Environmental Stewardship – Wildlife Management & Biodiversity

Electricity companies are working to reduce harmful impacts on fish, wildlife, and plants across Canada.

Overview

Electricity Canada acknowledges the importance of biodiversity to a healthy environment, healthy communities, and a healthy economy. Electricity companies operate across Canada, and electricity infrastructure (such as hydroelectric dams, transmission lines, and access roads) and activities (such as maintenance and new construction) can impact the habitats of many species of plants and wildlife across the country.

Maintaining biodiversity is essential to maintaining a healthy environment. Electricity Canada members are committed to practicing responsible stewardship of the environment, including on fish, wildlife, and plant species. This involves:

  • Avoiding negative impacts, and encouraging positive impacts on the environment and species where possible
  • Reducing and mitigating negative impacts where unavoidable
  • Offsetting negative impacts through the creation of new habitat and through repopulation efforts.

History

  • Electricity Canada’s Bird Beneficial Management Practice (BMP) Guide helps electricity companies minimize impacts on migratory birds, their nests and eggs near electricity projects and infrastructure.
  • The BMP Guide identifies factors that may affect the risk of incidental take, including environmental setting and project constraints
  • The guide compiles existing beneficial practices utilized by Electricity Canada members to manage potential interactions with birds and their habitats
  • The guide makes mitigation recommendations to avoid, minimize and compensate for the risk of incidental take, including timing restrictions, setback distances, and methods for identifying active and inactive bird nests.

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