Ecological Monitoring Committee for the Lower Athabasca:Program Update

Susanne CotePTAC Resource Access & Ecological Issues ForumNovember 30th, 2011Calgary, AB

Background• Industry requirements for

biodiversity and wildlife monitoring in EPEA– Not designed for regional

picture– Not standardized

• ABMI operates a provincial biodiversity monitoring program – Additions to ABMI could address

region-specific priorities• Agreement in 2009 to seek

improvements to current system through a coordinated approach

Program Development

• Early 2010 - industry and government create the Regional Terrestrial Monitoring Joint Working Group (RTMJWG)

• Focus on developing recommendations for improved terrestrial monitoring– to understand cumulative effects of development

• Geographic focus on the Lower Athabasca Planning Region (LAPR)

• Recommendations report issued August 2010

Key Outcomes of the Report• Guidance Document – Outlines goals and path forward– Builds on ABMI but addresses regional priorities

• Governance Model

• Funding Approach– GoA suspends specific EPEA approval clauses for

oil sands operators.

• Recommended a broad work plan and budget for 2011

Ecological Monitoring Committee for the Lower Athabasca (EMCLA)

• New governance group held their first meeting in December 2010

• First tasks:– Refine EMCLA

purpose and scope– Further develop

2011 work plan – Implement 2011

work plan

EMCLA Purpose• Improve the quality of monitoring done to fulfill specific

clauses in EPEA approvals for oil sands developments – Move beyond current focus on individual projects

• Key priorities include:– Filling gaps in existing regional monitoring systems– Coordinating data collection amongst different

development projects

Better information available for environmental management in the LAPR

Key Principles

• Transparency– Data and reports publicly available

• Scientific Credibility– Partnership with the ABMI– Project teams include academics, managers, and

subject matter experts• Relevance– Addresses issues raised through regulatory

processes of project reviews and approvals

Governance

11 Representatives sit on Committee

Industry Industry Industry

Industry Industry

Government Government Government

Government Government

ABMIEx-officio

ProgramManager(ABMI)

GoA (4)GoC (1)

OSDGMembers(20 companies)

Funding

• Project funding to date provided by OSDG member companies

• EMCLA develops annual work plan and required budget

• OSDG coordinates funding allocation among companies

2011 Work Plan• First year of EMCLA

program• EMCLA approved

three projects for 2011:– Caribou movement

and linear developments

– Uncommon Animals

– Rare Plants

Project Team Participants• Alberta Biodiversity

Monitoring Institute• Alberta Innovates

Technology Futures• University of Alberta• Royal Alberta Museum• Bird Studies Canada• Devonian Botanical Garden• Alberta Conservation

Association• Environment Canada• Beaverhill Bird Observatory• Boreal Avian Monitoring

Project• Strix Ecological Consulting• Alberta Tourism, Parks, and

Recreation• Alberta Sustainable Resource

Development• Al-Pac Forest Industries• Golder Associates

1) Effects of Linear Development on Caribou

• Conduct a review of the effects of linear features on caribou movement relative to other factors that affect caribou populations

• Develop a spatially explicit model of range-scale caribou movements• Preliminary application of movement model to mitigation efforts

1) Caribou Cont’d• Shift focus of project to look

at long-range movements• Results show that:– short and long-range

movements are distinguishable

– long-range movements are influenced by both habitat type and anthropogenic features

• Caribou long-range movements are not random• Substantial individual variation• Further analysis in 2012 - linked to mitigation

2) Uncommon Animal Species• Purpose is to develop an effective, long-

term animal monitoring program to address gaps in ABMI monitoring

• In 2011, EMCLA chose to conduct a feasibility assessment for regional monitoring of Yellow Rails, owls, and amphibians

• In 2011, objectives are to:– Prioritize research and management

questions– Compile existing data and information

on target species– Develop monitoring designs

Example: Yellow Rail

2) Animal Species Cont’d

• Major recommendations for monitoring program are to:– Conduct pilot fieldwork using existing data to

guide sampling design– Test the use of automatic recorders (cryptic,

nocturnal species)– Develop better spatial habitat data GIS layers

(especially for wetlands)

3) Rare Plants• Rare Plant surveys conducted on lease sites only• ABMI program does not effectively monitor

many rare plant species (e.g. habitat specialists)• Purpose of project is to provide credible

information on the abundance and distribution of plant species that are rare or of conservation concern

• In 2011, project objectives are to:• Assemble and synthesize existing rare plant data• Analyze existing data• Generate lists of candidate species for monitoring• Begin design for an informative and appropriate rare plant

monitoring program

3) Rare Plants Cont’d• Data assembled

– ACIMS as base; added ~1200 additional records in the LAPR

– Included bryophytes, lichens, and vasculars• Carried out species distribution

modeling for 66 species– Emphasized regionally important plants– Used 46 different predictors (climate,

habitat, topography, etc.)• Recommend an adaptive sampling

approach for 2012 and beyond– Additional data collection to improve

predictive models– Combined with trend occupancy and

abundance sample plots stratified by disturbance level

Looking Ahead: 2012 Work Plan• EMCLA has an approved work plan for 2012

• All three existing projects will continue into 2012• Rare Plants• Three animal projects (Yellow Rail, amphibians, owls)• Caribou movement modeling

• Fieldwork for both plants and animals

• 2012 budget is set• Funding allocations among OSDG members under discussion

• The EMCLA has taken steps to better coordinate wildlife and biodiversity monitoring in the LAPR

• Similar groups exist for other media

• However, there is still a need for improved coordination….

EMCLA: Moving Forward

• How can industry and government work together to ensure that resources are used efficiently?• Reduce overlap in programs• Ensure monitoring dollars are spent wisely• Provincial monitoring system under development• EMCLA is eager to work with other regional

initiatives to ensure our work is relevant, timely, and addressing information gaps

EMCLA: Part of a Larger Regional System