Surprise! Rare darters
found in lower Coosawattee
   The discovery of a federally endangered amber darter in North Georgia’s Coosawattee River raises hope for the survival of a rare fish known from only two other river systems.
   Recent sampling on the Coosawattee below Carters Lake actually produced three surprises: the amber darter (above) and two state-endangered freckled darters (below). Neither species had been documented in the river before.
   The finds reveal the biological diversity of a seldom-sampled waterway. Resource agencies also hope they might factor into the management of flows from Carters Lake dam.
   Brett Albanese, a senior aquatic zoologist with DNR's Nongame Conservation Section, called the catches “amazing.” The amber darter and a freckled darter were netted July 29; the second freckled darter was caught early this month. Both species had been found only in the nearby Conasauga and Etowah river systems.
   Albanese said scientists need to learn more about the status of amber darters in the Coosawattee, where deep water and swift currents make sampling difficult. Noting that the Etowah population is isolated upstream of Lake Allatoona, he said, “We don’t know if this single fish represents a long-distance dispersal from the Conasauga population or if it is an indicator of a local population. In either case, having a third river where this species can survive decreases its overall risk of extinction.”
   More is better for the slender, 2½-inch-long fish that makes its home in riffles. Annual monitoring has shown a stable population of amber darters in the Etowah but a small and possibly declining population in the Conasauga.
   The recent surveys are part of a yearlong inventory of shallow-water habitats and the small fishes that use them in the Coosawattee and Etowah below lakes Carters and Allatoona. The University of Georgia, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Geological Survey, The Nature Conservancy and the DNR are doing the work downstream of the Army Corps of Engineers reservoirs.
   A deeper understanding of what is in each stretch of river fits Fish and Wildlife Service and Georgia State Wildlife Action Plan priorities. Data can also help guide the federal wildlife agency’s input into a basin-wide update of corps water control plans for Carters and Allatoona. Possible genetic links between amber darters in the Coosawattee and the Etowah and Conasauga will be probed.

Unique river

• After surveys in the upper Coosawattee, the river was recognized as one of Georgia’s top three rivers for imperiled fishes in 2009.
• The federally threatened goldline darter is found in Georgia only in the Coosawattee.

