Committed to the conservation, enhancement and stewardship of habitat across Newfoundland and Labrador

The Town of Bauline is located on the Northeast Avalon Peninsula, within the Northeastern Barrens Subregion of the Maritime Barrens Ecoregion. This region is characterized by barren ecosystems, interspersed with peatland and forest. Wetland ecosystems are dispersed throughout the area, comprised of hundreds of ponds, mixed with slope bogs, basin bogs, and fen.

The Town of Bauline signed a Habitat Conservation Agreement, designating 7 areas within their municipal planning boundaries as Conservation Areas (CAs), totaling 837 acres of conserved land: Rocky Pond, Pouch Cove Gully, Bakeapple Marsh, Bauline Rocky Pond, Rogers Tilt Pond/Church Pond/Little Gully/Cove Pond, Rogers Gullies and the Shoreline. The majority of areas conserved under the agreement are freshwater wetlands - they contain ideal feeding, nesting and staging habitat for numerous waterfowl species, as well as other wildlife.

​

​Rocky Pond (56 acres) is located approximately 100 meters off Route 21 and contains ideal feeding and staging habitat for numerous waterfowl species, as well as other wildlife. Pouch Cove Gully (22 acres) is located on the northern end of Bauline Line in the immediate vicinity of the Route 21 exit. The CA includes a section of Bauline River, as well as three gullies; First Gully, Second Gully and Pouch Cove Gully. Bakeapple Marsh (25 acres) is located north off of Bauline Line and east of Duck Pond - this mosaic of wetlands is not only a significant site for many wildlife species but is also important for its water-holding capabilities, which help aid in flood mitigation. Bauline Rocky Pond (82 acres) includes the pond, the little pond north of it, and the mosaic of wetlands extending to Bauline Line. Rogers Tilt Pond/Church Pond/Little Gully/Cove Pond (148 acres) includes several small open water ponds just south of Bauline and contains large areas of intact, old-growth forest. Rogers Gullies (174 acres) is a nutrient intact, dense mixed bog/fen complex wetland that lies south of the town, west of Duck Pond and east of the Rogers Tilt Pond - applying protection to this area establishes ecosystem and watershed continuity, protecting the watershed upstream, downstream and in between. Bauline has a very unique shoreline coastal habitat with steep coastlines and rock cliffs that spans nearly 6 kilometers from the outflow of Crow Head Pond to Ore Head - by establishing the Shoreline as a CA (336 acres) they are supporting the continued preservation of this coastal region in partnership with the East Coast Trail Association, as a portion of that area encapsulates the White Horse Path.

​

These forested areas provide nesting habitat for several bird species including, Yellow-rumped warbler (Dendroica coronata), Pine grosbeak (Pinicola enucleator), Boreal chickadee (Poecile hudsonicus), Northern flicker (Colaptes auratus), Blue jays (Cyanocitta cristatta), Canada jays (Perisoreus canadensis), Bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), and the endangered Red crossbill (Loxia curvirostra). A number of waterfowl have been observed utilizing these areas including Ring-necked ducks (Aythya collaris), American black ducks (Anas rubripes), Common goldeneye (Bucephala clangula) and Wood duck (Aix sponsa). Vegetation consists of Larch (Larix laricina) and Balsam fir (Abies balsamea) trees, common shrubs and low growing herbaceous species such as Sweet gale (Myrica gale), Bog-laurel (Kalmia polifolia), Labrador tea (Ledum groenlandicum), Blue flag iris (Iris versicolor) and Pitcher plant (Sarracenia purpurea). There are several open water ponds/marshes, with varying levels of emergent vegetation, including Pond lilies (Nymphaea) and a variety of common sedge and grass species surrounding pond edges.