February 2009
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(It's free!)Also in this issue:
* Indigo initiative
* Snake dog at work
* Why keep feeders clean?
* Our state reptile
Plate update The survey for a new nongame wildlife license plate isn’t online yet, but please stay tuned to your e-mail. Georgia Wild subscribers will receive notice as soon as the questionnaire is available.
WILD FactsSnakes are cold-blooded, or
ectothermic, which means their body temperature matches their surroundings. For example, if the temperature outside is 32 degrees Fahrenheit, a snake’s body temperature is close to freezing. The colder the weather, the less active a snake will be – which is why you’re less likely to see snakes in winter. Be on the lookout on 60-degree or warmer days, though, as snakes become more active. Even in winter, you could find a snake warming in a sunny spot, perhaps in the middle of your favorite hiking trail. Don’t be alarmed. Simply watch where you’re stepping and walk around the snake.
In educationTeens interested in birds and nature can learn more and see some of the hottest birding sites on Georgia’s coast through
Camp TALON, held by Georgia DNR June 14-19 with the
Georgia Ornithological Society and the
Atlanta,
Ogeechee and
Coastal Georgia Audubon societies. St. Simons Island will be base camp. Hands-on projects will be the norm, from monitoring endangered wood storks to banding songbirds. Teen naturalists will learn basic tools of bird research and explore critical habitat types, including on barrier islands few Georgians get to see. Some of the state’s top ornithologists and ecologists will give presentations. Cost: $500 (scholarships available). Ages: 13-17. Capacity: 20. For more, contact Julie Duncan, The Outdoor Discovery School director at the DNR’s
Charlie Elliott Wildlife Center in Mansfield, (770) 784-3059;
julie.duncan@gadnr.org.
Legislative updatesTracking proposed natural resources spending in the economic stimulus bill will prove tricky as lawmakers reshape the massive package daily. The press also is on for energy changes, including climate legislation. For example, the
United States Climate Action Partnership recently announced support for conservation funding from cap and trade revenues. President Obama says his plan for clean energy investments, increased vehicle fuel efficiency and lower greenhouse gas emissions will generate 460,000 jobs. Groups tracking the issues include the
National Wildlife Federation, the
Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies and the
Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership. This
overview (PDF) from Fish and Wildlife Agencies outlines conservation priorities.
*
Options for real-time news and commentary on
Georgia legislation include the
AJC’s Gold Dome Live blog and
Georgia Legislative Watch.
Up close
Gopher tortoise
Gopherus polyphemus
Family: Georgia’s only tortoise,
gopher tortoises grow to nearly 15 inches in carapace length (the
carapace is the upper shell).
Also called: Gophers, gopher turtles. The gopher tortoise is also
Georgia’s state reptile.
Range: Southeastern Louisiana to southwestern South Carolina, and from Georgia’s fall line to southern Florida. Most found in South Georgia and north-central Florida.
Favors: Sandy soils south of the fall line. Key factor is fire, which spurs groundcover growth and keeps dry upland habitats such as longleaf pine and scrub oak forests open.
Digging in: Wide, hard-scaled front feet with large nails are geared for digging burrows, which provide critical refuge from temperature extremes and fires. The tunnels average 6 feet deep and 15 feet long, though some run more than 40 feet. Tortoises often frequent more than one burrow in a year.
Neighbors: Other species such as eastern indigo snakes and
gopher frogs also depend on the burrows.
Eats: Mainly grasses and low-growing plants, such as legumes. Will also dine on less desirables like prickly pear cactus and stinging nettle.
Breeds: Generally April to July. Lays clutch of five to seven eggs in the sandy mound outside burrow. Hatchlings emerge August to October.
Status: State listed as threatened in Georgia. Federally listed as threatened in Louisiana, Mississippi and western Alabama.
Threats: Habitat loss and fragmentation due to intensive forestry, development and fire suppression, disease, invasive species such as fire ants (which destroy eggs and hatchlings), low recruitment of juvenile tortoises (from predation), and gassing burrows, an illegal practice for finding rattlesnakes. Male gopher tortoises take up to 18 years to reach sexual maturity; females, up to 21 years.
