Scientific and Technical Services in Support of Development of Draft Operational Planning for Removal of Invasive Predators to Burrow Nesting Seabirds in Scott Islands Marine National Wildlife Area

1.0 PURPOSE

1.1 OBJECTIVE

To engage the services of a contractor who has the knowledge and expertise to:

1. Research, develop and design methodologies and approaches for pre-eradication efforts to target removal of invasive mammalian predators (American mink and raccoon).
2. Review and assess pre-eradication ecosystem monitoring approaches to develop a monitoring plan that will allow for effective measurement of island habitat restoration and conservation goals, including biosecurity planning.
3. Review and compile necessary background information and expertise to assess the logistics and challenges to develop a draft operational plan to successfully remove invasive predators from Cox and Lanz islands in the Scott Island archipelago – including assessment of gaps in mapping and detailed topographical coverage of target islands.

1.2 BACKGROUND

Environment and Climate Change Canada’s Canadian Wildlife Service (CWS) requires specialized expertise in biological knowledge and implementation of techniques and approaches related to removal of invasive mammalian predators from remote offshore seabird islands.

The Scott Islands marine National Wildlife Area (SImNWA) comprises over 11,500 km² of marine environment located off the northwestern tip of Vancouver Island, British Columbia. The marine NWA surrounds the Scott Islands, an archipelago that supports the largest concentration of breeding seabirds in Pacific Canada and hosts millions of nesting seabirds each year, including 90% of Canada’s tufted puffins, and 74% of Canada’s Cassin’s auklet (55% of the global population). The Scott Islands marine NWA was established for the conservation of migratory seabirds, species at risk, and the habitats, ecosystem linkages and marine resources that support these species.

Of the five islands that comprise the Scot Islands archipelago, almost all of the breeding birds occur on Triangle Island. The two largest islands in the chain, Cox and Lanz, no longer support burrowing seabird breeding populations due to the presence of introduced mink and raccoon. Given the distance of the islands from the mainland and the distances between islands in the archipelago, initial feasibility assessments have determined that removal of predators from Cox and Lanz islands is possible and could provide a significant increase in available seabird breeding habitat.

As part of the management planning for the Scott Islands marine NWA, Environment and Climate Change Canada requires the expertise and skills of a qualified contractor with relevant knowledge, background and experience to assist in providing necessary planning and recommendations to operationalize the feasibility assessments for the removal of introduced predators from Cox and Lanz islands within the SImNWA.

2.0 REQUIREMENTS

2.1 THE WORK

The Contractor will provide technical expertise to assist Environment and Climate Change Canada in advancing the framework to operationalize planning for the removal of introduced, invasive mammalian predators from two remote offshore islands that will include:

• Review and assessment of available alternatives to operationalize removal of American mink and raccoon from Cox and Lanz islands to provide recommendations on methodologies and approaches, including implementation of pre-eradication trials to test efficacy of proposed methodologies
• Review of biosecurity measures and approaches and provide recommendations that may be employed to prevent introduction of new invasive predators to the target islands, during and after primary predator removal efforts, with a focus on rats and mice.
• Review applicable ecosystem monitoring approaches and provide recommendations for a comprehensive monitoring plan that is able to quantify and measure intended conservation outcomes between pre and post eradication conditions.
• Assessment of site specific logistical considerations to Cox and Lanz islands in order to assess and validate any recommended approaches for implementation of a predator eradication program. This may include a detailed geographic assessment of the islands to assess existing mapping and topographical gaps.