Conservation and Natural Resources: Georgia

Moving live fish, aquatic plants, or mussels from one body of water to another can cause irreversible damage to the ecological balance of Georgia lakes, rivers and streams.

The Satilla River is a blackwater system draining over 3,000 square miles of coastal plain habitat in Georgia. The tannic waters of this river are home to several species of catfish and panfish, and historically it has been one of the premier sunfish angling destinations in Georgia, particularly for redbreast sunfish (Lepomis auritus).

Sturgeon are an ancient fish that date back to the age of the dinosaurs. They are a cartilaginous (nearly boneless) fish with a sucker-like mouth, shark-like tail, sensitive barbels (whiskers) under the snout, and bony scutes (plates) along the sides and top of its body. They are opportunistic feeders, meaning they feed on almost anything they can find, with a diet consisting primarily of invertebrates, insect larvae, crayfish, worms and mollusks. Size, weight and lifespan vary from species to species.

The Stream Survey Team (SST) is a small group of technicians, biologists and seasonal workers who monitor the health of Georgia's wadeable streams by surveying fish communities. The abundance and diversity of fish species in a stream reflects the overall health of the stream and its fish and wildlife habitat.

North Georgia is the southern range of walleye in North America, occurring naturally in some of the large rivers and lakes within the Tennessee Valley. Throughout the 1960s, walleyes were stocked in other North Georgia reservoirs; however, these early stocking efforts were largely unsuccessful in all but a few mountain lakes. Naturalized walleye populations supported a limited seasonal fishery for many years. During the 1990s, declining numbers of walleye coupled with the rapid expansion of illegally introduced blueback herring sparked a renewed interest in re-establishing the Georgia walleye stocking program. In 2002, a fledgling walleye stocking program was reborn in Georgia.

Here you will find rare species and natural community data maintained by the Wildlife Conservation Section. Our protected species lists contains species protected at both the state and the federal level. Our special concern lists includes plants, animals, and natural communities that are federally and state protected and also species that are not legally protected but are considered of special conservation concern by our staff biologists. We maintain active records for these species and communities in our conservation databases.

Georgia is participating in a volunteer-based, nationwide acoustic survey effort to collect long-term data about bats.

The state is home to 16 species of bats. All of them eat insects exclusively and use echolocation to navigate, communicate and find food. Echolocation calls can be recorded and used to identify bats.

The Wildlife Conservation Section of the DNR Wildlife Resources Division administers a small-grants program for wildlife viewing projects in the state. Funding is provided by Georgia’s Nongame Wildlife Conservation Fund.

The Georgia ginseng harvest season is from September 1 through December 31.

Export of American Ginseng is regulated under The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, which is administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). The export of Ginseng (Panax quinquefolius L.) from Georgia is authorized by this federal authority in combination with the Georgia Ginseng Protection Act of 1979, as amended in 2013.

In order to have a legal ginseng trade in Georgia, the USFWS requires Georgia to maintain a Ginseng Management Program that ensures compliance with federal and state regulations. The objective is to prevent American Ginseng from becoming endangered due to trade.

The Wildlife Conservation Section administers the Georgia Ginseng Management Program, which monitors the size of the legal ginseng economy. Staff work with ginseng dealers, growers and the Wildlife Resources Division's Game Management and Law Enforcement Sections to make ginseng regulation a transparent process.

Partners in Flight is an international bird conservation effort. Initiated in 1990 in response to declines in numerous species of Neotropical migratory birds, PIF seeks to reverse these declines and ensure healthy populations of songbirds and other birds for the benefit and enjoyment of future generations.

Many familiar songbirds such as warblers, vireos, orioles and tanagers are among those referred to as Neotropical migrants. These birds breed in North America and migrate to Mexico, Central and South America and the Caribbean to spend the winter. Loss of habitat needed for wintering, breeding and as stopovers during migration has caused significant declines in numerous species of our favorite and most colorful songsters.

In Georgia, over 90 species of Neotropical migrants depend on the forests, thickets and fields of our state as areas to rest and refuel during their long migrations. Many—54 species—also nest and raise their young in our habitats. Although declining, most of these birds are still relatively common, and Georgia Partners in Flight seeks to address and meet the needs of these and other land birds through effective partnerships with state and federal agencies, private conservation and education organizations, corporations, colleges and universities, and concerned citizens and bird enthusiasts.

