Oilsands development may impact songbirds

EDMONTON—A new report by a prominent American scientist suggests songbirds will pay a hefty price for the development of Alberta’s oilsands.
The study, to be released today in Edmonton, suggests cumulative effects from plans currently on the books eventually could deprive North American skies of up to 166 million birds.

“When you start actually trying to estimate the total numbers and what that impact really looks like, it is pretty shocking,” said lead author Jeff Wells of Cornell University.
Wells worked on the report with Alberta’s Pembina Institute and the U.S.-based Natural Resources Defence Council. He used a combination of previous studies and mathematical modelling to estimate what the eventual impact of oilsands development could be on birds.
The boreal forest is a crucial breeding ground for many species that migrate throughout the continent—from tiny warblers to tundra swans to common songbirds such as blackbirds and grosbeaks.
Between 22 million and 170 million birds breed every year in the woods and wetlands that could see effects from oilsands development.
“Virtually the entire populations of some species in some years migrate through the region,” Wells said. “It’s globally significant.”
The habitat is threatened by strip mining, wetlands draining, toxic tailings ponds, and construction of roads, pipelines, and other facilities that chop up once-undisturbed forests into smaller blocks.
Wells calculates those activities eventually could destroy habitat for up to 18 million birds a year. Over time, reducing breeding stock by that much every year could drastically reduce the number of birds winging along flyways.
Wells estimated the size of that loss over 30-50 years at between six million and 166 million birds.
“It’s like taking the principal out of the bank. You lose that ability to grow more birds,” he explained.
Oilsands developers point out they are required to restore lands they have disturbed, but Wells said the pace is too slow. As well, there’s no proof anyone can successfully reclaim wetlands.
The report gives recommendations that have been made before by other environmental groups, including:
•a moratorium on new developments and improvements to projects already in the works;
•better protection for wetlands;
•dry waste systems rather than wet tailings ponds that attract birds; and
•better methods for restoring wetlands and an increased pace of land reclamation.
Wells also urges governments to consider other energy sources than oilsands oil.