Throw down the gular: Adult males will fight over females and burrows, ramming each other with their gular projections, elongated scutes or plates under their neck. Females and males also defend burrows by turning sideways in the tunnels, blocking access.
Sounding off: Disturbed gopher tortoises sometimes hiss loudly when drawing in their head and feet.
Public lands profile
Ohoopee Dunes Natural Area in
Emanuel County is one of Georgia’s most significant natural communities and floristic areas. The central topographic feature of these nearly 3,000 acres divided into five tracts is a ridge of
Kershaw sand dunes, part of the most extensive riverine
sandhill formation in the state. Ohoopee Dunes is home to rare generalist species such as the few-flower gayfeather (
Liatris pauciflora) and specialists such as the state-threatened and fire-dependent sandhill rosemary (
Ceratiola ericoides), found here and on the coasts of other southern states but, oddly, not along Georgia’s coast.
Read the full profile.
Ranger reportsHeron help: DNR officers came to the rescue when a
blue heron lodged its leg in a tree limb about 40 feet high in a west Henry County subdivision Jan. 24. As a crowd watched, Ranger 1st Class Kevin Godbee sized up the situation and called the county fire department to cut the limb, freeing the big bird. Godbee then worked with Ranger 1st Class Travis Sweat to capture it, finally throwing a blanket over the heron, drawing cheers and thanks from onlookers. The rangers took the bird to
Noah’s Ark, a rehabilitation center for animals and a group home for children in Locust Grove. Unfortunately, the heron died hours later, having suffered damage to its leg and tissue in other areas, according to Noah’s Ark.
Not just trash: Cpl. Eric Sanders discovered a large illegal dump site in Rockdale County Jan. 11. In the trash, Sanders found cards with a name and an address, and an envelope with U.S. savings bonds – 19 with a total value of $10,701. He went to the address, talked with a relative who said the family had paid to have the trash hauled off, then showed the woman the bonds. Amazed and grateful, she said they would pay the owner’s health care for a year. Sanders later cited the person hired to haul away the trash for illegal dumping.
Ducks? Following a complaint, Cpl. Ben Payne and Ranger 1st Class Grant Matherly checked three duck hunters after seeing them shoot at red-winged blackbirds at
Phinizy Swamp WMA in Richmond County Jan. 24. One hunter had more than the bag limit of ducks. One received a written warning and “verbal guidance” for shooting at
blackbirds.
Nongame in the news* ESPN: "
Ultralight-led whooping cranes reach Florida," about Wisconsin-Florida migration of 14 young whoopers led by ultralight. (Jan. 30)
* Outdoor News blog: "
Prescribed burning and wildfires," DNR news release posted about prescribed fire vs. wildfires concerning climate change. (Jan. 26)
* University of Florida: "
New disease may cost Florida’s avocado industry millions, UF experts warn," about university research estimating potential impact of laurel wilt disease, deadly to avocado trees, redbays and others, on state's avocado industry. (Jan. 26)
* Washington Post: “
Warming trends alter conservation,” about how policymakers and environmentalists are considering climate change in conservation practices. (Jan. 25)
* The Charlotte Observer: “
Whooping cranes settle on Carolina's coast,” about a handful of whoopers wintering in S.C.’s Lowcountry marshes. (Jan. 25)
* The New York Times: “
Eating the wild,” editorial about how consumption of wild turtles threatens their populations. (Jan. 25)
* “Sustainable Georgia:”
GPB radio interview with John Jensen on North American Amphibian Monitoring program. Click on the Jan. 24 show.
* The Moultrie Observer: “
Undaunted eagles rebuild nest that storm blew down,” about bald eagle pair nesting again in area near Moultrie. (Jan. 22)
* Outdoor News Daily: “
Gov. Perdue announces Forestry for Wildlife partners,” DNR release about Georgia Power, Plum Creek honored for as 2008 Forestry for Wildlife Partnership members. (Jan. 22)
* The (Gainesville) Times: “
Invasive species eating up Georgia, but DNR has a plan,” about draft Georgia Invasive Species Strategy and comments period. (Jan. 22)
* Chattanoogan.com: “
Georgia students can explore nature in poster contest,” about 19th annual Give Wildlife a Chance Poster Contest. (Jan. 21)
* The (Bainbridge) Post-Searchlight: “
Annual bird count nets 92 species,” about 19-year-old Decatur County event led by retired DNR biologist Oscar Dewberry as part of Audubon Christmas bird counts. (Jan. 20)
* The (Bainbridge) Post-Searchlight: “
Whooping cranes visit Climax,” about flight through southwestern Georgia of 14 crane chicks in Operation Migration. (Jan. 19). Also coverage on
BainbridgeGa.com (Jan. 13).
