Stewardship Association of Municipalities

Stephenville Crossing

SAM Member Since: April 1995

Area Protected: 3,933 acres

Stephenville Crossing is a seaside town which has been incorporated since 1958. Early settlers in the community worked in the fishing, farming, logging and construction industry, and once the Earnest Harmon Air Force Base started in 1941, the community population increased from 925 to 1,945. Today the population is approximately 2,000 and the major source of employment is the hospital in Stephenville and other areas within the construction and service industries. The Natural History Society of Newfoundland and Labrador cites 198 species of birds are found within "the Crossing".

Conservation Area

The St. George's River Conservation Area is made up of Nardine's Pond, Little River, Main Gut and the estuary of Harry's River and a portion of the St. George's River estuary. Nardine's Pond is a small brackish pond with emergent vegetation and abundant invertebrates, making it an excellent spot for nesting waterfowl. Little River is a small, meandering river that flows into the St. George's River Estuary. Northern pintails are commonly seen here, and it is an important brood-rearing area for American wigeon. The Main Gut contains a patterned fen/slope bog complex, as well as extensive beach and sand dunes. This is a good place for viewing osprey, with as many as twenty-five having been seen at one time, hovering and diving for flatfish and sculpins. The St. George's River/Harry's River Estuary is one of the richest areas for waterfowl in Newfoundland. The abundance of eelgrass, invertebrates, arthropods, mollusks, and fish provide rich feeding for a variety of birds such as terns, gulls, shorebirds and other migratory birds during spring and fall migration.