Thank you to the City of Corner Brook's municipal staff and Town Council for being such welcoming hosts for our 2025 Spring AGM! Your support, organization of, and participation in the event was incredibly appreciated and played a key role in ensuring the success of the event. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the tour of the City - the Dome Greenhouse, Captain James Cook Lookout, the Man in the Mountain and, of course, City Hall, were just some of the highlights! The AGM certainly showcased what the City has to offer. We would also like to extend our thanks to each of the municipal representatives for attending, and participating in the events throughout the weekend. Your participation strengthens SAM as an organization, and continues the connections we all share in conservation. |
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Our bi-annual meetings are a great opportunity for representatives from our member municipalities, invited guests and our partner organizations to share conservation and stewardship success stories and challenges. The AGM is an opportunity for like-minded communities to showcase their involvement and implementation of their habitat conservation agreement and in seeking to become a sustainable community. It is also a chance to become inspired by work being done in other municipalities and bring those ideas back to your community. |
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2025 Newfoundland and Labrador Habitat Conservation Workshop |
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Thank you to those who attended the 2025 NL Habitat Conservation Workshop! It was a great success, bringing together a diverse group of people practicing conservation to engage in rich, multi-perspective discussions. The Habitat Conservation Workshop aspired to be a gathering of those involved in and dedicated to the management and conservation of natural lands and wildlife habitat in the province, and brought together a strong community of practice to: promote knowledge sharing, foster collaboration, and ultimately advance action to stimulate solutions to identified issues. The goal of this workshop was to sustainably manage, in particular, our natural lands, for future generations, with a theme of "Conservation, Connections and Community" and a focus on provincial wetland management practices and policy. This workshop was open to various levels of government, Indigenous communities, ENGOs, industry representatives, and other habitat conservation practitioners. |
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Visit the link below for a full summary of the Workshop, including a collection of photos! |
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Habitat Conservation:
New Towns and Expansions on Agreements |
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The Town of Port Rexton is a community steeped in history with a close connection to the land, and is home to the impressive and internationally recognized Skerwink Trail that boasts remarkable views of both coastal and forested habitat. A salmon river also runs through the municipal boundary of Port Rexton, which supports a strong angling and fishing tradition in the community. |
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Port Rexton has established two Conservation Areas (CA): the Skerwink Trail CA and the Salmon Cove River CA, committing to conserving approximately 200 acres of important wildlife habitat. These areas contain significant habitat for a variety of wildlife, including waterfowl, shorebirds, songbirds, mammals, and salmon. The Skerwink Trail is a recognized birding hotspot with 75+ bird species identified at this location, including species like Black guillemot, Double-crested cormorant, Northern waterthrush, White-throated sparrow, and Boreal chickadee. The provincially vulnerable Northern goshawk has been observed in the area. The Salmon Cove River CA encapsulates the scheduled salmon river on their eastern municipal boundary, and will help maintain an intact riparian buffer around the river helping to sustain the health of the river. |
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The Town of York Harbour is located on the west coast of Newfoundland, located on the southern shore of the Bay of Islands. It is a beautiful coastal community nestled between the municipalities of Lark Harbour and Humber Arm South. |
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York Harbour has established the Lagoon CA, committing to conserving approximately 45 acres of important wildlife habitat. The Town recognizes that the Lagoon provides habitat for species considered imperiled or vulnerable, including Common eider, American wigeon, Northern pintail, and Great blue heron. The surrounding vegetation provides suitable habitat for songbirds including Song sparrow, shorebirds including Semipalmated sandpiper, and seabirds including Common tern. And, although it is not a part of the designated CA, the marine environment into which the Lagoon empties is known to be valuable eelgrass habitat. Eelgrass is a group of aquatic grass species that provide food and shelter for many animals, including fish and waterfowl. These waters are also considered an Atlantic salmon marine refuge by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), as they provide important resting habitat for them during their migration. |
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The City of Corner Brook initially signed their agreement in 2018, including just one CA: the Wild Cove CA, which encompassed the Wild Cove Fen - a popular birding site and home to some plants not found anywhere else in the province. This year, their agreement was amended to add one new CA - the Hughes Brook Estuary CA, expand upon the existing Wild Cove CA, and two new Stewardship Areas (SAs) - the Humber River SA and the Corner Brook Stream SA, increasing the amount of conserved wildlife habitat in the City up to 1,118 acres. |
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Wild Cove, including the unique Wild Cove Fen, has an abundance of vegetation to support large populations of waterfowl. Commonly seen in the area are Greater scaup and a diversity of gull species. The Fen also supports three rare plants: Rattlesnake root and Northern bog aster, which are only known to be found in this one location in the province, as well as Showy ladyslipper. The Hughes Brook Estuary is a saltwater estuary/marsh at the outflow of Hughes Brook encompassing some of the most valuable wildlife habitat within the City. The estuary is known breeding habitat for rarer wildlife such as the Rusty blackbird. |
