Ecosystems Branch

Wildlife Guidelines for Backcountry Tourism/Commercial Recreation

Activity > Aerial-related Recreation > All Habitats > Winter and Snow-free

The following results, desired behaviours, indicators, and limits apply in addition to any relevant policies or regulations; for example, area-based closures and existing statutes.

Concerns are ranked according to the potential risk to wildlife and their habitats, where potential is defined as the probability that the activity will result in either the alteration or destruction of habitat, or the temporary or permanent abandonment of habitat, in the absence of guidelines or statutes.

"Aerial-related recreation" is defined as the portion of any recreation activity that involves the use of helicopters or fixed-wing aircraft.

Guidelines are summarized by:

Results - What the guidelines are attempting to achieve.
Desired Behaviours - Actions by users that are most likely to achieve the specified results.
Indicators - What should be measured to determine if the specified results are being achieved.
Limits - Acceptable bounds related to the measured indicator.

Results and Desired Behaviours are identified for low-risk issues.

Results, Desired Behaviours, Indicators, and Limits are identified for high-risk issues.

NOTE: These guidelines have been produced as a means of ensuring that environmental values and tourism recreational activities can co-exist on the landscape. Tourism operators may find these guidelines useful and may choose to adopt them. However, if a licensee chooses to use a different strategy, and it is accepted by government, the licensee must undertake an effectiveness monitoring program. The Tenure Management Plan must reflect a commitment to the monitoring program, and opportunities to partner with government may be explored.

Safety remains the first priority under all circumstances.

1. Degradation of Soil, Air and Water Quality

Concern: Fuel spills

Results	Desired Behaviours	Indicators	Limits
Avoid fuel spills.	Comply with existing fuel-related regulations. Avoid fuel spills. Institute spill response procedures. Avoid locating fuel caches near watercourses or sensitive sites.	Number and volume of spills. Documented responses to spills. Soil tests near tanks Compliance with regulations. Suitable location of caches.	No non-compliance with regulations. No unsuitably located fuel caches.

2. Integrity of Vegetation Communities

Concern: Damage to sensitive sites (Are these in my operating area?)

Results	Desired Behaviours	Indicators	Limits
Protect habitats of endangered wildlife species and ecosystems. Protect sensitive ecosystems (grasslands, alpine/tundra, and moist-soil ecosystems such as riparian areas and wetlands). Protect nesting/calving sites.	Learn to identify B.C.'s endangered species and ecosystems within the operating area. Operate in a manner that is consistent with government’s approved approach to recovery planning for species at risk. Follow recommendations of recovery planning for species at risk as they relate to habitats. Respect guidelines for use of designated sites such as Wildlife Habitat Areas and Wildlife Habitat Features. Avoid landing in sensitive sites. Obey all signs and area closures. Avoid known nesting/calving sites (seasonal closures might be necessary).	Damage to sensitive sites. Number of landings in sensitive sites.	No vegetation damage in sensitive sites caused by aircraft. No landings in sensitive sites.

3. Direct Disturbance of Wildlife

Concerns: Physiological and behavioural disruption, displacement from preferred habitats; direct mortality, habituation/sensitization

Results

Desired Behaviours

Indicators

Limits

Minimize physiological and behavioural changes in animals associated with aircraft activity.
Minimize changes in habitat use resulting from aircraft activity.

Record wildlife encounters, actions taken, and responses of animals.
Obey all area closures.
Do not harass wildlife.
Focus activities in areas and times of the year when wildlife are least likely to be disturbed (seasonal closures might be necessary).
Take immediate action to increase separation distances when animals react to aircraft.
Use consistent flight paths, preferably in the center of valleys, or the valley side opposite key wildlife habitat. If key wildlife habitats are in the center, fly on one side of the valley rather then the center.
Stay at distances sufficient to prevent changes to the behaviour of animals (more than 500 m line-of-sight is the default).

Proportion of encounters resulting in an alarm response.
Population abundance and distribution trends of wildlife species.

No increase in rate of alarm responses over time caused by aircraft.
No harassment caused by aircraft.
No abandonment of habitats caused by aircraft.

4. Integrity of Fisheries Resources

Concern: None for this activity

5. Special Management

Concern: Ungulate winter range (Are these in my operating area?)

Results	Desired Behaviours	Indicators	Limits
Minimize physiological or behavioural disruption of ungulates on winter ranges. Continued occupation of ungulate winter ranges.	Minimize activity in and near identified ungulate winter ranges (seasonal closures might be necessary). Stay at distances sufficient to prevent changes to the behaviour of animals (more than 500 m line-of-sight is the default).	Continued occupancy of ungulate winter ranges.	No harassment caused by aircraft. No abandonment of ungulate winter ranges caused by aircraft.

Concern: Mountain Caribou (Are these in my operating area?)

