Assessment of pre- and post-mining wildlife habitat for the Window Pit development on Babcock Mountain near Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia

• Main Authors: Smyth, Clint R., Sheppard, Dennis, Teske, Irene, Paton, Dale, Bittman, Kim
• Language: English
• Published: 2009
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/9537

Pre- and post-mining wildlife habitat capability assessments were conducted for the Window Pit development on Quintette Operating Corporation's Babcock Mountain. The British Columbia government Terrestrial Ecosystem Mapping (TEM) methodology for wildlife habitat capability was modified and implemented to conduct the assessment. The spatial and attribute data for these assessments were obtained from pre-disturbance black and white photography and post-disturbance colour photography. An orthophotomosaic with contours was also used to develop the post-mining base map. The aerial photography and field data were integrated within a Geographical Information System (GIS) environment using ARCINFO software. Spatial relationships were also analyzed using the Habitat Assessment and Modeling Software (HAMS). The maps and analyses undertaken by this assessment indicated a number of areas (polygons) where important habitat was affected by the development and a number of polygons upon which to focus mitigation efforts. The use of GIS was shown to be a very cost effective method of reclamation planning. This tool will enable environmental planners to minimize the impacts of the development on the grizzly bears, mountain goats, caribou, moose and mule deer.