Wildlife Management and Monitoring Plans

What is a Wildlife Management and Monitoring Plan (WMMP)?

A WMMP is an important tool for the protection and conservation of wildlife and wildlife habitat. It helps ensure sustainable development by allowing developers to demonstrate how they will mitigate the impacts of their project, remain in compliance with regulatory requirements and address public concern. Developing a WMMP to outline how impacts to wildlife and wildlife habitat will be minimized is considered a best practice for all development projects in the Northwest Territories (NWT).

Is a WMMP mandatory?

As of July 1, 2019, an approved WMMP will be required for development activities that are likely to result in significant disturbance or pose a threat of harm to wildlife, cause substantial damage to wildlife habitat or significantly contribute to cumulative impacts on wildlife or habitat. These WMMPs will need to be approved by the Minister of ECC, and are binding and enforceable.

How do I know if my project needs a WMMP?

Section 95 of the Wildlife Act contains the provisions outlining criteria for when an approved WMMP will be required as well as the mandatory content for such plans. ECC has developed guidelines to clarify requirements and expectations related to WMMPs. As a general rule, approval of WMMPs is intended to apply to larger developments, which are expected to have the most impact. Small projects or activities will generally not require a WMMP.

Wildlife data

Developers are encouraged to submit data on wildlife sightings and other wildlife monitoring to ECC’s Wildlife Management Information System (WMIS). For more information about reporting requirements for WMMPs, see Section 5.3 of the WMMP Process and Content Guidelines.

Contact WMISTeam@gov.nt.ca to discuss the best way to submit your data.

Resources

NWT Species and Habitat Viewer

Use the NWT Species and Habitat Viewer to find map layers for species, ecosystems, habitats and range plans in the NWT.  You can get custom reports based on your location(s) of interest to determine what species at risk and other biodiversity might occur in your project area, and how a proposed development may contribute to new habitat disturbance.

ECC has developed guidelines and templates to assist developers in navigating WMMP requirements and preparing a WMMP. Samples of procedural manuals and data reporting tools are also provided below:

Video