February and March SAM Community Updates

Blast Hole Pond Management Unit in Portugal Cove St. Philip's Municipal Stewardship By the Numbers Here at the Stewardship Association of Municipalities we have been working hard on updating our maps of Management Units across the province. With the signing of agreements in Indian Bay and New-Wes-Valley, we’ve now reached over 41 000 acres (over 16 700 hectares) of protected wildlife habitat! Great things can be accomplished when we work together and we’re proud to have worked with so many of you in achieving this impressive result. Continue reading on our blog to learn more fun facts that we discovered while mapping management areas this winter. SAM Network News & Updates Save the date for the upcoming SAM AGM in Torbay on June 2-3. Invitees will be notified by email this week. Please register by Friday, May 19.

Nest Boxes: Carmanville SAM and Ducks Unlimited Canada staff partnered with the Carmanville Habitat Committee to install 8 nest boxes for cavity nesting ducks around Carmanville pond. Many of the boxes will be clearly visible from the pond's popular nature trail, and will provide excellent educational opportunities for staff and visitors to the Wetland Interpretation Centre. 20 Years of Stewardship: Torbay The Town of Torbay celebrated an important milestone in March: 20 years since they signed their municipal habitat stewardship agreement! Since then, they have proven themselves a leader in stewardship, by increasing the amount of land protected as management units in 2015, and hosting several SAM meetings (including the next AGM). Congratulations! Environment Fair: Portugal Cove - St. Philip's SAM staff participated in the 2nd annual PC-SP Environment Fair on Earth Day (April 22). Attendees were able to find out about local environmental projects and volunteer opportunities, and were given the opportunity to mark areas of environmental concern on a map of the municipality. Organizers estimate that about 200 people attended.

Carmanville Habitat Committee Beach Clean-Up

Beach Clean-Up and Carmanville Habitat Committee volunteers.

On Saturday, June 4, 2016, the Carmanville Habitat Committee(CHC) sponsored its first beach cleanup, in recognition of World OceansDay.  This day is celebrated annually, on June 8th.  The idea is to create awareness of ocean pollution.  This year's theme was "Healthy Oceans, Healthy Planet" with the focus on reducing plastic pollution, which harms many aquatic species.  More than a dozen volunteers, including several committee members and the mayor, Keith Howell, met at the government wharf Saturday morning.

Volunteers spent three hours picking up garbage and debris along the north side of Carmanville Harbour.  In this short time period, over 60 bags of garbage were collected, along with numerous larger items such as chairs, artificial Christmas trees, TV's, etc. 

Some of the garbage removed from the beach,

The Carmanville Harbour Authority provided refreshments to the volunteers following the cleanup.  In addition, DFO supplied the CHC with work gloves, reusable shopping bags, back packs and pencils to distribute to the volunteers in appreciation for their efforts.

The CHC would like to thank all those who volunteered in any way to make this beach cleanup a success.  We look forward to sponsoring additional beach cleanups in the future. By keeping our beaches free of plastics and other debris, we can ensure a healthier ocean and a healthier planet.

All About Eiders: Eider shelter installation near Musgrave Harbour

A volunteer carries an eider shelter on South Penguin Island

This is South Penguin Island, a small uninhabited island located north of Musgrave Harbour and northeast of Carmanville. In addition to being incredibly scenic, it is also important nesting habitat for several species of seabirds, including the largest duck in the Northern hemisphere: the common eider. Of the three sub populations that breed and winter in Canada, two are found in Newfoundland and Labrador: Northern and American.

SAM President Linda Bailet checks old eider shelters for signs of nesting.

On a calm afternoon in late September, Carmanville Councillor and new SAM President Linda Bailet accompanied local fishermen and residents of Musgrave Harbour and surrounding area on a mission to install 20 new eider shelters. Nest shelters, which were built locally with funding provided by Ducks Unlimited Canada NL, have been installed by volunteers and DUC NL staff for several years, and both North and South Penguin Island are now host to dozens of nest boxes. Common eiders nest on the ground under low, shrubby trees called tuckamore or in thick grass near the shore. Constructed shelters protect nesting eiders from predation when this natural shelter is not available. 

Eider shelters old and new, South Penguin Island

In addition to installing new shelters, old shelters were checked for signs of use by nesting eiders and other seabirds. Eiders line their nests with a distinctive soft grey down that is one of the most effective natural insulators in the world. 

A peek inside an old eider shelter reveals eider egg shell fragments. 

Organizations like Ducks Unlimited Canada and the Sea Duck Joint Venture support research programs to study these birds, but there is still a lot to learn about their migration routes, characteristics of the best breeding spots and how population trends are changing over time.

Volunteers carry eider nest shelters on South Penguin Island

Links

Sea Duck Joint Venture
Ducks Unlimited Canada
Carmanville Wetlands Nature Trail