Ronald Lake Bison Herd Camera Monitoring Program

The Ronald Lake Bison Herd (RLBH) is a genetically distinct and disease-free population located south of Wood Buffalo National Park. Teck Resources’ proposed Frontier Oil Sands Project overlaps with the southern portion of the herd’s range, raising concerns about potential impacts on this sensitive population. To assess these impacts, Teck contracted Golder Associates to implement a remote camera monitoring program from 2013 to 2014. The primary objective of the program was to evaluate bison responses to the Frontier drilling activities, with a secondary goal of assessing bison use of existing disturbances such as well pads and linear features. This interim report presents preliminary findings based on the first retrieval of remote camera data.

Bison were observed using disturbed sites, though at a significantly lower frequency than undisturbed areas. The current habitat suitability index model developed by Golder for Shell classifies all industrial disturbances, except cutblocks, as non-habitat and applies large zones of influence around them. Preliminary results suggest that while bison prefer undisturbed habitats, they do occasionally use disturbed areas, particularly where winter access across sedge meadows does not diminish their suitability as grazing habitat the following year. Furthermore, canopy clearing associated with winter access can lead to increased graminoid growth, enhancing forage availability for bison in subsequent seasons.