Installing Artificial Nest Burrows as part of the Wilder Institute Burrowing Owl Project - Canadian Forces Base Suffield

This is a proposal to install artificial nest burrows as part of the Wilder Institute Burrowing Owl Project, which has been ongoing since 2016. Wilder Institute is the rebranded Calgary Zoo Foundation and oversees the Zoo's conservation portfolio. The Wilder Institute Burrowing Owl Project is using a technique called head-starting to boost the burrowing owl population in Alberta and contribute to halting this species' decline in prairie Canada.

This program involves collecting owls from nests in the wild, holding them in human care over their first winter, and releasing them the following spring as adults near capture sites. Each spring owls are released into artificial nest burrows and installing additional burrows in the Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Suffield National Wildlife Area (NWA) would increase the program's capacity to help this Endangered species. Each artificial nest burrow consists of a nest box approx. 0.45 m² buried 1.5 m deep. Two tunnels, each 3 m long, extend from this box to the surface. In total, we propose to install nine artificial nest burrows in three sets of three burrows within the CFB Suffield NWA.

Latest update

September 23, 2025 – The public comment period on the project is closed. The Department of National Defence is considering comments received to help inform its determination on whether the carrying out of the project is likely to cause significant adverse environmental effects.

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Key documents

Key documents
Document number Document title File Date
1 Public Comment Period on Intent to Make a Determination - September 3, 2025

Contacts

Graham Dixon-MacCallum
Wilder Institute
Graham Dixon-MacCallum, Population Ecologist, Wilder Institute
1300 Zoo Rd NE
Calgary, Alberta T2E 7V6
Email: GrahamDM@wilderinstitute.com

Sheri McNamara
Department of National Defence
Sheri McNamara, Base Environment Officer
CFB Suffield, Box 6000 St Main
Medicine Hat, Alberta T1A 8K8
Email: Sheri.McNamara@forces.gc.ca


Disclaimer

This map is for illustrative purposes. The markers represent the approximate locations based on available data. More than one marker may be identified for a given assessment.

  • Location

    • Canadian Forces Base Suffield (Alberta)

  • Nature of Activity

    • Other, not otherwise specified
    • Remediation and conservation

  • Assessment Status

    In progress

  • Start Date

    2025-09-03

  • Proponent

    Department of National Defence

  • Authorities

    • Department of National Defence
    • Environment and Climate Change Canada

  • Assessment Type

    Project on federal lands

  • Reference Number

    89863

Nearby assessments

...within 200 kilometres
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