Conserving Georgia's wildlife, 2019

2019
FISCAL YEAR SUMMARY
CONSERVING G E O R G I A' S
WILDLIFE

A t Georgia DNR's Wildlife Conservation Section, our mission is to conserve, restore and protect native wildlife not fished for or hunted, rare plants and natural habitats.
Our work is guided by the State Wildlife Action Plan, a strategy to conserve Georgia's animals, plants and habitats proactively. Through the plan, we emphasize voluntary and incentive-based programs on private lands, habitat restoration and management by public agencies and private organizations, rare species surveys and recovery efforts, and environmental education and public outreach.
The focus is vital: Georgia's amazing diversity of species and habitats contributes greatly to the quality of life, economic wellbeing and cultural identify of its citizens.
We made great strides in fiscal year 2019. And we faced stiff challenges. This report tells that story.

But our success and our ability to engage conservation issues start with you. Public support is critical to what we do.
Less than 5 percent of our research and conservation budget comes from state funding. That means we depend mostly on fundraisers, grants and donations.
Each time you buy or renew an eagle, hummingbird or monarch license plate, donate to the Georgia Nongame Wildlife Conservation Fund, join our friends group TERN or volunteer with DNR, you help us help Georgia's wildlife. We are grateful for your support. This is truly a team effort.
The following pages provide details on that effort during the past year. I hope you find this account informative and encouraging as we work together this year to conserve Georgia's wildlife.

Jon Ambrose Chief, Wildlife Conservation Section

Bee on smooth purple coneflower (Natalie Birnbaum/Georgia Nature Photographers Association)

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CONSERVATION
n BIRDS
n Waterbirds........................3 n Red-cockaded
Woodpeckers....................5 n Surveys and Habitat
Restoration.......................6
Marshbirds Grassland Birds Prothonotary Warblers Mountain Birds Wood Storks Swallow-tailed Kites Bald Eagles Peregrine Falcons
n AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILES
n Sea Turtles......................11 n Sea Turtle Stranding
and Salvage Network......12 n Gopher Tortoise
Conservation Initiative....12 n Gopher Tortoises and
Eastern Indigo Snakes....13 n Bog Turtles.....................14 n Gopher Frogs...................14 n Eastern Hellbenders........15 n Flatwoods Salamanders
and Striped Newts...........15 n Suwannee Alligator
Snapping Turtles.............16 n Spotted Turtles...............16
n MAMMALS
n North Atlantic Right Whales......................17
n Marine Mammal Stranding Network..............18
n Florida Manatees................18 n Small Mammals.................19

n FRESHWATER AQUATIC SPECIES
n Aquatic Conservation Initiative............................. 22
Coosa-Tallapoosa River Drainage Tennessee River Drainage Atlantic Slope Drainage Gulf Coast Drainage
n PLANTS AND NATURAL HABITATS
n Rare Plant Conservation.... 27
Surveys and Monitoring Safeguarding Habitat Restoration Mountain Pitcherplant Bogs Coastal Plain Pitcherplant Bogs Partnerships for Protection Georgia Plant
Conservation Alliance Public-private Partnerships Milkweeds and Migratory
Butterflies Ginseng Management
n Habitat Conservation and Monitoring.................. 33
Habitat Conservation Habitat Monitoring Sandhills Conservation
n Prescribed Fire................35
Seasonal Fire Crews Training and Outreach
n INVASIVE SPECIES
n Coastal Georgia...............38 n Middle Georgia................40 n Argentine Black
and White Tegus.................40
n PRIVATE LANDS
n Working with Landowners....41 n Forestry for Wildlife
Partnership.........................42 n Community Wildlife
Project................................44
n LAW ENFORCEMENT

EDUCATION CONSERVATION AND OUTREACH PLANNING

n Regional Education Centers...........................46
Charlie Elliott Wildlife Center Smithgall Woods Regional Education Center Arrowhead Environmental Education Center Sapelo Island National Estuarine Research Reserve McDuffie Environmental Education Center Go Fish Education Center Grand Bay Wetland Education Center
n Youth Birding Competition....................51
n Camp TALON...................51 n Give Wildlife a Chance
Poster Contest..................52 n Wildlife Viewing Grants...52 n Social Media...................53 n Other Outreach................53
LAND ACQUISITION AND CONSERVATION EASEMENTS
n Acquisitions....................55
Canoochee Sandhills WMA Lanahassee Creek WMA Sheffield WMA Addition Dawson Forest WMA Addition Chattahoochee Fall Line WMA:
Hilliard Plantation Tract Altamaha WMA: Rist Tract Sunbury Boat Ramp Addition
n Conservation Easements.... 57
n Georgia Conservation Tax Credit Program.............57

n State Wildlife Action Plan Revision..............................58
n Regional Partnerships........58 n Biotics Database.................59
FINANCIAL AND ADMINISTRATION
n Nongame Wildlife Conservation Fund..............60
n Nongame License Plates.................................61
n Weekend for Wildlife..........61 n Georgia Wildlife
Conservation Fund Checkoff....................62 n Online Donations................62 n The Environmental Resources Network............62 n Federal and Other Funding.....................63
State Wildlife Grants Recovering America's Wildlife Act Georgia Outdoor Stewardship Program
n Administration and Personnel.....................64

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CO N S E RVAT I O N

Waterbirds
Georgia's barrier island beaches, salt marshes and coastal freshwater wetlands support 86 species of seabirds, shorebirds and wading birds. These species, collectively known as waterbirds, are the focus of DNR's Waterbird Conservation Initiative. This effort involves:
n Protecting important colonial waterbird nesting habitats.
n Conducting surveys to determine the status and habitat needs of resident, migratory and wintering waterbirds.
n Creating partnerships for long-term conservation of wetland-dependent bird species.

Conservation actions include protecting and managing five sand islands for beach-nesting and migratory birds. While this is especially valuable for seabirds, resident and migratory shorebirds also benefit from protected nesting and resting areas free from disturbances. One of the areas, a dredge-spoil island near Brunswick, supports one of the largest colonies of nesting seabirds on the South Atlantic Coast.
Highlights and challenges in fiscal year 2019 included:
For the fourth consecutive year, the Wildlife Conservation Section supported a Beach Stewards Program. This volunteer group helps protect a colony of least terns and nesting Wilson's plovers on St. Simons Island. Wildlife Conservation has

built a volunteer base through establishing a master birder class held annually and co-taught with coastal partners. While least terns did not nest on St. Simons' East Beach in 2018, there were at least 40 nesting pairs in 2019, and Beach Stewards volunteers helped educate beachgoers about the birds and protect the colony.
The negative effects of consecutive hurricanes Michael and Irma are still being felt on some of Georgia's most important offshore bars. St. Catherines Island Bar remains submerged at high tide, and Ogeechee Bar is small and low enough that no successful nesting occurred in 2019.
In 2018, Pelican Spit essentially merged into the beach on Sea Island, leading to significant foot and dog traffic on Pelican Spit and limiting its habitat quality. Fortunately, before the 2019 nesting season, Sea Island helped by removing the sand bridge between the beach and Pelican Spit, resulting in far less traffic and a more successful nesting season. As of mid-summer

Birds

Swallow-tailed kite (Todd Schneider/DNR)