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The Humber River is a major waterway in Western Newfoundland, originating in the Long-Range Mountains and emptying out into the Bay of Islands. It is one of the best scheduled salmon rivers in the world. The Corner Brook Stream System winds its way throughout the city and into the Bay of Islands. Numerous organizations, businesses, and community interest groups have invested time, effort, and resources into the development of these beloved community lands and a network of trails has been established along much of its extent. These continued efforts have led the site to becoming a rich brooding site for American black duck, and a consistent breeding site for Red-winged blackbird. |
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The City of St. John's initially signed their agreement in 2004, including just one CA: Lundrigan's Marsh - the largest cattail marsh in eastern Newfoundland This year, the agreement was amended to add 2 new CAs: the Southside Hills CA and the Cape Spear Wetlands CA, increasing the amount of conserved wildlife habitat in the City up to 1,456 acres. |
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The Southside Hills CA, spanning from Fort Amherst Road to Blackhead Road, protects the wetland habitat located there, and provides a buffer to this portion of the East Coast Trail. The Cape Spear CA covers the predominantly bog wetlands south of Parks Canada Cape Spear Lighthouse National Historic Site and encompasses a portion of the East Coast Trail. All wetland types are found within the conservation area: bog, fen, swamp, marsh, and open water. As a result, a myriad of flora and fauna species can be found within the CA's boundaries, and reflect on the biodiversity of the habitat. Ericaceous shrubs like Labrador tea, Leatherleaf, and Sweet gale are common, while herbaceous plants include Blue flag iris, Ostrich fern, and Pitcher plants. An extremely high abundance of birding biodiversity can be found here, including waterfowl, songbirds, shorebirds and seabirds, with breeding and nesting evidence present. This area provides habitat for critically imperiled, imperiled, or vulnerable species, including Red knot, King eider, Harlequin duck, Surf scoter, Black scoter, Sora, Black bellied plover, American golden-plover, Semipalmated plover, Rusty blackbird, Short-eared owl, Northern goshawk and others. Additionally, sightings of Atlantic puffin, Murres, Razorbills, and Snowy owls have been noted in the area. |
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SAM's Board of Directors is composed of 4 volunteer Directors who are elected from our SAM Member Communities (one of whom is elected as Chair of the Board) to manage the administrative and financial affairs of the corporation. These directors commit to two years of dedication, including attending SAM's AGM and Fall Regional Meetings (travel included), and approximately two conference calls per year. |
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Hayward Morgan was born in the Town of Gander, and had the privilege of growing up in Carmanville, Deer Lake, and a variety of other places across the island as his father worked in the forest industry. As a child he filled his time during the summer working at his father's saw mill - this is where he was introduced to logging and forestry. This opened up his interest for careers working with machinery and heavy equipment such as construction, oil exploration and 25 years in Canada's mining industry bringing him to 5 different provinces and the Northwest Territories. In 2019, Hayward joined the Habitat Committee in the Town of Carmanville, and in 2021 became a member of the Town Council. For him, life has come full circle and he gets to share the "before and after" to the next generation. |
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SAM Environmental Stewardship Award
Student Scholarship Winners |
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One pillar of the SAM Environmental Stewardship Award is the Student Scholarship - used to recognize students who have gone above and beyond in their community to support wildlife habitat stewardship, demonstrating an active commitment to conservation in Newfoundland and Labrador through their studies or in their free time. |
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First awarded in 2015, this award is a $1000 scholarship awarded to a student either from or studying in Newfoundland and Labrador whose interests, activities and post-secondary goals are focused on the conservation of habitat in this province. |
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This year there was such an exceptional pool of applicants that SAM has decided to award not one, but TWO scholarships this year! SAM would like to congratulate Samiran Chauhan from the City of St. John's, and Logan Slaney from the Town of Torbay! |
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Winners of the 2025 SAM Student Scholarship
Left: Samiran Chauhan from the City of St. John's
Right: Logan Slaney from the Town of Torbay |
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Samiran Chauhan is a Grade 12 student at Gonzaga High School with plans to pursue engineering. As president of Gonzaga’s revitalized Environmental Club, she led a range of creative initiatives, including repurposing waste into basketball hoops to promote recycling, organizing cleanups, and coordinating climate-focused presentations. Outside of school, she volunteers at her local retirement home and Hindu temple, where she shares and promotes environmental awareness. Her efforts reflect a strong commitment to climate action and sustainability in both school and the broader community. Inspired by these experiences, she aims to develop innovative technologies that address global environmental challenges and protect ecosystems through a career at the intersection of engineering and conservation. |
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Logan Slaney is a grade 12 student at Holy Trinity High School in the Town of Torbay. He is a dedicated environmental advocate with a strong passion for science and conservation. Throughout high school, he took part in his school's environmental club, participated in local clean-ups, and shared sustainability projects at science fairs to inspire change in his province. During his summers, he worked on the Town of Torbay Conservation Corps NL Green Team. In the Fall he will be going to Memorial University to begin his Bachelor of Science in Biology, and he plans to focus his studies on biology and conservation. Logan's long term goal is to have his own youth-based climate action group here in Newfoundland and Labrador. |
