Town of Whitby - Permit for activities to achieve an overall benefit to a species

Proponent

Town of Whitby
575 Rossland Road East
Whitby, Ontario
L1N 2M8
Canada

Location details

East of Highway 412 and west of Coronation Road, from Dundas Street West to Taunton Road West in the Town of Whitby.

Instrument decision

On March 26, 2021, the Minister issued a permit to the Town of Whitby with respect to Little Brown Myotis.

The permit authorizes the Town of Whitby to adversely impact Little Brown Myotis so they can construct Des Newman Boulevard in Whitby.

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

• minimize adverse effects to Little Brown Myotis
• achieve an overall benefit to Little Brown Myotis within a reasonable timeframe

Actions to minimize adverse effects to species

The permit requires the Town of Whitby to carry out actions to minimize adverse effects on Little Brown Myotis, including:

• engaging a qualified professional to:
  • provide training, education and awareness materials to workers entering the site
  • supervise activities
  • lead and follow species encounter protocols
• installing tree protection fencing at the road grading limits
• removing vegetation outside of the active period for the species
• monitoring mitigation measures to ensure they are effective

Actions to achieve an overall benefit to species

• developing and implementing a Bat Habitat Tree Planting Plan to create 0.28 hectares of habitat for the species
• installing a minimum of six artificial roosting structures for the species (4 four-chambered nursery boxes and two 2-chambered rocket boxes) within the proposed Bat Habitat Tree Planting Plan area
• developing and implementing a management plan for enhancing 0.32 hectares of habitat for the species next to the proposed area of impact, including invasive species management, planting of native species and edge management plantings
• monitoring the habitat enhancement works to ensure they are effective

Other information

The proponent considered reasonable alternatives, including alternatives that would not adversely affect Little Brown Myotis, such as:

• not proceeding with the Des Newman Boulevard Extension project
• constructing a new arterial road alignment with a 36 metres right-of-way
• constructing a new arterial road alignment with a 30 metres right-of-way

The proponent has concluded that the best alternative involves constructing a new arterial road alignment with a 30 metres right-of-way which will impact 0.20 hectares of Little Brown Myotis habitat.

This was considered to be the best alternative because it strikes a balance between achieving the project’s objective of constructing a new road to meet identified transportation needs and limiting the adverse effects to Little Brown Myotis.

The Minister is required to consider any Government Response Statement (GRS) to a recovery strategy published under subsection 11(8) of the Act.

A GRS for Little Brown Myotis was published in September 2020 and consideration was given to the GRS. Proposed permit conditions align with the objectives outlined in the GRS, including maintaining and improving habitat.

Comments received

2 comments were received through registry.

Effects of Consultation

Public consultation on the proposal for this Endangered Species Act permit was provided for 30 days, from May 26, 2020 to June 25, 2020.

We received and considered 2 comments:one comment was supportive of the proposal to use bat boxes and the other was unsupportive citing the intent of the ESA is to protect and recover species at risk not minimize harms to the species.

No changes were made to the permit proposal since the permit already includes considerations for alternatives and conditions to minimize adverse effects on, and achieve an overall benefit for, the species.

Appeal information

Appeals are not allowed. This instrument type cannot be appealed.