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DNR's Trip Kolkmeyer helps herd royal tern chicks for banding on Bird Island (DNR)

2019, there were more than 200 nesting pairs of black skimmers and 50 pairs of gull-billed terns nesting on the spit. Many chicks were produced, and some were beginning to take flight. Three American oystercatcher chicks also were banded from Pelican Spit this year.
While hurricanes reduced the seabird and shorebird productivity of Georgia's offshore bars, American oystercatcher productivity on shell rakes continued to increase. The presumption is that Georgia is still benefiting from the flooding of the marsh and hammocks during Hurricane Irma that removed many terrestrial predators such as raccoons. This predator suppression coupled with few high flooding tides in the 2019 nesting season likely boosted nesting success. Typically, predation and flooding are the two greatest threats to Georgia's coastal beach- and rake-nesting birds.
After setting a state record for oystercatcher productivity in 2018, the state was approaching that record again in 2019. While as of the June 30th end of the fiscal year birds were still nesting, 57 chicks approaching fledging age had been confirmed and 44 had been banded. More than 50 chicks were documented and as many as 60 fledged in 2018.
The Brunswick dredge island proved highly productive again in 2019. Approximately 10,000 royal terns nested on what many call Bird Island, along with 500 sandwich terns, 176 brown pelicans and 584 laughing gulls. An American oystercatcher pair also fledged two chicks on the island, the first productive pair in St. Simons Sound in recent memory. DNR also joined with a team from Virginia Tech and 25 volunteers for Georgia's first banding effort focused on royal tern chicks. Some 1,500 chicks received colored leg bands, and overall more than 2,000 were banded. Next up: Learning where these birds disperse. Reports are expected to range from Maine to Peru.
Satilla Marsh Island, which was damaged by Hurricane Matthew, began to recover and brown pelicans returned to this favored nesting site, with 248 nests producing more than 240 young.
Wildlife Conservation staff and partners tracked seabird colonies on Little Tybee Island, Ossabaw Island, Blackbeard Island, Little Egg Island Bar, Little St. Simons, Pelican Spit, St. Simons' East

Beach, Brunswick dredge island, Satilla Marsh Island and Cumberland Island.
In other updates, Wildlife Conservation:
n Used funds from a National Fish and Wildlife Foundation grant to support research into the biological impacts of disturbance on nesting and foraging shorebirds.
n Collaborated with partners in South Carolina and Virginia to monitor, trap and tag red knots, work also supported by a National Fish and Wildlife Foundation grant. Sixty-five nanotags were deployed on northbound red knots to determine their migratory pathways to the Arctic.
n Conducted, with partners from Massachusetts, Virginia and South Carolina, whimbrel roost surveys in the Georgia Bight to estimate the total number of whimbrels using the state's coast in spring. This effort involved nighttime

surveys on isolated offshore bars, as well as night flights with airplane-mounted FLIR thermal imaging cameras.
n Continued coordinating spring and fall International Shorebird Surveys. These repeat surveys at key migratory stopover sites provide the best trend data for most shorebird species across the Western Hemisphere.
n Led the Georgia Shorebird Alliance with several coastal partners. Involving state, federal and private groups, this organization is making significant progress in management, monitoring, research and education regarding shorebirds on the Georgia coast.
n Continued with partners a sharp-tailed sparrow banding project that is providing data on the winter distribution of two species Nelson's and saltmarsh sparrows and five subspecies of these little-known birds.

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Red-cockaded Woodpeckers
The red-cockaded woodpecker is the only woodpecker in the U.S. that excavates cavities in living pines. The drastic loss of mature pine forests over the past 200 years has been the primary cause of this species' decline. Suitable habitat now occurs primarily on some military bases, national forests and other public lands, although red-cockaded woodpeckers still live on many private properties.
In 1999, DNR developed the nation's first statewide red-cockaded woodpecker Habitat Conservation Plan to provide management options for private landowners. The plan includes options for mitigated incidental take and for Safe Harbor. Safe Harbor focuses on landowners in southwest Georgia, where plantations managed for the northern bobwhite also support a significant population of red-cockaded woodpeckers.
Safe Harbor involves a landowner's commitment to manage habitat beneficially for the site's "baseline" number of woodpecker families, or those on the site when the agreement is made. A family group refers to red-cockaded woodpeckers occupying a cluster of cavity trees. These groups can vary from a single bird to a breeding pair and one to three helpers. (Helpers are typically male offspring from previous years that help feed younger siblings.) In exchange for maintaining this baseline number of family groups,

the landowner's responsibility does not increase if the woodpecker population increases.
As of fiscal year 2019, 175,397 acres are enrolled in Safe Harbor management agreements in Georgia. These agreements cover 104 baseline groups of red-cockaded woodpeckers and support 53 surplus groups. (Surplus groups are additions to baseline woodpecker populations.) Most of the properties are in the Red Hills region near Thomasville. The Red Hills region supports the largest population of redcockaded woodpeckers on private lands. Since the start of Safe Harbor in 2000, the Red Hills population has stabilized at about 180 groups.
The Wildlife Conservation Section worked with Safe Harbor participants and conservation partners in fiscal 2019 to monitor woodpecker nesting and populations on cooperating properties. Efforts included teaming with Tall Timbers Research Station to find, capture and translocate red-cockaded woodpeckers between private properties in the Red Hills. Staff also surveyed Safe Harbor properties to find new cavity trees, update property maps and mark cluster boundaries before timber harvests. Cavity inserts damaged by fire and Hurricane Michael were replaced on several southwest Georgia sites. In partnership with the Joseph W. Jones Ecological Research Center at Ichauway and Tall Timbers, staff banded 94 nestlings on Safe Harbor properties. Some of the banded nestlings will be captured and translocated or moved to boost

Red-cockaded woodpecker bringing food to nestlings (Josiah Lavender/DNR)

populations on other Safe Harbor properties in the Red Hills region.
Staff also worked with the Jones Center to restore the red-cockaded woodpecker population at Ichauway Plantation in Baker County. These 29,000 acres supported a single male in 1999. In part through the translocation of 71 young birds, Ichauway Plantation now has 40 family groups.
In 2008, DNR acquired 8,400 acres near Bainbridge to create Silver Lake Wildlife Management Area, the first state-owned property with red-cockaded woodpeckers. Silver Lake has extensive stands of mature longleaf pine habitat with intact native groundcover. The red-cockaded woodpecker population at Silver Lake is the largest on state-owned land, with 33 family groups (28 potential breeding groups and five single-bird groups) documented in fiscal 2019. The three family groups fewer than in 2018 are a decline attributed to Hurricane Michael. In October 2018, Michael rolled through Silver Lake with winds exceeding 100 mph. Fifty-six percent, or 154, of the woodpecker cavity trees on the WMA were destroyed. Red-cockaded woodpeckers depend on the cavity trees for nesting and roosting and are more susceptible to the elements and predation when cavities are not available.
To help address the hurricane's widespread damage to forest stands and the woodpecker population, Wildlife Conservation received an emergency National Fish and Wildlife Foundation grant, funded by International Paper and Southern Company. Within three weeks of the storm, staff and volunteer conservation partners had installed more than 100 cavity inserts to mitigate the loss of cavity trees. Also, crews contracted under the NFWF grant cleared debris from 39 woodpecker clusters and from along more than 10 miles of WMA roads. This debris clearing reduced heavy fuel loads and allowed DNR's Wildlife Resources Division to continue managing these stands with prescribed fire, which benefits a host of high-priority conservation species. Wildlife Conservation also monitored 25 redcockaded woodpecker nests at Silver Lake, banding 32 young at Silver Lake produced by these groups. Despite the loss of birds and cavity trees to Michael, the red-cockaded woodpecker population at Silver Lake is expected to recover to pre-storm levels within the next few years.
Despite the habitat loss and management challenges caused by Hurricane Michael, Silver

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Lake WMA eventually will sustain about 45 family groups through continued prescribed fire, the installation of more recruitment clusters, and careful forest management.
At Moody Forest Wildlife Management Area near Baxley, Wildlife Conservation continued working with The Nature Conservancy to manage red-cockaded woodpeckers. Staff refurbished cavity inserts in two clusters, and in December 2018 translocated two woodpeckers from Fort Stewart to Moody Forest. At least one of the two translocated birds remained on Moody Forest.
As of spring 2019, the WMA had six family groups (five potential breeding groups and one single-bird "group"), one more than the previous year. Four of the potential breeding groups attempted nesting. Staff banded 10 nestlings, with seven of those fledging. Habitat management, including timber thins and prescribed fire, is helping improve and create more red-cockaded woodpecker habitat at Moody Forest. Plans are to install another woodpecker cluster at the WMA in fiscal year 2020.
In October 2017, DNR reintroduced red-cockaded woodpeckers to River Creek Wildlife Management Area near Thomasville by translocating woodpeckers from Apalachicola National Forest in Florida. River Creek, which is on the periphery of the Red Hills region, was acquired in 2005 in part because of its intact longleaf pine habitat and potential for woodpecker reintroduction. In October 2018, Wildlife Conservation added to the initial reintroduction effort by translocating seven birds from Apalachicola and two from Silver Lake WMA.
Because of the latest translocations, the woodpecker population on River Creek increased from two single birds to five family groups (four potential breeding groups and one single-bird group). Red-cockaded woodpeckers at River Creek attempted four nests in spring 2019, with one being successful and fledging one nestling. These were the first known nest attempts and successful reproduction on the property in decades. With additional translocations planned for fall 2019, and more clusters being installed, the red-cockaded woodpecker population is expected to increase at River Creek. With careful planning and forest management, the WMA may eventually support up to 10 family groups.
Wildlife Conservation also worked with the Wildlife Resources Division's Game and Forest Management

Henslow's sparrow (Todd Schneider/DNR)

staff to help plan and mark timber thinning operations on 435 acres of natural longleaf pine and planted pine forest at River Creek. These forest stands contain a high percentage of longleaf and will be carefully thinned to improve habitat conditions for red-cockaded woodpeckers, Bachman's sparrows, northern bobwhite, and other pine savanna species. Timber marking was aimed at replicating an unevenaged forest structure found in much older longleaf stands, with consideration given to leaving potential cavity trees for red-cockaded woodpeckers.
Surveys and Habitat Restoration
n Marshbirds
Little is known about the population status of the Florida sandhill crane, a resident subspecies that occurs only in peninsular Florida and the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge in Georgia. Over the past several years, helicopter surveys have been conducted annually in the Okefenokee refuge in March and April to count nesting Florida sandhill cranes. From 2014-2017, a standardized grid of transects were flown for the counts.
Recently, the Wildlife Conservation Section determined this grid was not sufficient to provide a statistically robust sample that could be used to develop accurate population estimates. Staff worked with the Georgia Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit at the University of Georgia to revamp

the survey. Although similar to the previous survey, the new version features more miles of transects placed using a statistically adequate design. This design will allow for accurate population estimates going forward. The first three flights using this survey occurred in 2018.
In 2019, survey flights were flown on March 19, April 3 and April 10, documenting six, four and 11 active nests, respectively. In addition, three nest starts were spotted during the March 19 flight, three during the April 3 flight and 11 on the April 10 flight. Two additional flights were flown on April 4 and April 11 to provide a mechanism to develop detection probability estimates, needed to correct for variability in the detectability of birds across different habitat types and observation conditions. High-water levels from heavy rains in late winter resulted in peak nesting occurring four to six weeks later than in 2018. Birds were able to more effectively nest as water receded.
n Grassland Birds
Surveys started nine years ago for Henslow's sparrows continued in fiscal year 2019. This small songbird nests in grasslands of the Midwest and Northeast and winters in grassy areas of pine flatwoods, pitcherplant bogs and powerline corridors in the Southeast's Coastal Plain. Henslow's sparrow numbers have declined precipitously over the last several decades because of habitat loss at breeding and

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wintering grounds. This sparrow is a species of high conservation concern because of its small population size, greatly reduced habitats and other factors. Its secretive nature and small numbers make it difficult to survey and monitor. Little is known about the Henslow's sparrow distribution and populations across most of its range, including in Georgia.
Standardized transects at three wildlife management areas Paulks Pasture in Glynn County, Townsend near Ludowici and Moody Forest near Baxley were surveyed from January through March using the same technique (flush netting) as the previous eight years. These surveys are part of a long-term markrecapture study. In 2019, Georgia Southern University conducted the surveys under contract with the Wildlife Conservation Section.
The only significant difference between this year's surveys and past years' was that each transect was sampled twice rather than three times. Fifty-five birds were captured; eight were recaptures banded in previous years. Given the fact that survey effort was approximately twothirds of that in past years, the total number of birds captured/recaptured would probably have registered at or above the long-term average (approximately 65 birds banded per year) if each site had been surveyed three times. A preliminary population estimate for each year of the survey was developed for each of the three sites. This estimate will be refined in the near future.
Efforts to add to knowledge of the distribution of Henslow's sparrows in powerline corridors began in late 2018. A habitat predictor model was developed with the Georgia Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit to help identify potential sites. This model used known Henslow's sparrow sites, as well as a qualitative evaluation of several potential habitat areas. Georgia Power provided maps and access to the company's powerline corridors. Maps of potential habitat suitability within these corridors were generated using remote sensing imagery. Staff then visited and evaluated more than 200 stretches of powerline corridor throughout the Coastal Plain from January through March 2019. Any stretch with potentially suitable habitat was surveyed. All Henslow's sparrows captured at these sites were banded. A total of seven of the sites had at least one Henslow's sparrow present. Refinement of this habitat model and surveys of potential sites will continue.

In addition , Wildlife Conservation and Georgia Southern began a micro-habitat study at Paulks Pasture, Townsend and Moody Forest WMAs in January 2019. The purpose is to provide insights into Henslow's sparrow habitat preferences and how researchers can better manage habitat for the species. This work includes diet analysis, radiotelemetry to monitor onsite movement patterns and vegetation structure measurements. Diet analysis consisted of collecting fecal samples from birds captured during the mark-recapture surveys and extracting DNA. Samples were collected from 44 birds and DNA was successfully extracted from 43 of these samples. The UGA genomics lab is sequencing the DNA. The sequences will be compared with sequences from tissue samples of seed-bearing plant species collected at the sites to determine relative frequency of consumption of different plant species.
Full-scale radio-telemetry work was postponed by a delay in the permitting process caused by a temporary federal government shutdown. However, a test of the transmitters and attachment method (glue) was accomplished by attaching transmitters to four Henslow's sparrows. One transmitter stopped working immediately, but the other three provided several days of location data. Fifty-two vegetation plots were surveyed at the three WMAs. Vegetation surveys included vegetation structure and seed abundance measurements. Preliminary results show that grasses are the most abundant vegetation type in terms of percent cover, averaging 59-69 percent. Seventy-four seedbearing plant species were recorded for the three WMAs combined. The micro-habitat study will continue for a few more years.
The nest box program for southeastern American kestrels posted a second positive year after experiencing many years of declines, marking a substantial increase in active nests. Nest-box use remained high in most regions in fiscal 2019. In Tifton, six of 32 older boxes were occupied, one more than last year. In the western Fall Line sandhills, kestrels occupied 33 nest boxes that are not on Fort Benning, more than twice as many as in 2018. Excluding Fort Benning's data, which wasn't available for this annual report, overall numbers for the region were promising. Although several nests were lost to predation, the 33 boxes fledged 56 chicks.

As mentioned in the previous annual report, Wildlife Conservation partnered with a regional power distribution company to add 19 boxes high on the company's transmission line towers in the western sandhills. These boxes are about 100 feet above the ground, compared to 15-20 feet for boxes on the wooden power poles. In fiscal 2019, kestrels nested in at least 12 of these high boxes, a 63-percent occupancy rate much higher than what DNR has observed in many years of checking lower-placed boxes. It is likely that nearly all of these nests are successfully fledging chicks since they are far above the range of most nest predators. This dramatically increased the number of active nest boxes in the program and may be the cause of the sharp increases in kestrel nests seen in the western sandhills the past two years. These outcomes have inspired hope that the new approach may rescue Georgia's smallest falcon from extinction in the state. More high boxes are planned by at least one other power company in the coming year.
The prospects of native grass plantings completed in 2016 and 2017 at Sweetwater Creek and Panola Mountain state parks, work that is benefiting birds and other species, improved in fiscal 2019. Exotic weeds have been controlled and the native plants have thrived, largely due to wet summers in 2018 and 2019. About 15 species of forbs have been planted on the Panola Mountain tract to improve habitat for grassland birds and pollinators. However, heavy browsing by deer has hampered the success of the outplantings. Wildlife Conservation is partnering with State Parks and Historic Sites staff to find a solution to heavy browsing in the restored habitats. Despite this setback, several remarkable grassland bird species were documented using the site in 2019, including barn owl, loggerhead shrike, American kestrel and Henslow's sparrow. Three of these species rank high on Georgia's State Wildlife Action Plan priority list. Several researchers have begun new projects at Panola Mountain State Park, monitoring grassland bird use as well as nesting success in the restored habitat.
In areas adjoining the restored habitats on both parks, Wildlife Conservation has started restoring woodlands open forests with little midstory growth and a rich understory of grasses and wildflowers. On Panola Mountain in fiscal 2019, Wildlife Conservation planted almost 9,000 plugs of Virginia wild rye from seed collected from the site. At Sweetwater Creek, invasive species need to

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Wood stork at Stephen C. Foster State Park (Alicia Pastiran/Georgia Nature Photographers Association)

be controlled before the woodland is restored. Fire crews from state parks and Wildlife Conservation teamed to remove an estimated 8,000 Bradford pear trees from the site using herbicides. Chinese privet, tree of heaven and several other lesser exotic species were also treated. Many wildlife species that use the nearby grassland will benefit from this woodland habitat
n Prothonotary Warblers
The Wildlife Conservation Section continued surveying for prothonotary warblers in fiscal year 2019. Striking in looks, this bird is declining in numbers and considered a State Wildlife Action Plan high-priority species for conservation. Prothonotary warblers are found in flooded swamps and hardwood bottomlands along rivers and streams. They nest in cavities the only warbler in the Southeast to do so often over water.
As part of a study exploring the bird's use of nesting habitat in riparian corridors in the region, Wildlife Conservation staff placed 45 nest boxes along the Ochlockonee and Alapaha rivers on Alapaha River and River Creek, the Rolf and Alexandra Kauka wildlife management areas. Alapaha WMA is near Ocilla; River Creek is near Thomasville. Prothonotary warblers' use of the nest boxes was monitored and recorded. Point-count surveys were completed along rivers throughout breeding season to determine the abundance of prothonotaries at the sites.
In 2019, six nests were documented in the boxes, and two natural nests were found. Staff banded seven prothonotaries and documented sightings of two adults that had been banded in 2018. In the coming years, Wildlife Conservation will examine abundance at sites with and without boxes and by habitat type and riparian corridor width. Site fidelity from year to year will be evaluated by monitoring birds fitted with leg bands.
n Mountain Birds
On Brawley Mountain in northeast Georgia's Fannin County, habitat restoration has been completed for what was the last known population of goldenwinged warblers in the state. Brawley Mountain was burned with the help of the Wildlife Conservation's west-central Georgia fire crew in 2016 and again in spring 2018 to enhance the habitat. However, Georgia's golden-winged warbler population has faltered. Biologists detected a lone male in 2013, no

birds in 2014, one male in 2015 and two in 2016. No birds have been detected since 2017.
Other states also have lost populations of this species. The golden-winged warbler is in steep decline throughout most of its historic range. Despite the gloomy outlook, the Brawley Mountain project has yielded promising results on other fronts. The area has been restored to a montane oak woodland featuring high bird diversity. Analysis of the most recent survey data shows that bird numbers have nearly doubled on this site since the project began in 2015. Of greater significance, many are grassland and shrubland birds, species declining significantly throughout their range and especially in the north Georgia mountains. One bright note is that the unmistakable call of a northern bobwhite was heard on Brawley in 2018 and 2019, the first time this gamebird has been documented there at least since bird surveys started there in 2005. (Hear one calling in this video.) Surprises like this underscore the hope that golden-winged warblers will someday nest in Georgia again.

n Wood Storks
Wood storks were federally listed as endangered in 1984 following dramatic declines in breeding colonies in southern Florida. Wood stork nests were first documented in Georgia in 1965.
By the 1980s, the birds were nesting here in increasing numbers. Georgia now supports more than 20 percent of the U.S. nesting population, which is estimated at about 9,500 breeding pairs. The recovery plan for the wood stork in Georgia includes monitoring reproductive success of nesting colonies, identifying potential threats and working with landowners and site managers to promote colony survival and longevity.
Wildlife Conservation conducts aerial surveys each spring to find and monitor nesting colonies. Stork nesting effort the number of pairs that attempt to reproduce fluctuates annually. Calendar year 2014 set the state's nesting record for wood storks, with 2,932 nests in 22 colonies. Water levels then were favorable for nesting and foraging, and the colonies monitored for productivity had high nest success.

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2019 was a good year for stork nesting, reversing what had been a four-year decline in annual nest counts since 2014. Nesting was documented in 23 colonies, with a preliminary count of 2,450 nests. If confirmed, this will be the state's fourth highest count and mark a reversal in the decline seen the last four years. Overall population estimates for wood storks in the Southeast are also increasing. The Southeast had 12,105 nesting pairs throughout the range in 2018, the second-highest count recorded in the region since 1975. Wood storks also continue to expand their range northward, with numbers and colonies increasing in North and South Carolina.
More than 75 percent of wood stork rookeries in Georgia are on private land. Successful conservation of this species depends on landowners' willingness to ensure the protection of viable freshwater-wetland nesting sites.
n Swallow-tailed Kites
The swallow-tailed kite has suffered a significant range reduction since the 1880s when the species bred in 21 states. These elegant raptors are now found in seven Southeastern states, where they nest in bottomland forests along large rivers. Most nests in Georgia are on private land, specifically industrial timberlands. Data from years of latesummer communal roost sites in Florida seem to indicate a gradual increase in population in the southeastern U.S. since the late 1980s.
Wildlife Conservation's efforts include finding and monitoring nests, advising the public about reporting sightings, protecting nests from predators where possible, working with private landowners to ensure habitat viability, supporting habitat management on protected lands where kites nest, and searching for previously radio-tagged kites.
An estimated 150-200 pairs of swallow-tailed kites nest in Georgia each year. Most nests are on the lower stretches of the Satilla and Altamaha rivers, but nests are also scattered throughout other south Georgia river drainages that feed into the Atlantic such as the Savannah, Ogeechee and St. Marys and almost all rivers that drain into the Gulf of Mexico, including the Suwannee, Alapaha, Aucilla, Flint, Little Ochlockonee and Withlacoochee. While densities are highest in the lower stretches of

these rivers, kites nest into the upper Coastal Plain on the Ocmulgee and Oconee rivers.
During the 2019 nesting season, fieldwork focused on better defining the limits of the kites' breeding range statewide, continuing surveys of the core area in southeast Georgia to monitor long-term population trends and developing long-term agreements with landowners of key kite nesting sites. DNR also emphasized surveying sites considered for possible land acquisition or protection.
The Wildlife Conservation confirmed 18 nests in the lower Coastal Plain, plus 11 nest structures that were likely used this year or last. Sixteen areas were visited where bird behavior indicated that nesting was probable, and another 13 sites where nesting was possible. While nesting was not confirmed on Clayhole Wildlife Management Area in Glynn County, there was evidence of birds returning to a site where a nest had been confirmed some 15 years ago.
Overall, kite numbers appear stable in Georgia, although little recolonization of the species' historic range has been observed. About twothirds of confirmed and probable kite breeding areas are on private land. The remaining third are on protected lands such as wildlife management areas, national wildlife refuges and military bases. Productivity at Georgia nests seemed low in 2019, with a number of pairs leaving their nesting areas prior to any potential fledging of chicks.
n Bald Eagles
Once common in Georgia, the bald eagle declined in abundance during the mid-20th century
and was not nesting in the state by the early 1970s. Yet populations have rebounded here and elsewhere, helped by a 1972 ban on DDT in the U.S., habitat improvements following enactment of the federal Clean Water and Clean Air acts, recovery of forest resources following extensive logging of old-growth trees during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, protection through the Endangered Species Act, increased public awareness and the restoration of local populations through release programs known as hacking.
Following federal delisting of the species in 2007, primary legal protection for eagles comes

under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act. Nest trees and associated primary and secondary buffer zones are conserved via recommendations of federally established bald eagle management guidelines. Georgia's ongoing conservation efforts have included monitoring all known eagle nests in January and in March, working with landowners and other agencies to protect nest sites, public education programs about eagle conservation and ecology, and rehabilitation of injured eagles.
During the 2017 nesting season, the Wildlife Conservation Section documented a state-record 218 occupied nesting territories. This marked the state's third consecutive year of 200-plus nest territories. Because of this stable and successful trend, the Wildlife Conservation Section elected to switch to a less intensive and less expensive survey strategy starting in fiscal year 2018 and continuing in 2019. Under this strategy about half of the state's eagle nesting areas are surveyed each year. The change mirrored similar reductions in survey efforts in neighboring states and maintained a standardized survey scheme while freeing funds to support other conservation needs. The reduction in survey effort does not compromise Wildlife Conservation's ability to detect and address any decline in bald eagle productivity.
Under the new survey strategy, 168 nests were surveyed in 2019 in the six coastal counties and a western span of Georgia framed roughly by interstates 20 and 75 and the Alabama and Florida state lines. Of those nests, 127 fledged at least one young (76 percent success rate; an average year) and 195 total young were fledged, which is about 1.2 fledglings per occupied nest territory, slightly below the long-term average. In October 2018, Hurricane Michael destroyed 14 nest trees or nests, all in Seminole and Decatur counties. In 12 of the 14 cases, 60-70 percent of trees in the surrounding forest were leveled. Only one new nest was found in this region in 2019. The hurricane substantially reduced the availability of suitable nest trees, likely meaning many eagle pairs that nested in the region when it was last surveyed in 2017 did not nest there this year.
During the March survey flights only two coastal nests checked had an eagle still incubating eggs. Yet in southwest Georgia adults were incubating eggs on 12 nests monitored, an unusually high percentage so late in the nesting season. Habitat damage from the hurricane combined with much higher than average rainfall October-January likely contributed to delays in mating and nesting

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activities. High water levels, which increase flow rates, add turbidity and disperse fish, can also reduce eagle fishing success rates, delaying the nesting cycle. A rainy nesting season can increase mortality of egg embryos (and nestlings), as well. The result is that eagles can be incubating nonviable eggs a week or more after they normally would have hatched. At seven of the 12 southwest Georgia nests where adults were still incubating eggs this March, in 2017 the eagles had been incubating eggs at the nests 40 days earlier.
As in previous years, Wildlife Conservation staff worked with landowners in fiscal 2019 to conserve nesting habitats, minimize disturbances near nest trees during the nesting season, help explain federal permitting processes regarding development projects, capture injured eagles and deliver them to veterinary and rehabilitation facilities, and work to return rehabilitated eagles to the wild.

Bald eagle in Floyd County (Tom Wilson/Georgia Nature Photographers Association)

n Peregrine Falcons
For the first time in five years peregrine falcons did not nest on the cliff face at Tallulah Gorge State Park, the state's only known peregrine nest in a natural setting. Only one adult falcon was observed in the area during the breeding season. In 2019, as in 2017, vocalizing falcons but no nests were documented at Rabun Bald.
For the fourth consecutive year, no nest site was confirmed in Atlanta, although observations made by biologists during a survey in May, as well as reports from birders and employees in high-rise buildings, suggested there could have been three or more peregrine falcon territories in the metro area. The renovations performed on the balcony of the oftenused nest site at SunTrust Plaza were completed before the nesting season, but falcons did not nest there this year. However, the birds often perch on

balconies on that floor of the building. The last active nest observed at this building was in 2015.
Wildlife Conservation staff also surveyed several high-rise buildings and a communications tower in metro Atlanta on May 24. Building engineers and office staff generously provided their falcon observations and in three instances led guided tours of upper stories, balconies, machine rooms and ventilation shafts. The remains of falcondepredated birds were found on balconies at two of these buildings, as well as regurgitated pellets. Two adult falcons were observed perching on 20th floor ledges at the Four Seasons Hotel, a building where falcons have often been seen and nesting has been documented dating to 2003. Yet no evidence of nesting was recorded at Four Seasons in 2019.
Once again, a falcon was observed in a drum-like structure on one of the communication towers

near Zonolite Park in DeKalb County. On April 16, a tower maintenance contractor contacted Wildlife Conservation to request guidance concerning how to perform needed upgrades on the tower's antennae complex without harming or disturbing falcons. The contractor provided a drone video that depicted an adult falcon in an incubation-like posture within the open drum. Wildlife Conservation staff, the contractor and a biologist who works for the company that operates the tower developed a plan that allowed completion of the antennae project without disturbing the falcon. The tower company posted a requirement on its work orders stipulating that future maintenance during falcon nesting season must be coordinated with DNR. No falcons were present at the tower when staff visited it May 24 and, as in 2017 and 2018, there was still no conclusive evidence that falcons have successfully nested on the tower.

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Loggerhead hatchling reaches the surf (Caleigh Quick/DNR) Dawn-nesting loggerhead on Ossabaw Island (Caleigh Quick/DNR)

Sea Turtles
Loggerhead sea turtles are found in Georgia's coastal waters year-round and nest on all barrier island beaches. In accordance with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recovery plan for this species, DNR management efforts focus on surveying and protecting loggerhead nests and managing nesting beach habitat. The Wildlife Conservation Section coordinates the Georgia Sea Turtle Cooperative, a group of volunteers, researchers and government employees who conduct nest protection and management activities on Georgia beaches.
Wildlife Conservation also manages the nesting projects on the state-owned islands of Sapelo and Ossabaw, including hiring and supervising seasonal technicians. Nest management activities designed to improve reproductive success include relocating nests to protect them from tidal inundation, installing predator screening and predator control. Since comprehensive surveys were established in 1989, loggerhead nesting has been highly variable, with an average of 1,440 nests per year. In 2019, more than 3,900 loggerhead nests were documented on Georgia beaches. This is the highest nest count during the 31 years sea turtle nesting has been comprehensively monitored on

Amphibians and Reptiles
LOGGERHEAD NESTING IN GEORGIA Annual nest totals since comprehensive surveys began in 1989.
4,000 3,800 3,600 3,400 3,200 3,000 2,800 2,600 2,400 2,200 2,000 1,800 1,600 1,400 1,200 1,000
800 600 400 200
0 '89 '90 '91 '92 '93 '94 '95 '96 '97 '98 '99 '00 '01 '02 '03 '04 '05 '06 '07 '08 '09 '10 '11 '12 '13 '14 '15 '16 '17 '18 '19

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Georgia beaches, surpassing the previous record of 3,289 nest in 2016.
Overall, loggerheads show a 3.8 percent annual increase in nesting since 1989. Nesting data indicates that the loggerhead sea turtle population in Georgia is making slow but steady progress toward recovery and delisting.
Other conservation activities conducted by Wildlife Conservation during the fiscal year included assisting with training and compliance checks involving turtle excluder devices (TEDs), monitoring beach renourishment projects, conducting lighting surveys on developed nesting beaches and monitoring the effects of harbor dredging projects on sea turtles. In addition, staff participated in a 10-year review of loggerhead population status and implementation of management actions recommended in the update of the National Marine Fisheries Service/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recovery plan of 2008.
To develop a comprehensive understanding of the number and relatedness of loggerheads nesting on Georgia beaches, DNR and the University of

Georgia have created a catalog of unique genetic profiles for Georgia's nesting female turtles. Drs. Joe Nairn and Brian Shamblin, working with DNR staff, have identified an average of 555 loggerhead females using the Georgia coast annually from 2008-2018, with a range of 303 to 977 turtles per year. This ongoing project is providing a better understanding of loggerhead nesting ecology and interpretation of nesting trends. DNR is collaborating with Drs. Clint Moore and Bryan Nuse from the Georgia Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit at UGA to use the genetic data to develop a Bayesian demographic model for loggerheads. This model will be used to determine the status of the turtles and how changes in management will affect population recovery.
Sea Turtle Stranding and Salvage Network
The Wildlife Conservation Section monitors sea turtle mortality through the Sea Turtle Stranding and Salvage Network. Systematic patrols of barrier island beaches provide information on the

Head-started gopher tortoise at Warm Springs National Fish Hatchery (Jessica Radich/USFWS)

number and species of dead turtles that wash up on the Georgia coast. When possible, necropsies of stranded turtles are done to evaluate causes of mortality. Sea turtle strandings are the primary index of threats to sea turtles in the state's coastal waters.
In fiscal year 2019, 91 dead or injured turtles were documented on Georgia beaches. That total is approximately half the 30-year average of 184 strandings per year. Recent patterns in strandings suggest a reduction in mortalities attributed to the shrimp trawl fishery. The decline in trawler mortality is correlated with a recent increase in TED compliance. Results from necropsy examinations indicate that boat collisions and commercial fishery mortality are leading sources of mortality, accounting for 34 and 24 percent of strandings, respectively, in fiscal 2019.
The public is encouraged to report stranded sea turtles in Georgia by contacting DNR at 800-2-SAVE-ME (800-272-8363). Stranding updates are available at www.seaturtle.org/ strand/summary (pick Georgia from "Select a Program").
Gopher Tortoise Conservation Initiative
The Gopher Tortoise Conservation Initiative is a Georgia-based effort to conserve the gopher
tortoise in hopes of making its listing under the U.S. Endangered Species Act unnecessary. Members include DNR, the Georgia Forestry Commission; the U.S. Department of Defense, Fish and Wildlife Service and Natural Resources Conservation Service; The Nature Conservancy; The Conservation Fund; Georgia Conservancy; the Knobloch Family Foundation; the Robert W. Woodruff Foundation; the Bobolink Foundation; Georgia Chamber of Commerce; and The Orianne Society.
Gopher tortoises are found in the Coastal Plain from eastern Louisiana to western South Carolina and southern Florida. The species is federally listed as threatened in Louisiana, Mississippi and western Alabama. Within the rest of its range, the gopher tortoise is classified as a candidate species. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service previously determined that this species warrants listing under the Endangered Species Act but has delayed a final

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listing decision until 2022. Ecologically, the gopher is a keystone species. Georgia's state reptile digs deep, long burrows that are used by more than 300 different animal species. One, the eastern indigo snake, is federally listed as threatened. Others are being considered for federal listing, including the gopher frog, Florida pine snake and eastern diamond-backed rattlesnake.
Gopher Tortoise Initiative partners know they can be proactive and work to avoid listing gopher tortoises, or they can be reactive and face the consequences of increased federal regulation that could affect key parts of the state's economy, including commercial development, agriculture, forestry and military base activities.
To help preclude the need for listing a decision that members know will not rest solely on efforts in Georgia the initiative is working to permanently protect many of the state's gopher tortoise populations. Georgia has at least 124 known viable populations. (A minimum viable

population is defined by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as 250 adult tortoises.) Permanent protection of populations is being achieved through a combination of fee-simple land acquisitions and conservation easements.
When the effort started, Georgia had 36 permanently protected tortoise populations. At the close of fiscal year 2019, the total was 53. Three tortoise populations were added to the protected list in 2019: Canoochee Sandhills Wildlife Management Area in Bryan and Bulloch counties, Lanahassee Wildlife Management Area in Webster County, and a conservation easement addition to Bullard Creek Wildlife Management Area in Jeff Davis County.
The initiative is trying to protect 65 populations, an effort that will require raising an estimated $150 million. The funding is expected to come equally from three sources: state, federal and private donations. Other projects in the works may bring the total to 61 protected populations by 2021.

Male eastern indigo snake (Matt Moore/DNR)

Gopher Tortoises and Eastern Indigo Snakes
Both the gopher tortoise and the eastern indigo snake, which is federally listed as threatened, are priority species in Georgia's State Wildlife Action Plan.
During fiscal year 2019, the Wildlife Conservation Section's tortoise survey crew completed line-transect distance surveys on 13 sites. The surveys are used to estimate tortoise density and abundance. Sites included the new Canoochee Sandhills Wildlife Management Area in Bulloch and Bryan counties, The Nature Conservancy's Cabin Bluff property in Camden County, and seven other private properties. Doerun Pitcherplant Bog Wildlife Management Area near Doerun and a portion of Chattahoochee Fall Line Wildlife Management Area near Box Springs were resurveyed. Eight sites had populations exceeding 250 adult tortoises, the federally defined minimum for a viable population. One other would likely meet that threshold when tortoises on adjacent tracts that have not been surveyed are included.
Wildlife Conservation began doing line-transect distance sampling for gopher tortoises in 2007. As of fiscal 2019, surveys have been completed on 102 sites statewide, public and private. Ten have been resurveyed, with all but one showing an increase or stability in the tortoise population. These increases are likely due to improved habitat management or additions to the population by translocations, along with head-starting of juveniles. Survey results are incorporated into conservation strategies aimed at precluding the need to federally list the tortoise under the Endangered Species Act.
As discussed in the Gopher Tortoise Conservation Initiative section, in coordination with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Georgia has set a target of 65 viable populations protected across 13 conservation units in the state. In addition to the three tortoise populations protected in 2019, two already protected sites were found to have populations of more than 250 adults, both significantly larger than previous estimates: Doerun Pitcherplant Bog WMA and a private conservation easement in Mitchell County. These helped increase the number of protected sites in Georgia to 53.

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In another study funded and supported by Wildlife Conservation, The Orianne Society continued occupancy monitoring of habitat for imperiled eastern indigo snakes to determine the overall prevalence of indigo snake populations across suitable habitat in southern Georgia. In this region, indigo snakes overwinter in xeric sandhill habitats where they shelter from potentially lethal temperatures in gopher tortoise burrows. The study focuses on assessing site occupancy on suitable sandhill sites in the Altamaha, Alapaha and Satilla river drainages. Each survey season, a subset of sites is surveyed, with a total of approximately 60 sites surveyed over three years. During each survey season, sites are visited three times and suitable habitats are walked by one or more observers who visually search for indigo snakes.
The Orianne Society, a nonprofit organization dedicated to conserving rare reptiles and amphibians, surveyed 20 sandhill sites on public and private lands in fiscal 2019. Indigo snakes were detected (either snakes or shed skins) on 12 of 20 sites, or 60 percent. In total, 42 indigo snakes and 32 indigo shed skins were observed during the survey season. Over the last three seasons, a total of 58 distinct sites have been surveyed in south Georgia. The overall occupancy probability for these sites, when accounting for imperfect detection, was 0.57, plus or minus .08, meaning on a given day, 57 percent of the sites would be occupied by indigos. This long-term monitoring work will continue for the foreseeable future to ensure that indigo snake populations are persisting on the landscape.
Concurrent with The Orianne Society's work, Wildlife Conservation conducted the second year of a mark-recapture study of indigo snakes on other lands. In fiscal 2019, staff pit-tagged 45 indigos with PIT, or Passive Integrated Transponder, tags and recaptured 25 previously tagged snakes at nine sites, including seven public and two private tracts. This effort will continue in 2020.
Bog Turtles
The federally threatened bog turtle, the world's smallest turtle species, lives in Georgia mountain bogs generally found along slow-flowing spring creeks and seepages in low mountain valleys. During spring and

Gopher frog in shallow water (DNR)

summer 2019, Wildlife Conservation Section and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service staff at the Chattahoochee Forest National Fish Hatchery continued surveys monitoring two bog turtle populations discovered in 2014 and 2015, and at another potentially suitable site. The latter was identified through a species distribution model and an extensive review of aerial photography that used Geographic Information Systems software coupled with ground-truthing, or visiting sites.
Surveys included putting out 70 traps for a total of 4,578 trap days. No new populations were found. But 11 bog turtles were caught and released for a total of 35 captures and releases at the two sites with known populations. The value of habitat restoration work in the form of extensive woody vegetation clearing at one of these sites in early spring 2019 was evidenced by the nearly exclusive use of the newly cleared areas by bog turtles observed during this year's surveys.
A captive population of five individual bog turtles was established at the Fish and Wildlife Service's Chattahoochee Forest National Fish Hatchery in outdoor enclosures that simulated natural mountain bog habitat in spring 2018. All five bog turtles successfully over-wintered,

emerging from hibernation in the spring of 2019. Once mature, these turtles will be bred with wild Georgia bog turtles in the hopes of producing hatchlings that can be head-started and later released into restored mountain bog habitat.
In addition to bog turtles, these enclosures received two rare bog plants: A Georgia Plant Conservation Alliance member, the Atlanta Botanical Garden, provided swamp pink, a species federally listed as threatened, and montane purple pitcherplants, petitioned for federal listing, for outplanting in the enclosures.
Gopher Frogs
State-listed as rare, gopher frogs depend on intact sandhill habitats, where adults survive within the burrows of their namesake host, the gopher tortoise. However, these frogs also require nearby fishless wetlands where they breed and their tadpoles develop. Because of widespread upland and wetland habitat alteration throughout their range, gopher frogs are limited to fewer than 10 sites in Georgia.
In 2007, the Wildlife Conservation Section began a project that involved collecting gopher frog eggs from healthy populations, rearing them to latestage tadpoles or post-metamorphic froglets and

