Section 2.1.5 of the Provincial Policy Statement states that
“Development and site alteration shall not be permitted in:
…
d) significant wildlife habitat;
…
unless it has been demonstrated that there will be no negative impacts on the natural features or their ecological functions.”
To help implement this policy, the Ministry of Natural Resources developed a Technical Guide to Significant Wildlife Habitat (October 2000; with Appendices, 396 pp., 2.4 MB; without Appendices, 139 pp., 0.9 MB).
More recently (January 2015), the Ministry issued Significant Wildlife Habitat Criteria Schedules by ecoregion. The Schedule for Ecoregion 6E is here (39 pp.) There are similar Schedules for Ecoregions 3E, 5E and 7E.
The document “is designed to provide the recommended criteria for identifying Significant Wildlife Habitat (SWH) within Ecoregion 6E. … the Schedules provide guidance for SWH designation for the four categories of SWH outlined in the Significant Wildlife Habitat Technical Guide”: seasonal concentration, rare vegetation, specialized habitat, habitat for species of Conservation Concern, and animal movement corridors. A final schedule lists a few exceptions.
The schedules are species- or landscape-specific and list the criteria for Candidate SWH and information sources, and how SWH can be confirmed.
