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.

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. We thought we’d share some other fun facts  that we discovered while mapping management areas this winter.

Limestone Barrens Species at Risk habitat in Port aux Choix 

• Average habitat area protected by a wetland Municipal Habitat Stewardship Agreement (there are 35): 1473 acres (596 hectares)

• Average habitat area protected by a Species at Risk Municipal Habitat Stewardship Agreement (there are 2): 17.4 acres (7 ha)

• Largest single Management Unit (MU) in the province: Goose River Bog in Happy Valley - Goose Bay, at 4295.5 acres (1738 ha)

• Largest single MU on the Island of Newfoundland: St. Georges River in Stephenville Crossing, at 3933 acres (1591.7 ha)

• Smallest single MU: MU D in Port au Choix (Species at Risk agreement for rare Limestone Barrens plants) at 1.4 acres (0.6 ha)

Management Unit in Wabush

•  Largest area protected by a single municipality: 5109.2 acres (2067 ha) in HV-GB (followed very closely by 5030 acres (2035 ha) in Wabush)

•  Smallest area protected by  a single municipality: 13 acres (5.3 ha) in Flower’s Cove (Species at Risk area for rare Limestone Barren habitat)

• There are currently 276 incorporated municipalities in the province; 37 (or 13.4%) have signed stewardship agreements and are SAM members.  

Mill Pond Management Unit, Whitbourne

• Most Management Units in a single municipality: Whitbourne (10)

• 1^st municipality: Whitbourne, 1993
• 37^th municipality: New-Wes-Valley, 2017
• 38^th municipality: To be determined!

If you ever have any questions or would like some updated maps of your stewardship areas, please don’t hesitate to contact samconservation@gmail.com – we are here to help. 

December and January SAM Community Updates

New-Wes-Valley signed a Habitat Stewardship Agreement on January 20, 2017.

The SAM community grew again this month when New-Wes-Valley signed a municipal habitat stewardship agreement and became our 37th member. The agreement designates two areas as protected Management Units: Business Pond (1,091 acres) and Queen's Meade (Newtown) (44 acres) for a total of 1,135 acres. Business Pond is an important community hub: the site of a recent art project from Bonavista North Museum & Gallery entitled REDress, and a popular boardwalk trail. Queen's Meade is becoming a birding hotspot, with 38 species sighted in 2015-2016, including the federally endangered Red Knot. The conservation of both of these areas demonstrates the Town's commitment to stewardship and the protection of habitat for wildlife and people. For more information about the Town of New-Wes-Valley and their stewardship agreement, visit their community profile on our website.

SAM Network News & Updates

• World Wetlands Day was February 2! This day marks the adoption of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands in 1971, and is a celebration of the importance of wetlands around the world. The theme this year was Wetlands for Disaster Risk Reduction. We hope you took the opportunity to visit your local wetland, clean-up litter, or read up on these unique habitats. Ducks Unlimited Canada and SAM staff marked the day at Manuels River Interpretation Centre in Conception Bay South, with an afternoon of family activities.
• Applications for Nature NL's Wild Things Scholarship are due on March 20. This $1000 award celebrates residents of NL that are, or will be, enrolled in a post-secondary program, and who have shown an active commitment to the environment through their volunteer activities. Applications are also open for the SAM Conservation Scholarship; apply by May 1.

SAM Conservation Scholarship: Torbay
The second annual SAM Conservation Scholarship was presented to Mr. Willem Peters in Torbay in early December. Mayor Ralph Tapper and SAM President Linda Bailet presented the award to Mr. Peters. Willem is completing a Masters degree in Resource and Environmental Management at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, BC. Applications for the 2017 SAM Conservation Scholarship are due on May 1.

Celebrating 30 years: Codroy Valley Conservation efforts in the Codroy Valley reach a big milestone this year. On May 27, 1987, the Grand Codroy Estuary became the first (and remains the only) wetland in NL to be classified as a Wetland of International Significance under the Ramsar Convention. Thirteen years before, in 1974, local residents came together to request a closure to hunting in the Estuary. The local community continues to be a driving force behind conservation and stewardship in the Valley. Green Team 2016: Come By Chance The Town of Come By Chance had a busy season with their Green Team in the summer of 2016. The Team was able to complete several beautification projects around the Come By Chance Estuary, including trail maintenance, litter removal and installing interpretive signage. After a successful season, the Town plans to re-apply for another Team in 2017. Applications for Green Teams are due February 24, apply here.