Headway on sandhills
1st year of four-state project marks progress
By Matt Elliott
    In June 2009, Georgia and three neighboring states received a $1 million federal grant to increase the quality, quantity and connectivity of prime sandhill habitat. The three-year project was aimed at benefiting gopher tortoises and as many as 54 other sandhill species that need significant conservation measures.
   Georgia, Alabama, Florida, South Carolina and groups such as Project Orianne, The Nature Conservancy and the Gopher Tortoise Council provided $1.66 million in matching money and work for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service grant, part of the State Wildlife Grants Competitive Program.
   Plans called for increasing prescribed fire, removing non-native sand pines and overgrown hardwoods, and thinning pine plantations. These efforts are critical to the open canopy and diverse herbaceous groundcover typical of healthy longleaf pine, turkey oak-dominated sandhills.
   The overriding goal: Restore nearly 40,000 acres of priority public and private sandhill sites, rebuilding habitat for the tortoise and other priority species. The project could help keep gopher tortoises off federal endangered or threatened species lists and set the stage for long-term conservation of sandhills species, from hognose snakes to Bachman’s sparrows.
   One year in, the states and partners have made excellent progress.
   Teaming with The Nature Conservancy of Georgia, Georgia DNR conducted prescribed fires on 4,700 acres at high-priority sandhills sites across the Coastal Plain, including Yuchi Wildlife Management Area, Ohoopee Dunes Natural Area, Fall Line Sandhills Natural Area, and private lands in Marion, Taylor, Talbot and Bryan counties. Also, non-native sand pines have been removed or sold for cutting on nearly 1,000 acres of state and private lands.
    At Ohoopee Dunes in Emanuel County, prescribed fire was conducted on more than 1,000 acres. Many of the areas have not seen fire in many years, leading to buildups of woody underbrush and suppression of grassy groundcover. Shan Cammack with DNR’s Nongame Conservation Section planned and led the prescribed fires.
   “Careful planning and execution produced successful entry burns at Ohoopee Dunes this year,” Cammack said. “With strategic ignition, drier sparse areas were burned hotter while sensitive areas with heavy fuel loads and duff were burned cooler.”
   In Florida, the Gulf Coastal Plain Ecosystem Partnership, a land management public-private cooperative, did prescribed burning on more than 8,400 acres of state lands. Sand pine and hardwoods on another 265 acres were cleared.
   In Alabama, The Nature Conservancy of Alabama and the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources’ State Lands Division burned about 2,500 acres of sandhills on state lands, planted 186 acres of longleaf pine, thinned pine plantations on 122 acres and removed hardwoods on 76 acres.
   During the project’s first year, ecological restoration was initiated on more than 15,000 acres in Alabama, Georgia and Florida.
   The grant also included monitoring to track progress. This component involved baseline gopher tortoise surveys on a subset of properties, plus vegetation sampling and breeding bird surveys.
   All pre-treatment vegetation and monitoring and tortoise surveys have been completed or are in progress. The work has provided some interesting stories.
   Florida is surveying gopher tortoises on the Hutton Unit of the Blackwater Wildlife Management Area in Santa Rosa and Okaloosa counties. Burrow densities have been low, about 0.1 burrows per acre surveyed. Comparatively, densities on the sand ridges of Townsend WMA in Georgia are about one per acre. At Ohoopee Dunes, they are about 0.7 per acre. In sandier soils on some more-regularly burned longleaf-wiregrass ecosystems of southwest Georgia, densities may reach two to three burrows an acre.
    The low densities at the Hutton Unit may be attributed to several factors, including human predation, which was historically higher in northwestern Florida than other parts of the tortoise’s range, and fire suppression before the state acquired the property in 1998.
   Yet, despite fewer burrows, the search at Hutton is anything but boring.
   According to Barbara Almario with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, “Florida’s tortoise survey crew encounters snakes on an almost daily basis. One of the tortoise survey technicians accidentally stepped on an eastern diamondback rattlesnake one day.
   “Fortunately, the snake was a little slow that morning and (the technician) escaped without injury.”
   For the coming year, Georgia DNR is developing restoration plans for several private sites. Federal funding for longleaf planting on state lands has freed some sandhills grant funds. DNR is also considering burning even more acres at Ohoopee Dunes and Townsend, Yuchi and Penholoway WMAs. The hope at Ohoopee is to collaborate with adjacent private landowners on restoring sandhills.

Matt Elliott is a Nongame Conservation Section program manager and coordinator of the sandhills grant work in Georgia.

Out my backdoor
How to number your hummers
By Terry W. Johnson
   August is indeed special. For students, it marks the end of summer vacation. For Georgia sportswomen and men, the opening of squirrel season ushers in the hunting seasons. And for the backyard naturalist, August is truly the month of the hummingbird.
   More hummingbirds visit Georgia backyards this month than at any other time. During hot, sultry August, some homeowners host 100 or more hummingbirds in a day.
   When you have the pleasure of watching so many hummingbirds at one time, it is only human nature to wonder how many you are seeing. However, if you have ever tried to count them, you quickly discover it's no easy task. It almost seems like trying to count the stars in the sky.
   The problem has perplexed wildlife watchers and biologists for years. Although nobody has a foolproof census technique, a couple of methods offer fairly reliable estimates.
   More than a decade ago, Arizona hummingbird enthusiast Stephen Russell devised a novel way to estimate numbers based on how much food hummingbirds consume. Russell tried to account for the many variables that can affect consumption, such as weather, bird size and food availability.
    He weighed a gallon of nectar mixed at one part sugar to four parts water, estimated the weight of hummingbirds visiting his feeders, determined that the feeders provided 70 percent of the birds’ energy needs, and even added a percentage of nectar lost to evaporation, bees and other sources.
   He plugged all into a formula and estimated that a gallon of 1:4 nectar would feed 750 hummingbirds a day. If the birds rely totally on feeders, a gallon would feed only 549 birds.
   During his study, Russell found that on one hot August day with hummingbird numbers at their peak, 8,980 fed in his backyard study area. And you thought you had some hummingbirds!
   Anyway, if you know how much food you have in your feeders in the morning and compare what is left by day’s end you can use Russell’s figures to estimate hummingbirds you hosted that day.
   There are other ways to attack the problem. The technique I recommend is also endorsed by the “First Lady of Hummingbirds,” Nancy Newfield (news profile). This Louisiana researcher and author has studied hummingbirds for more than 30 years. Her method is based on hummingbird banding studies that compared the number of banded birds to unbanded birds caught in a backyard during the peak of hummingbird season.
    Keep in mind this technique only works during summer when hummingbirds are most plentiful. In the Peach State, that means right now.
   Simply wait until you think you are looking at the maximum number of hummingbirds using your feeders at one time. Quickly tally the birds you see and multiply by six. This will provide an estimate as to how many different hummingbirds you are feeding during a day. For example, if you count 30 birds, you are actually feeding approximately 180 hungry hummers.
   Regardless of how many hummingbirds are visiting your backyard feeders this August, enjoy them while you can. Come September, their numbers will rapidly dwindle and leave you waiting for next August and a new explosion of hummingbirds.
   For Stephen Russell's calculations by the quart and a “count-with-eyes-closed” method, read Terry’s full column!

