Assessment suggests eaglets were never present this season
Sylvie Paillard
[email protected]
A close inspection of an eagles' nest that has been holding up construction on Hwy. 99 near Lions Bay has revealed that it was not used to rear eaglets this season.
In April, the Lions Bay conservation group North Shore Nest Environmental Stewards Team (NEST) successfully lobbied to have nearby blasting and soil removal delayed until mid-August to avoid disturbing a potential brood of eaglets.
But on June 28, a man-lift carrying NEST member and biologist Jim Cuthbert, as well as a biologist hired by contracting company Kiewit and Sons, revealed that although adult eagles occupied the nest, no eggs were laid this season.
Kiewit and Sons is not permitted to begin blasting until Aug. 15, and the company is expected to present a report on the eagle nest revelation to the Ministry of Environment in order to expedite blasting, said Sea-to-Sky Highway Project spokesperson Rick Hyde.
But NEST members still want the work delayed until August.
"NEST has requested the provincial Ministries of Environment and Transportation delay bedrock blasting and soil nail drilling within 1,000 metres of the nest and delay land clearing, grubbing and excavation within 500 metres until the end of the designated nesting season on Aug. 15 to ensure the least disruptive environment," stated a July 5 NEST news release.
NEST maintained this protective measure will maximize the chances of a successful breeding season in 2006 by creating a stable climate during the remaining five weeks of the 2005 nesting season.
"It is important highway upgrade work involving blasting and land clearing, grubbing, excavation be completed within the immediate vicinity of the nest prior to the beginning of the 2006 breeding/nesting season in January," the group stated.