The West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus), one of only four species of sirenians that exist in the world, is the only member of the order Sirenia that lives in the United States. Large seal-shaped creatures with flippers as forelimbs and paddle-like rounded tails, manatees average 10 feet in length and 1,000–2,500 lbs in weight as adults. These slow-moving creatures, also known as "sea cows." spend most of their time eating, resting or traveling in the rivers, estuaries, saltwater bays, creeks and canals along the coast.

The manatee is listed under the federal Endangered Species Act as an endangered species and is also protected federally under the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 and statewide under provisions of Georgia's Endangered Wildlife Act of 1973. Minimum estimates suggest that there may be fewer than 2,640 manatees left in the United States. Human-related impacts such as boat/barge collisions, loss of habitat, pollution and ingestion of fish hooks and lines threaten the continued existence of the manatee here in the United States.

Manatees are most frequently sighted in Georgia waters from April through October in the waters of Camden, Glynn and McIntosh counties, during which time wildlife biologists with the Nongame-Endangered Wildlife Program monitor their activities. When possible, manatees are tagged with radio-tracking devices and their feeding and movement habits studied in order to better determine the cause for population declines.

To date, the most significant human-related cause of manatee mortality is collisions with boats and barges. Because of their inability to move quickly, manatees cannot escape fast boats or barges moving through shallow water.

The program is part of the ongoing partnership between the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Wildlife Resources Division, the Georgia Plant Conservation Alliance (GPCA), Chattahoochee Nature Center (CNC), Tennessee Aquarium, Zoo Atlanta, U.S. Forest Service, Atlanta Botanical Garden, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

These agencies and organizations formed a partnership to spearhead the Georgia Mountain Bog Enhancement Project, which includes the on-going Bog Turtle Headstart/Population Establishment effort for the federally and state listed bog turtles (Glyptemys muhlenbergii).

The Bog Turtle Headstart effort began in 2003 with the gathering of egg-bearing female bog turtles from wild populations on private lands within Georgia. These females were monitored and allowed to deposit their eggs in captivity. The bog turtle eggs were incubated in a way that mimicked natural bog conditions. After hatching, the bog turtle hatchlings were transferred to the Tennessee Aquarium and CNC for the 22-month rearing period.

During June of 2005, the seven bog turtles that hatched in 2003 were released at a restored mountain bog habitat in the Chattahoochee National Forest in Union County.

The world has only seven species of sea turtles and five are found along Georgia's coast: loggerhead, green, leatherback, Kemp's ridley and hawksbill. The loggerhead (Caretta caretta) is the only species to nest regularly on the state's barrier islands. Green (Chelonia mydas) and leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea) turtles are primarily tropical nesters but occasionally nest on Georgia beaches. All five species, with the exception of the hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata), seasonally forage in or migrate through Georgia's coastal waters.

All species of sea turtles found in Georgia are protected by state and federal law, principally by the Endangered Species Act. The Kemp's ridley is the most endangered of the sea turtles, but all species are at risk. The loggerhead is listed as threatened worldwide and is the focus of much of the DNR Wildlife Conservation Section's marine turtle conservation efforts.

Mountain bogs are one of the most critically endangered habitats of the southern Appalachians. Typically small, between a half-acre and five acres, they are associated with seeps, springs or small creeks and provide critical habitat for the federally threatened bog turtle and swamp pink, two of Georgia's rarest species.

Bog restoration involves not only clearing sites but also finding and taking careful inventory of potential bogs, safeguarding seeds from rare plants and monitoring restored sites for rare species such as the pitcherplant. Mountain bog restoration is listed as a high-priority conservation action in Georgia's State Wildlife Action Plan.

One of the key components of bog restoration work is the capability to bring together a network of agencies, organizations and volunteers in order to complete what often turns out to be a multi-year ordeal. While agencies such as DNR and the U.S. Forest Service begin the initial overhaul of the sites, much of the maintenance falls upon partner-created organizations like the Georgia Plant Conservation Alliance (GPCA), whose members include the Atlanta Botanical Garden, State Botanical Garden of Georgia, DNR, DOT, Georgia Power, Georgia Forest Watch and Zoo Atlanta, to name a few.