Terry Johnson is a former Nongame program manager with the Wildlife Resources Division, a backyard wildlife expert, and executive director of TERN. His column is a regular Georgia Wild feature.

Georgia SWAP: Part V
Grants for the good of wildlife

State Wildlife Grants mark 10 years of success
By Linda May
    Decades ago, Congress established funding to conserve game animals and sport fish through taxes on hunting and fishing equipment (the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act of 1937 and 1950 Dingell-Johnson Sportfish Restoration Act). These consistent sources of funding yielded tremendous success in management and populations of species hunted and fished. However, no direct funding source existed for conserving the 90 percent of our nation’s vertebrate species not hunted, fished or on the Endangered Species List.
   To answer that need, Congress established the first comprehensive funding for wildlife conservation in 2000 through the State Wildlife Grants Program. This program has provided millions to state fish and wildlife agencies over the past 10 years. Each state’s annual portion is based on land area and population.
    The DNR Wildlife Resources Division applies its share – an average of $1.5 million a year – to projects that keep common species common and prevent wildlife from becoming endangered, protecting creatures and habitats before they become too rare and more costly to protect. Requiring states to match the grants assures local ownership and leverages state and private funds for conservation. In this tight-budget era, the State Wildlife Grants Program shows how limited federal dollars can be invested wisely, saving taxpayers’ money in the long run.  
    To ensure the best use of the grants, Congress charged each state and territory with developing a comprehensive wildlife conservation strategy, also known as a State Wildlife Action Plan, or SWAP. Georgia’s SWAP, completed in August 2005 by the Wildlife Resources Division, guides the use of State Wildlife Grants and other funds. Wildlife throughout the state benefit from the plan’s five broad conservation practices: facilitating land conservation programs, providing financial and technical assistance to private landowners, increasing the use of prescribed fire for habitat restoration, improving wetland protection and restoration methods, and developing a statewide strategy for controlling invasive exotic species.
    The Georgia Land Conservation Program and Conservation Tax Credit Program, created in 2005 and 2006 respectively, have protected about 200,000 acres across the state. In addition, 12,000 acres of state Department of Transportation wetland and stream mitigation lands have been placed under DNR management for wildlife and public recreation. Conservation programs for private landowners also protect wetlands, endangered species, and working farms and forests. (DNR's "Landowner’s Guide to Conservation Incentives in Georgia" was recently updated). 
   State Wildlife Grants allowed the DNR to increase the capacity of its prescribed fire team, leading to the restoration of thousands of acres of high-priority, fire-dependent natural communities on state lands. On average, 33,000 acres have been burned annually for the past five years. DNR staff and conservation partners also collaborated to create a statewide smoke management plan and form the Georgia Prescribed Fire Council.
   While habitat destruction is the main threat to native species, invasive species are the next biggest problem. To combat non-native invaders such as kudzu, Chinese privet, feral hogs and flathead catfish, DNR worked with an advisory committee to develop a statewide invasive species strategy. The department also joined the Georgia Forestry Commission, Georgia Department of Agriculture, and University of Georgia as members of the Georgia Invasive Species Task Force in 2009. The task force and the invasive species strategy provide guidance for assessing and controlling harmful non-native plants, animals and disease organisms, protecting native flora and fauna as well as human health and the state’s economy.
    DNR is revising the State Wildlife Action Plan to address new information and conservation challenges. Monitoring and research funded by State Wildlife Grants has provided updated information on the distribution and status of some species and habitats. Also, new threats such as white-nose syndrome in bats have emerged. Recent climate change studies emphasize a greater need to assess the vulnerability of sensitive species and develop strategies to increase their chances of survival. New partnerships and planning initiatives, such as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Landscape Conservation Cooperatives, provide opportunities for agencies to assess conservation needs regionally.  
    Wildlife across the U.S. continue to lose habitat every day. State Wildlife Grants help wildlife departments fulfill their responsibility to conserve wildlife and the places they live for future generations. However, this funding is not permanent; it must be appropriated annually by Congress.
   To show your support for continued federal cost-sharing of comprehensive wildlife and habitat conservation in Georgia, come celebrate the 10th anniversary of State Wildlife Grants and the fifth anniversary of Georgia’s State Wildlife Action Plan next month. DNR is playing host to educational presentations across the state. Topics vary from a Sept. 11 bog turtle conservation at Chattahoochee Nature Center in Roswell to a guided walk the same day at Doerun Pitcherplant Bog Natural Area in south Georgia. Check out the complete schedule, stay tuned through Facebook Events or sign up for State Wildlife Grants anniversary updates.

