ABSTRACT 7th International Symposium on Environmental Concerns in Rights-of-Way Management
TITLE:	Cumulative Effects Assessment and Linear Corridors: The Representative Areas Approach
AUTHOR(S):	Terry Antoniuk - salmo@cadvision.com Salmo Consulting Inc. Calgary, AB, Canada
Cumulative effects assessment differs from conventional project-specific impact assessment by considering larger geographic study areas, longer time frames, and unrelated projects or activities. Cumulative assessments of right-of-way proposals pose particular challenges for several reasons: (1) no prescribed or standard methods currently exist; (2) there are inherent, but frequently unrecognized, differences between project-specific cumulative effects assessments and those done for resource management or planning purposes; and (3) conventional approaches are more applicable to developments that are isolated in space rather than in long, linear corridors. The “representative areas” approach described here has been successfully used in recent federally and provincially regulated pipeline proposals in western Canada. With this approach, assessment of cumulative environmental effects is conducted for representative areas comprised of one or more 1:50,000 scale map sheets. These areas were selected to include multiple project facilities or activities and to reflect biophysical conditions and administrative boundaries. Impact analyses conducted for these biophysical conditions and administrative boundaries. Impact analyses conducted for these representative areas consider indices of landscape conditions and compare these to established or derived thresholds for indicator species or groups. The relative merits and disadvantages of this approach are discussed from the perspective of proponents, regulators, environmental organizations, and practitioners. The use of representative areas and landscape indices is concluded to be a proven alternative for linear projects of all sizes. Keywords: Cumulative effects, landscape indices, representative areas, thresholds, study area, impact assessment Ref#: 3-3