New coalition charts course
for Georgia coast's future
   The name of the pocket-sized computers Eamonn Leonard and Jacob Thompson used to help map natural habitats on Jekyll Island might prove prophetic: Nomads.
   Since joining the Georgia Wildlife Resources Division in December, the two wildlife biologists have scoured aerial photographs and done extensive field checks – logging data and marking GPS coordinates with TDS Nomads – as they document vegetation on the state-owned barrier island. The work is a first step in the recently announced Coastal Georgia Land Conservation Initiative. The state Department of Natural Resources, the Georgia Conservancy and the Association County Commissioners of Georgia teamed for the precedent-setting project to conserve wildlife and natural habitats and promote sustainable development in the fast-growing coastal region.
    This is where Leonard and Thompson (pictured at left) face an on-the-move future. With a draft map of Jekyll done, the two will focus on the rest of Glynn County, and then 10 other counties. Growth is reshaping these counties and pressuring their myriad natural resources. The Coastal Georgia Land Conservation Initiative lays out a three-year plan for identifying critical habitats, establishing a regional conservation network and providing data, technology and training to help governments and residents make sound land-use decisions.
    The goal is fostering healthy ecosystems and local economies by promoting growth patterns in harmony with the coast's natural resources.
    The role for each group, including DNR's Wildlife and Coastal Resources divisions, is extensive. For Leonard and Thompson, the next task is fine-tuning map protocols. Jekyll provided some surprises. Fieldwork documented 21 plant communities, including three types of maritime oak communities. Fewer had been expected.
    Expanding to Glynn County will pose more challenges. One is the unknown. Or as Leonard said, "What (natural) communities are out there?"
   Keep the Nomads handy.

Check here
to help nongame
   What seems like a small thing looms large for wildlife conservation in Georgia. The “Give Wildlife a Chance” State Income Tax Checkoff raises thousands annually for the Wildlife Conservation Fund. That money
in turn helps pay for critical wildlife
conservation projects statewide.
   Mike Harris, chief of the Georgia Wildlife Resources Division’s Nongame Conservation Section points out that “donations made to the Nongame Conservation Section are especially important because the section receives no state appropriations for its numerous conservation projects.”
   Pitch in this tax season by filling in any amount more than $1 on line 26 of the long form (Form 500) or line 10 of the short form (Form 500EZ). Donations can be deducted from refunds or added to tax payments.

Study key to shad and locks
   A three-year study is providing needed details on how Lake Seminole’s Jim Woodruff Lock and Dam affects rare Alabama shad and other anadromous fish, species that live mostly in the sea but spawn in freshwater.
   The shad once abundant enough to support commercial fisheries in Alabama, Kentucky, Indiana and Iowa is now listed as a species of concern by NOAA National Marine Fisheries and found only in the northern Gulf of Mexico and contributing coastal rivers. The largest population of Alabama shad is below Woodruff Dam in the Apalachicola River.
   To better understand the dam’s impact on spawning, the Georgia Wildlife Resources Division’s Fisheries Management Section and the South Carolina Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit have been investigating how the shad interact with lock operations at Woodruff. Fisheries biologists inserted sonic transmitters into more than 50 shad in March 2005. The fish were tracked to determine population sizes and behavior in relation to the lock.
   Findings sized the population of migrating shad in the tailrace at between 2,767 and 28,184. An estimated 41 percent passed through the lock. Fish relocated in the Flint River as far as Albany.
   “This study helped us see exactly how much the existing hydroelectric and navigation complex of the dam and lock affect this fish species,” said Ramon Martin, Wildlife Resources regional fisheries supervisor.
   The information has been plugged into a multi-agency plan to restore spawning runs of imperiled Alabama shad in the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint river basin.

Fisheries tech Tracy Feltman with an Alabama shad.

Anadromous fish plan at a glance

• Over-exploitation and habitat loss to migration barriers contributed to declines of imperiled Alabama shad (Alosa alabamae) and Gulf sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus desotoi).
• The hydroelectric and navigation complex may significantly impact anadromous fish behavior in the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint (ACF) river system. Spawning populations are perceived as critically low.
• Navigation locks at Chattahoochee River dams may provide passage to migrating fish, but passage efficiency and factors influencing passage have not been evaluated. Determining how fish interact with the dams is key to developing a passage plan. Passage at the two hydroelectric dams on the Flint also must be evaluated to restore access to anadromous fish spawning habitat throughout the basin.
• Recovery of anadromous fish spawning runs in the ACF system will enhance fishery resources, restore access to unavailable aquatic habitat and aid in the recovery of these two imperiled species.

Project WILD leader is a natural
   Who’s teaching Georgia’s teachers how to go wild in the classroom? Mary Terry, of course – the new Project WILD coordinator for Georgia’s educators.
    After serving more than 14 years as an interpretive park ranger/naturalist for Davidson-Arabia Mountain Nature Preserve in Lithonia, Terry brings to Georgia’s Project WILD program a wealth of knowledge and, most importantly, a contagious enthusiasm and love for wildlife.
    “I have been teaching Project WILD since it began!” Terry said recently. “When I first went to training, I thought, 'How cool is this! What a great way to inform kids and adults about wildlife management and habitats. This is something everyone needs to experience!'”
   Now Terry is helping them. Here's more, including a Q&A with the new Project WILD coordinator.

• Registration for Georgia's Youth Birding Competition is open until March 31, with teams of youths from K-12th grade already prepping for the May 2-3 statewide count that ends at Charlie Elliott Wildlife Center in Mansfield.
• Celebrate Georgia bird life and learn more about birding at the 6th annual Pinewoods Bird Festival, April 11-13 at Pebble Hill Plantation in Thomasville.
• International Migratory Bird Day, held annually on the second Saturday in May, marks the amazing journeys many birds make and encourages action to help migratory birds around the globe.
• Increase the bird population in your yard by selecting and arranging native ornamental trees and shrubs that provide food, cover and nesting areas. Here's how.

Ask a biologist:

Parting shot