On the Net

• 10th anniversary events in Georgia, including a Sept. 10 presentation on Ohoopee Dunes Natural Area and on Sept. 11 a guided hike at Ohoopee Dunes, a privet-pull at Panola Mountain State Park, a bog walk at Doerun Pitcherplant Bog Natural Area and a bog turtle conservation at Chattahoochee Nature Center.
• Georgia State Wildlife Grant successes
• Georgia Wild SWAP article series.

All eyes on butterflies
Counts, surveys aid conservation, recreation
    The July sky over Big Lazer Creek Wildlife Management Area is blue haze and glaring white clouds. In the sweaty heat of late morning, five people with binoculars and cameras fan out across a grown-up field. They are not birding. Their focus is flying jewels of a different sort: butterflies.
   “What’d you get?” somebody asks. Answers vary from least skippers to southern cloudywings, buckeyes, sleepy oranges and pearl crescents.
   More than 170 butterfly species flit through Georgia. The group at Big Lazer near Talbotton logged more than 30 for a North American Butterfly Association count July 14. The volunteer-powered counts dovetail with an effort led by Terry W. Johnson to document butterflies, moths and birds on all state lands.
   Johnson, former manager of what is now the Nongame Conservation Section, sees surveys on WMAs, natural areas and parks as critical for developing holistic conservation plans for each site.
   “We really have no idea of the status of these populations,” or even what species are found on state lands, he said.
   Yet, butterflies are early indicators of environmental change. Many depend on specific plants to feed and lay eggs. As caterpillars and adults, they are food for scores of animals.
   Developing butterfly and moth lists for state lands also enhances watchable wildlife recreation. “Butterflying” is the nation’s fastest-growing watchable wildlife activity, Johnson said.
   Devotees are diverse. The count at Big Lazer, officially the Roland count, included Johnson, retired federal entomologist Jerry Payne and his wife Rose, WMA manager Linda Guy and Kenneth Waldrep, a retired lawyer for the Georgia National Guard.
   Payne is passionate about butterflies. He, like Rose, also knows his stuff, identifying some species at a glance, pointing out host plants and turning over the leaves of a coffee weed to reveal the green, pencil-tip-sized eggs of a sleepy orange.
   His advice for would-be butterfliers: “Learn the common ones. Then go on a butterfly count.”
   Butterfly watching can range from a stroll in the yard to a count spiced with chiggers and heat.
   Guy offered hand towels as sweat rags before the Big Lazer count. The 30-year DNR employee and Big Lazer’s only manager ever is still learning her butterflies. But she considers the effort worth it, even for creatures most overlook.
   “If you see ’em forever and all of a sudden they’re gone, you got a problem,” Guy said.

Join in

• Butterfly surveys are being conducted on 26 Wildlife Resources Division facilities and 15 Parks and Historic Sites. Johnson wants to develop butterfly and bird lists for all state lands. To help, e-mail him.
• North American Butterfly Association counts are aimed at monitoring butterfly populations, raising awareness and providing enjoyable events for butterfliers.
• Counts are categorized as spring, July Fourth/summer and fall. Most are held in June and July.
• Georgia’s oldest count is at Harris Neck National Wildlife Refuge, started in 1992. The Piedmont NWR/Rum Creek WMA count is second oldest, having been held annually since 1994.