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 | | Photos of Logan's Conservation Efforts |
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 | | SAM's Conservation Biologist Natalie Parsons (center) with Jess Turner of Intervale Associates (left), and Sarah Maher of the Wilder Institute (right) at the 2nd Annual Caribou and Friends Festival. |
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Conservation Biologist Willem has been continuing to facilitate the installation of additional CoastReach Stands across the province - including recently installing one in the Town of Bauline. |
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In addition to core programming and support for our members, there are several upcoming projects we will be engaged in: |
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Popsicle Pete and the Hope for
Piping Plover in Cape Freels |
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Written by IBEC's Jessica Vincent |
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It all began with the arrival of a lone male - affectionately named Popsicle Pete. He was observed traveling between beaches in the area, likely in search of a mate. As the first Piping plover recorded in Cape Freels in over 11 years, they weren’t sure if he would stay, and there was little hope he would find a companion. |
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To everyone's delight, just a week later, he was spotted with a second Plover! Since then, the two have been inseparable and are often seen together on various beaches throughout Cape Freels. They’ve named his companion Penelope Peach. Giving the birds names helps foster a stronger connection with the local community—encouraging people to take greater care around them and reduce the likelihood of disturbance. |
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While IBEC haven’t yet confirmed a nest, the pair continues to be regularly observed in the Cape Freels area, and they remain hopeful that nesting activity may soon follow. Based on their monitoring efforts in Deadman’s Bay and the Lumsden area, this pair remains the only Piping plovers recorded in the Bonavista North region this season. |
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This remarkable sighting was an unexpected but a welcomed surprise and serves as a hopeful indicator that IBEC's conservation efforts in Cape Freels through the Community Nominated Priority Places (CNPP) Project are making a difference. Although this is currently the final year of projected funding for the CNPP, IBEC remains hopeful that the outreach and stewardship they’ve fostered will have lasting impacts. |
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Whether or not the CNPP continues, IBEC is committed to supporting the protection of species like the Piping plover and their fragile habitats—and to encouraging both communities and visitors to keep playing a positive role in environmental stewardship across the region. |
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Species of importance found within SAM’s Conservation Areas |
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The Rusty blackbird (Euphagus carolinus) is a medium-sized blackbird with a slender bill and medium-length tail. They are closely related to grackles, but the Rusty blackbird is thinner-billed and shorter-tailed than Common grackle. This bird prefers wet forested areas, breeding in the boreal forest across northern Canada, and migrating southeast to the United States to over-winter. They have black plumage with faint green and purple shine, and the female is greyer-brown. Breeding males are dark glossy black. "Rusty" refers to the brownish plumage they sport during winter. Adults have a pointed bill and a pale yellow eye. |
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Look for Rusty blackbirds in wet areas, including flooded woods, swamps, marshes and the edges of ponds. These moist habitats are their favorite foraging areas in winter and during migration. During the breeding season, they favor bogs, beaver ponds and wet woods in boreal forest. Hughes Brook, Newfoundland is a shared ecologically and culturally significant waterway that flows through and forms the boundaries between the municipalities of Irishtown-Summerside, Hughes Brook, and Corner Brook. A freshwater waterway that runs to a saltwater marsh estuary before ultimately emptying into the Bay of Islands, Hughes Brook encompasses some very ecologically valuable habitat - most importantly, it is known breeding habitat Rusty blackbirds. Breeding evidence has been found on the Northern Peninsula, in the St. George’s Bay area, in central, and in Terra Nova National Park ( Newfoundland Breeding Bird Atlas). |
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Rusty blackbirds have declined significantly in recent decades. The reasons are unclear, but loss of habitat is likely a major contributor to the decline. The habitat loss is likely due to multiple factors, including development for oil, gas, and mining industries, hydroelectric projects, and the clearing of forests for forestry. Citizen Science projects such as the North American Breeding Bird Survey and Christmas Bird Count have determined that rusty blackbirds have dropped 85%–98% in the past 40 years. Sighting submission services such as eBird are encouraging birders to keep track of rusty blackbirds. The Rusty blackbird is a Species of Special Concern in Canada, listed under the federal Species at Risk Act (SARA), and is listed as Imperiled/Vulnerable under the Newfoundland and Labrador Endangered Species Act. This bird is endemic to North America and an important indicator of wetland health. |
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Did you know? You can follow SAM on Social Media! Check us out on Facebook and Instagram @ SAM_Stewardship |
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2025 Stewardship AnniversariesWe would like to recognize some significant
Municipal Habitat Stewardship Agreement signing anniversaries.
Congratulations and we look forward to many more years of
conservation and stewardship!
30 years since signed (1995)
Carmanville
Come By Chance
Stephenville Crossing
20 years since signed (2005)
Labrador City
Wabush
15 years since signed (2010)
Burgeo
Cartwright (Table Bay)
10 years since signed (2015)
Bauline
Portugal Cove-St. Philips |
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Do you have a conservation story you would like to see featured in a future newsletter? Send an email with the details to
samengagement995@gmail.com! |
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