Results	Desired Behaviours	Indicators	Limits
Minimize physiological or behavioural disruption of Mountain Caribou. Continued occupation of existing range by Mountain Caribou. Ensure that aircraft activities are not a barrier to Mountain Caribou population or range recovery.	Record wildlife encounters, actions taken and responses by animals. No intentional "flight-seeing" of Mountain Caribou. Ensure a system is in place to proactively identify high-use habitats with a high probability for encountering caribou (see Note A below), and to show how activities shift during the operating season in response to the presence of caribou. Minimize activity in and near identified high-use areas. Avoid activity in occupied habitats (see Note B below). Stay at a sufficient distance from caribou to prevent changes to their behaviour or their use of habitat (more than 500 m line-of-sight is default). Seasonal closures might be necessary. Operate in a manner that is consistent with government's approved approach to recovery planning for Mountain Caribou.	Encounter frequency. Proportion of encounters resulting in an alarm response. Population abundance and distribution trends of sub-populations as they relate to the activities.	No increase in rate of alarm responses over time caused by aircraft. No harassment of animals caused by aircraft. No abandonment of habitats caused by aircraft.

Note A. High-use habitats can be determined based on habitat mapping, information from government biologists, or sightings from previous years.

Note B. "Occupied habitats" refers to areas known to be occupied by caribou within at least the last 48 hours. Occupation is determined by the observation of caribou in the target area or by observation of tracks (either caribou or other ungulate) in the target area. The desired behaviour is to shift activity from the occupied area to an area where the likelihood of encountering caribou is low. The aerial activity will not resume in occupied habitats for at least 48 hours and only after a high-level reconnaissance flight can confirm the absence of the animals or their tracks (i.e., the areas are no longer occupied). The high-level reconnaissance flight entails approaching the target area at an altitude of 500 m or higher, and conducting an observation flight over the target area before gradually descending toward the ground. If at any time caribou or tracks (either caribou or other ungulate) are detected during the reconnaissance flight, the target area is considered occupied and further aerial activities will be suspended for at least the next 48 hours, at which time the procedure may be repeated.

Concern: Mountain Goats/Wild Sheep (Are these in my operating area?)

Results	Desired Behaviours	Indicators	Limits
Minimize physiological or behavioural disruption of Mountain Goats. Continued occupation of Mountain Goat winter ranges.	Do not land in identified Mountain Goat winter ranges . No intentional “flight-seeing” of Mountain Goats/sheep. Stay at distances sufficient to prevent changes to the behaviour of animals (more than 1500 m line-of-sight is the default). Avoid occupied habitats where Mountain Goats/sheep have been seen in the current season and/or animals consistently occupy the area and the area is mapped as occupied. Minimize ¹ use in areas of high probability or potential, where there is documented past use by Mountain Goats or sheep. No behavioural restrictions ² apply in areas not considered Mountain Goat/sheep habitat, or where potential habitat is mapped ³ with no verification of Mountain Goat/sheep use.	Continued occupancy of Mountain Goat winter ranges.	No harassment caused by aircraft. No abandonment of Mountain Goat winter ranges caused by aircraft.

Notes:

¹ "Minimize" means using one or all of the following operational strategies:

Distributing aerial activities across the operating area so that these habitat areas receive less use (particularly for landings and take-offs) relative to other areas where the probability of interaction with goats is lower.
Identifying and maintaining use of regular and predictable patterns and distribution of flights.
Flying on the opposite side of the valley from where these areas are located.
Flying at distances from these areas sufficient to prevent changes to behaviour of animals (if they might be in the area but not visible). Normally, this is a minimum 1500 m horizontal separation, unless the flight path is separated from the habitat by geographic barriers. Where aircraft are within this normal separation distance, they should maintain maximum vertical separation from the areas (normally more than 500 m).
Flying aircraft in a way that reduces noise and ensures that animals are not surprised by sudden encounters.
Ensuring that monitoring and feed-back systems are in place to show due diligence with respect to meeting the intent of this category.
Employing the established practices of HeliCat Canada when animals are inadvertently encountered.

Note that management plans and/or company operational strategies will be expected to outline the specific practices being used to achieve this intent, and to ensure/confirm the on-going success of the strategies. In addition, it is recommended that the Ministry of Environment be informed of any reported sightings during an annual information exchange.

² Flights into mapped Mountain Goat/sheep winter ranges that have no verification of animal presence are deemed to include cursory presence/absence assessment. Clients should be advised to inform pilots/guides if they observe Mountain Goats/sheep. If animals are detected, the area’s classification becomes “occupied” and the “Desired Behaviours” are modified accordingly.

³ Mapped winter ranges under this category do not need to be included in Tenure Management Plans.

Concern: Calving areas, nesting sites, Grizzly Bear and Wolverine dens (Are these in my operating area?)

Results	Desired Behaviours	Indicators	Limits
Minimize physiological or behavioural disruption of wildlife during critical calving/ denning/ nesting periods. Continued occupation by wildlife of critical calving/ denning/ nesting habitat.	Avoid flying or landing near known calving/ denning/ nesting habitat; more than 500 m line-of-sight is the default for large mammals and Great Blue Heron rookeries, except 1500 m or more for Mountain Goat natal areas (seasonal closures might be necessary). No intentional “flight-seeing” of wildlife during calving/ denning/ nesting periods.	Continued occupancy of calving/ denning/ nesting habitats.	No harassment caused by aircraft. Continued occupancy of known calving/ denning/ nesting habitats.

6. Additional Information

BCHSSOA. 2003. Stewardship of mountain ecosystems: best practices for sustainability. HeliCat Canada .