The baseline inventory is the tool from which the Canada South Land Trust will monitor property, access change over time and ensure the easement agreement is being upheld. A baseline inventory records the condition of the property in words and pictures at the time of the easement registration or shortly thereafter. The baseline report outlines the specific features of the property that are being protected, why they are being protected, and their current condition. It then becomes the benchmark for monitoring purposes and if necessary becomes the enforcement tool should violations occur on the easement property. This explanation of a baseline inventory was provided by the Ontario Land Trust Alliance's A Volunteer's Manual for Land Management (2005). The Manual includes a checklist of the information that should be included in the baseline inventory.
Over the past few months, the Land Trust has been drawing together biological information on the Balkwill property including a plant inventory and a record of the property captured on film. Preliminary work has begun on a record of the property using aerial photography, which will be the basis for producing mapping of the property.