Page 2 of 18 Reference Guide for Fish and Mussel Species at Risk A Referral Review Tool for Projects Affecting Aquatic Species at Risk 1.0 Purpose The fish and mussel Species at Risk (SAR) maps are provided to aid in determining whether development proposals should be referred to Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) as a result of the potential presence of SAR and the impacts of the development propo [...] Page 3 of 18 • Section 58 – prohibits the destruction of critical habitat of any EXP, END, or THR Schedule 1 species (Refer to Appendix 1 for additional details about SARA) The prohibitions apply to EXP species when there is a recommendation in an associated recovery strategy for the reintroduction of the species back into Canada. [...] Note that the identification of critical habitat is in various stages of development; the delineation of critical habitat extents on the maps does not distinguish between critical habitat that has been formally identified in a finalized recovery strategy and critical habitat that is currently being proposed by DFO. [...] Your request for review form should include a description of the works, a SAR map with the project location, a description of the project impacts on the SAR, the footprint of the project (dimensions), type of habitat impacted, photographs of the site where the impact will occur, an indication of whether the impacts are permanent or temporary and a short description of the construction process. [...] The following scenarios are examples of projects that need to be authorized under SARA prior to the initiation of any project construction activities: • Project activities that may cause incidental harm to a SAR, in particular the contravention of any one of the three SARA prohibitions (Sections 32, 33 and 58); • Field surveys to detect or relocate fish or mussel SAR: o Monitoring programs for SAR