At the end of the five year monitoring period, the applicant would be required to have a minimum of half of any of the required planted Butternut trees alive and growing to the satisfaction of MNR.
These newly planted Butternut trees would receive protection under the ESA and would result in increased diversity in the local gene pool and an increased reproductive potential for the species.
Test 2 - MNR staff worked with the proponent to explore reasonable alternatives in order to leave the Butternut trees in their current location. Alternatives included being able to successfully avoid 123 of the 567 retainable Butternut trees by working around the trees. There were no feasible alternatives that would allow for the retention of all the Butternut trees given the intended urban density and infrastructure and grading required for the residential development. The alternative of transplanting Butternut trees was considered. Mature Butternut are too large to be transplanted successfully. The seedling trees were also considered for potential transplanting, however, the site has shallow soils and given the long roots of Butternut trees it was not a feasible option at this site.
The best alternative was selected that would benefit Butternut and allow for the development plans to proceed.
Test 3 - Reasonable steps to minimize adverse effects on the species would include emulating natural Butternut habitat conditions and avoiding a monoculture of disease-prone trees by planting the Butternut with 1210 seedlings of other native deciduous and coniferous tree species native to the area. Also, the proponent would retain a qualified professional forester or biologist to:
Supervise and assist with the implementation of the conditions of the permit.
Tend each Butternut seedling planted under the proposed permit for five years after it was planted.
Monitor and report annually on the growing progress of all the planted Butternut seedlings. Monitoring reports would be required for a period ending five years after the planting and tending of all the Butternut seedlings.
Plant additional seedlings in the spring of the following year, to replace as necessary any Butternut seedlings that died.
Decision:
On May 9, 2012 the Minister of Natural Resources issued an overall benefit permit to Tartan Land Consultants Inc. under clause 17(2)(c) of the Endangered Species Act, 2007 (ESA) with respect to Butternut in order to construct a residential subdivision located in the Stittsville portion of Ottawa on Lots 26 & 27, Concession 12 in the Geographic Township of Goulbourn.
Reasonable alternatives to the proposal were considered, including alternatives that would not adversely affect the species. Alternatives considered included leaving trees in their current location and transplanting trees. There were no feasible alternatives that would allow for the retention of all the Butternut trees given the intended urban density and infrastructure, and grading required for the residential development. Mature Butternuts are too large to be transplanted successfully. The seedling trees were also considered for potential transplanting, however, the site has shallow soils, and given the long roots of Butternut trees it was not a feasible option at this site. The best alternative was selected that would benefit Butternut and allow for the development plans to proceed. The best alternative, which was adopted, consists of:
• Developing the project site on 25.06 hectares (ha) of land, using the current site location and layout to minimize effects on protected species and habitat.
• Compensating for the removal and harming of Butternut trees on the site by implementing an overall benefit plan.
• Tending and monitoring the planted Butternut seedlings for five years following their planting.
The permit requires Tartan Land Consultants Inc. to undertake a number of measures to minimize adverse effects on individual members of Butternut, including:
• Successfully avoiding 134 of the 567 retainable Butternut trees by working around the trees.
• Emulating natural Butternut habitat conditions and avoiding a monoculture of disease-prone trees by planting the Butternut in an area that includes 1210 seedlings of other native deciduous and coniferous tree species native to the area.
The permit requires Tartan Land Consultants Inc. to undertake a number of actions to achieve an overall benefit to Butternut, within a reasonable time, including:
• Compensate for the removal of 379 retainable Butternut trees by planting 648 seedlings and tending a total of 848 Butternut seedlings.
• Planting of 585 and tending of 1210 native deciduous and coniferous species to accompany the Butternut seedlings.
• Collect 3000 seeds which will become part of the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority Butternut recovery program (a partner with the Forest Gene Conservation Authority).
• Collect an additional 294 Butternut seeds from retainable Butternut in an appropriate seed zone to provide an overall benefit to 54 retainable Butternut trees proposed to be harmed under the permit. If fewer than 54 trees are harmed, fewer Butternut seeds may be collected in accordance with ratios established by the MNR.
• Collect fifty scions each (cuttings) from two Butternut on site that have to date demonstrated resilience to Butternut canker disease (for a total minimum of 100). A minimum of 60 scions will be grafted and archived while the balance would be donated to the Ontario Forest Research Institute.
• These newly planted Butternut trees would receive protection under the ESA and would result in increased diversity in the local gene pool and an increased reproductive potential for the species.
Comment On This Project
To view and comment on this proposed permit, please visit the Environmental Registry and enter the Registry number (011-5086) in the search bar.
If you have questions or comments specific to this permit application after the Environmental Registry period is over, please click here Residential Subdivision Development - Stittsville (ER number: 011-5086) .
Please Note: All comments and submissions received become part of the public record. You will not receive a formal response to your comment, however, relevant comments received as part of the public participation process for this proposal will be considered in the decision making process for the authorization.