* (Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn.) Star Tribune and others: “
News of the Weird,” includes brief about DNR searching for volunteers to help with frog monitoring routes. (Jan. 16)
* Savannah Morning News: “
Whale rescue attempted off Brunswick,” about DNR crew’s work to disentangle a right whale, at that time the third disentanglement tackled this winter off Georgia’s coast. (Jan. 16)
Follow-ups included Associated Press and more than 400 other media, “
Wind hampers effort to free endangered right whale,” (Jan. 16 and afterward).
* “Georgia Gazette:”
GPB radio interview with Thomas Floyd on North American Amphibian Monitoring routes. Click on the Jan. 15 program. (The interview is about 6:45 minutes into the show.)
* The (Dalton) Daily Citizen: “
Wild Facts: The frogs that ‘chuckle,’” Linda May's brief about Southern leopard frog. (Jan. 13)
* Augusta Chronicle: “
Study sought before canal drains,” about call to postpone draining Augusta Canal and Lake Olmstead until impacts on fish, waterfowl and plants are assessed. (Jan. 13)
* Savannah Morning News: “
A treasure worth saving,” column about illegal fishing in Gray’s Reef and need to protect the national marine sanctuary. (Jan. 12)
* Florida Times-Union: “
Ships blamed for manatee deaths,” about increasing fatal ship strikes in Florida’s Duval County and elsewhere, including in Georgia. (Jan. 10)
* The (Charleston, S.C.) Post and Courier: “
Beetles attacking redbays,” about spread of laurel wilt and fatal impact on redbays. (Jan. 8)
* The Florida Times-Union: “
Eat 'em raw or roasted, then recycle shells for reef,” about UGA Marine Extension Service project collecting oyster and other shells for oyster reef restoration on Sapelo and Tybee islands. (Jan. 8)
* The Beaufort (S.C.) Gazette: “
Biologists concerned dredging Savannah River could affect prehistoric fish,” about concerns deepening the channel will affect shortnose sturgeon. (Jan. 5)
* Bio-Medicine.org: “
Northern right whales head south to give birth, leave genetic 'fingerprints' with NOAA researchers,” about DNA sampling of whales. (Jan. 3)
* Los Angeles Times: “
Asia appetite for turtles seen as a threat to Florida species,” about Asian-fueled turtle trade and concerns about impacts in Florida. (Dec. 27)
Upcoming "Outdoors"
"
Georgia Outdoors" is shown on GPB channels at 9:30 p.m. Fridays, noon and 6 p.m. Saturdays and 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays (
except when other programming intervenes).
Click for schedule on the digital channel GPB Knowledge.
* Kayaking (episode's premiere broadcast), 9:30 p.m. Feb. 13, noon and 6 p.m. Feb. 14, 7:30 p.m. Feb. 17
* Fire ecology, 9:30 p.m. Feb. 20, noon and 6 p.m. Feb. 21, 7:30 p.m. Feb. 24
* Healthy outdoors, 9:30 p.m. Feb. 27, noon and 6 p.m. Feb. 28, 7:30 p.m. March 3
Photo credits (
from top):
* Indigo snake (masthead).
Dirk J. Stevenson/Project Orianne* Entangled right whale aerial view.
Wildlife Trust* Nongame Conservation Section whale disentangling crew, from left, Brad Winn, Kate Sparks, Clay George, Mark Dodd.
* Matt Elliott with indigo snake.
Dirk J. Stevenson/Project Orianne* Gopher tortoise.
John Jensen/Ga. DNR* C.J. at rest and at work.
Rick Lavender/Ga. DNR
* Sandhill rosemary.
Matt Elliott/Ga. DNR* Indigo close-up.
Dirk J. Stevenson/Project Orianne* Brown pelican on Cumberland Island during midwinter bird census.
Kristina Summers/Ga. DNR