Manitoba Wildlands EIS Cross Examination Questions for Manitoba Hydro/NCN
Biodiversity, Linear Disturbance & Birds
1.
Would you agree with Dr. Erin Bayne’s testimony that “over the last ten years, there's been a growing concern that human activities are threatening biodiversity in many parts of the world”?
(If not, please explain)
2.
Would you also agree with Dr. Bayne that “the three greatest threats to biodiversity that exist currently in the scientific literature are probably in the following order, habitat loss, habitat fragmentation and the effects of invasive species”? (If not, please explain)
3.
Would you also agree that it is difficult to measure how our activities impact biodiversity and that as a proxy studies often focus on individual species and whether or not the activity results in the presence or absence of a species?
(If not, please explain)
4.
Would you also agree that this was generally how Manitoba Hydro /NCN assessed the impact of the Wuskwatim projects on biodiversity? (If not, please explain)
5.
Do you think that this sort of assessment of impacts of a project on biodiversity adequately captures these impacts?
6.
Do you think that the approach taken by Manitoba Hydro /NCN to assess the impacts of Wuskwatim on biodiversity adequately captures slow changes to the ecosystem
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that can occur with the addition of each human activity? Please explain how it does this.
7.
Would you agree with Dr. Bayne’s assertion that the decline of woodland caribou across its range tends to be the most severe in areas of high linear feature density? (if no, could you please cite studies which support your statement?)
8.
Would you agree with Dr. Bayne’s comment that, based on information from radiocollared caribou, caribou avoid linear features to some extent, relative to what you would expect if they were using those things in proportion to their abundance on the landscape? (If not, please explain)
9.
Is there evidence (reports, articles, etc.) from the project region to agree or disagree with this statement?
10.
Would you agree with Dr. Bayne’s assertion that caribou avoid linear features because these are places where predator activity and predator abundance are increasing? Did Manitoba Hydro / NCN consider the research (by Adam James, Univ
Alberta – in J of Wildlife Mgmt) to that supports this hypothesis in its assessment of the impacts of Wuskwatim on woodland caribou? If not, why not? If so, please explain how and why this would not have a significant effect on woodland caribou in the region?
11.
Did Manitoba Hydro / NCN consider the impacts that Wuskwatim would have on woodland caribou in terms of adding to existing linear features on the landscape in the context of the research demonstrating that caribou avoid linear features because these are places where predator activity and predator abundance are increasing? If
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not, why not? If so, please explain how and why this would not have a significant effect on woodland caribou in the region?
12.
Did Manitoba Hydro / NCN consider the impacts that Wuskwatim would have on woodland caribou in terms of future projects on the landscape as well as in terms of adding to existing linear features on the landscape in the context of the research demonstrating that caribou avoid linear features because these are places where predator activity and predator abundance are increasing? If not, why not? If so, please explain how and why this would not have a significant effect on woodland caribou in the region?
13.
Would you agree with Dr. Bayne’s assertion that human-caused mortalities of caribou are closer to linear features than you would expect by random chance? (If not, please explain)
14.
Would you also agree with Dr. Bayne that as more linear features go out in the landscape, there's a greater risk to the caribou also from human activities? (If not, please explain)
15.
Considering the Wuskwatim projects in the context of all other linear disturbances in the region, what evidence do you have that the incremental impact of Wuskwatim will not violate some ecological threshold for woodland caribou and have a significant effect on the populations in the region?
16.
Has Manitoba Hydro evaluated the negative impacts for bird species resulting from habitat loss due to removal of the native vegetation for the Wuskwatim Transmission project? If not, why not?
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17.
IF SO, Has this been compared with the positive impacts for bird species resulting from new habitat created by the transmission lines?
18.
IF SO, Has an assessment been done as to whether the species that are negatively impacted by habitat loss are forest specialists or generalists (of low conservation concern), whether they are migrant species?
19.
If yes, what were the results? What are the implications in terms of the Migratory
Birds Act?
20.
If no, why not? Isn’t it important to distinguish which species may be negatively impacted vs. which species may be positively impacted?
21.
Would you agree with Dr. Bayne’s assertion that birds react to the altered vegetation structure at some distance from a power line, and that this is caused by changes in the vegetation and microclimate that occur due to the opening up of the landscape? (If not, please explain why)
22.
Would you also agree with Dr. Bayne that most of the species that respond positively are generally species of low conservation concern? (If not, please explain why)
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23.
Do you agree with Dr. Bayne’s assertion that many predator species of birds will often use linear features to move in to the edge, and that this has been shown to result in reduced nesting success for birds that do choose to put their nests near edges? (If not, please explain why)
24.
Did these concepts (reactions to altered vegetation structures in ‘edges’, the fact that species that respond positively are generalists, and the exploitation of linear features by predators as impacting birds) inform Manitoba Hydro’s analysis of the impacts of the Wuskwatim Transmission project on birds in the region? (If not, please explain)
25.
Were the impacts to birds from Wuskwatim considered in the context of all other linear disturbances in the region?
26.
What evidence do you have that the incremental impact of Wuskwatim, in combination with existing linear disturbances in the regon, will not violate some ecological threshold for some forest specialists or migratory bird species and have a significant effect on the population in the region?
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