Effectiveness of placer mine reclamation and associated created wetlands for avian communities in Central Yukon

The Boreal Forest is under increasing pressure from human-caused land disturbances. In Central Yukon, the main source of land disturbance is mining of old streambeds for gold. Gold deposits coincide with wetlands and present-day waterways, areas that provide important habitat for wildlife, including many bird species. Miners are required to return these areas to a condition that provides similar value as the land that was previously there. To achieve this, the mined land is smoothed over, leaving depressions to encourage wetland formation, and put topsoil back ontop. It remains unknown, however, whether this is adequate for wildlife to return and breed. The goal of this project is to answer this question with respect to habitat use by breeding birds. We will do this by putting recording units in both reclaimed mines of different ages and unmined areas. We can identify birds breeding in these areas from their songs and compare whether similar species are using reclaimed and unmined sites, as well as how old a reclaimed site is before these species are detected. We will also count waterfowl using the wetlands created during reclamation from helicopters. These wetlands are a different type from the fens and swamps that would have occurred pre-mining, so we will survey natural open water wetlands from elsewhere in the region as our comparison. Based on our results, we will make recommendations for how to account for mine reclamation in regional land-use plans and wetland policies to ensure sustainable development and habitat conservation in boreal regions.

Faculty Supervisor:

Erin Bayne

Student:

Partner:

Wildlife Conservation Society Canada (Whitehorse, YT)

Discipline:

Life Sciences

Sector:

Agriculture; Other services (except public administration)

University:

University of Alberta

Program: