Port Ryerse is a beautiful, quaint village just SW of Port Dover. The Port Ryerse wind project was approved in August 2014 and appealed by 2 different residents to the Environmental Review Tribunal (ERT). The ERT was delayed for 5 months when the presence of Barn Owls was documented in the project area. The wind developer, now Boralex, was required by MNRF to file for an overall benefit permit as the Barn Owl is Endangered on the Ont. Species at Risk list. MNRF had to write up the first Barn Owl permit for this project since Barn Owls are so rare and never been found in any other wind project area in Ont. As it says in the permit notice,

“The Endangered Species Act (ESA) allows some activities to proceed under a clause 17(2)(c) permit with specific conditions if: avoidance and reasonable alternatives have been considered; adverse effects will be minimized; and an overall benefit will be achieved for the species in Ontario. Providing an overall benefit to a protected species under the ESA involves undertaking actions to improve circumstances for the species in Ontario. Overall benefit is more than “no net loss” or an exchange of “like for like”. Overall benefit is grounded in the protection and recovery of the species at risk and must include more than mitigation measures or “replacing” what is lost.”