Wildlife sweeps are required before starting any activities involving vegetation disturbance, heavy equipment, or other activities that may disturb or harm wildlife or wildlife features

A professional biologist identifies the presence of protected wildlife and wildlife features (e.g., nests, roosts, dens, hibernacula, mineral licks) immediately prior to equipment mobilization and the start of activities

Sweeps need to be done at all times of the year, encompass a 100m buffer around the work area, and be completed in good weather conditions and visibility

Mitigation measures (e.g., buffer zones) will need to be put in place for identified wildlife features prior to equipment mobilization and the start of activities

Wildlife sweeps ensure development and earthworks activities maintain compliance with provincial Wildlife Acts and Canada’s Migratory Bird Convention Act (MBCA) and Species at Risk Act (SARA) 

Wildlife inventory and surveys are done to determine species occurrence, distribution, and abundance

Surveys are useful for project planning as they can be done ahead of wildlife sweeps to identify wildlife and wildlife features that may require a mitigation plan for proposed activities

Methods may include acoustic surveys, call-playback surveys, point counts, animal track surveys, camera surveys, environmental DNA, aerial surveys (e.g., drones), and animal capture if necessary

Wildlife monitoring is done to identify the use, movement, and behaviour of wildlife in a given habitat or habitat feature

Monitoring can be done to 1.) evaluate the effectiveness of mitigation plans and identify any changes that may be necessary, and 2.) determine wildlife use of a feature (e.g., nest) and identify when the feature is no longer in use

Monitoring may include nest observation, emergence counts, trail cameras, etc.