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releasing them at an unoccupied but high-quality protected site at Williams Bluffs Preserve in Early County. Williams Bluffs is within the species' historical range. The goal at Williams Bluffs is to establish a self-sustaining breeding population of gopher frogs, which would be a range-wide first for this imperiled amphibian. To address difficulties with obtaining wild-produced gopher frog eggs, lab-reared gopher frogs have been placed in mesocosms at the Amphibian Foundation in Atlanta and at Zoo Atlanta. The hope is they will breed in captivity and provide reliable sources of eggs for future efforts.
Evidence of successful establishment of a new gopher frog population at Williams Bluffs remains elusive. In 2019, there was no detection of gopher frog breeding at the introduction site. For example, staff from the Joseph W. Jones Ecological Research Center searched the wetland for egg masses in February 2019 but found none. The last confirmed breeding at Williams Bluffs was prior to 2015. However, in late 2018, four adult gopher frogs were confirmed in burrows near the wetland during a gopher tortoise survey. This is encouraging because it confirms that juvenile gopher frogs are still surviving to adulthood on the site. In addition to these monitoring efforts, radio-telemetry studies are being done to measure the survival rates of captive-raised juveniles released. Partners involved in this effort are also developing new methods for monitoring gopher frog populations to guide releases and habitat management.
In July 2018, the start of fiscal year 2019, 45 adult and sub-adult gopher frogs were placed in outdoor mesocosms at the Amphibian Foundation. Several male gopher frogs were later heard calling during rain events, signaling they were approaching breeding condition, though it is likely that female frogs need additional time to mature. The frogs overwintered successfully. The foundation is hopeful that a successful reproductive event will occur during the upcoming breeding season. The foundation has also acquired almost 40 metamorphosed frogs from the University of Georgia's head-start program for inclusion in the captive propagation program. Staff plan on rearing these frogs to maturity and building more outdoor mesocosms to support additional breeding groups of gopher frogs.
In 2019, gopher frog reproduction on Sandhills Wildlife Management Area near Butler proved exceptional, with a large chorus of breeding males,

large numbers of eggs observed in the wetland and observations of juveniles recruited from the wetland. In addition, gopher frogs were detected breeding in a manmade wetland near the main breeding pond. Wildlife Conservation collected enough donor eggs for the University of Georgia and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Warm Springs Hatchery to rear 2,622 tadpoles. In all, 1,434 juvenile frogs were released at Williams Bluffs and 1,143 at Sandhills WMA, bringing the total captive-reared and introduced frogs to more than 7,000 between 2009 and 2019.
At Ichauway Plantation in south Georgia, Jones Center staff heard gopher frogs calling at a wetland in December 2018, but no egg masses were found, despite repeated systematic searches at five wetlands in late January and February. It is possible that an earlier breeding event occurred.
Eastern Hellbenders
The eastern hellbender, North America's largest salamander, lives in clear, cold streams in the north Georgia mountains. The species is stateprotected and a previous candidate for listing under the Endangered Species Act.
The Wildlife Conservation Section surveys for hellbenders in mountain streams each year. A subset of the streams is sampled every three years. This cycle is building a long-term dataset through which hellbender numbers can be estimated, populations monitored and habitat conditions checked. Hellbenders caught are assessed, marked with a Passive Integrated Transponder (PIT) tag for future identification if they don't already have a tag, and released.
Hellbender conservation efforts in Georgia faced challenges in recent years. With no State Wildlife Grant funding available for seasonal technicians, Wildlife Conservation turned to conservation partners to help continue surveys and monitoring and avoid disruptions in longterm data sets. As a result, 15 separate stream stretches were surveyed and data collected from 83 hellbenders in summer 2019.
During fiscal year 2019, Wildlife Conservation staff represented Georgia at the ninth Biennial Hellbender Symposium, held at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia. In 2017, a Wildlife Conservation biologist was one of 12 regional

experts from across the species' range invited to provide information to complete drafting the eastern hellbender species status assessment in 2018. This assessment was part of the process to decide if the eastern hellbender should be federally listed.
Based on data provided, in early 2019 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service determined that federal listing was not warranted across the majority of the species' range. Conservation efforts will continue in Georgia and in other states to conserve eastern hellbenders and avoid the need for federal listing in the future. The service's listing decision underscores the presence of high-quality stream habitat and healthy hellbender populations remaining in the Southern Appalachians, as well as conservation efforts being pursued range-wide.
Flatwoods Salamanders and Striped Newts
In updates regarding these two imperiled amphibians:
A Wildlife Conservation Section biologist served as a subject matter expert for the frosted flatwoods salamander during a weeklong Structured Decision Making workshop held in Gainesville, Florida, by the U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The Structured Decision Making process was used to inform species recovery objectives, including translocations and reintroductions within the draft recovery plan for the frosted flatwoods salamander and the reticulated flatwoods salamander.
The Amphibian Foundation, a nonprofit focused on conserving amphibians, collected 12 striped newt larvae in July 2018, all of which have survived and are thriving in captivity. The foundation's breeding colony in Roswell consists of nearly 20 adult striped newts, which are now starting to breed. The release site for larvae from this colony will be determined by the Wildlife Conservation Section.
The Amphibian Foundation also maintains a breeding colony of frosted flatwoods salamanders. For several years that colony consisted of only three animals, but in fiscal year 2019 the foundation collected and added 40 salamander larvae to its captive population.

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Conservation partners with the University of Georgia surveyed wetlands at Alapaha River Wildlife Management Area for striped newts from January to June 2019, but were unsuccessful. No newts have been found at the WMA near Ocilla since 2017.
Staff with the Joseph W. Jones Ecological Research Center at Ichauway Plantation were unable to survey Mayhaw Wildlife Management Area near Colquitt for flatwoods salamanders because of habitat damage and storm cleanup needs after Hurricane Michael rolled through southwest Georgia in October 2018.
Suwannee Alligator Snapping Turtles
In another study funded by the Wildlife Conservation Section, the status of the Suwannee alligator snapping turtle in Georgia was explored through trapping surveys in fiscal year 2019.
Little is known about this recently described species of alligator snapping turtle, and few surveys have been conducted in Georgia, despite the species only occurring in the Suwannee River drainage of Georgia and Florida. Alligator snapping turtles are mostly aquatic, inhabiting rivers and oxbow lakes of Gulf Coast drainages. These large turtles can be trapped using standard methodologies, and this type of survey provides useful information about turtle presence, relative abundance and the size distribution of individuals.
In August and September 2018, The Orianne Society, a nonprofit focused on conserving reptiles, amphibians and their habitats, conducted trapping surveys for Suwannee alligator snappers in river mainstems in the Suwannee drainage. Hoop traps baited with fish were set at five sites on the Alapaha, Suwannee and Withlacoochee rivers. Factors used in choosing the sites included accessibility by boat and a lack of survey data. For two nights, five to 13 traps were set at each site along the edges of the channel and upstream of microhabitat features such as log jams and undercut banks the turtles presumably favor.
In 117 trap nights, alligator snapping turtles were captured at two of the five sites, or 40 percent. Five turtles were caught, three on the Alapaha and two on the Withlacoochee, a catch-per-unit effort of 0.10 turtles/trap night

Surveying for alligator snapping turtles in Suwanee River drainage (Dirk. J. Stevenson/Altamaha Environmental Consulting)

on these two river sections. The largest turtle weighed almost 55 pounds and the smallest, 5.5 pounds. The three largest turtles were males. The other two turtles were too small to reliably sex. No alligator snapping turtles were caught on the Suwannee. It has now been many years since there was a confirmed sighting from the Suwannee in Georgia.
Wildlife Conservation also funded surveys for this species in small, south Georgia drainages. Altamaha Environmental Consulting conducted hoop-net trap surveys from July-October 2018 and in June 2019 at 17 sites in three distinct portions of the Suwannee River drainage the Alapaha River drainage, Withlacoochee River drainage and tributaries of the upper Suwannee mainstem.
Over 97 trap nights, 16 Suwanee alligator snappers were caught: seven adult males, five adult females and four juveniles. The turtles were sexed, weighed, measured, marked and inserted with PIT tags. No turtles trapped in 2018 were recaptured in 2019. Eight of the male alligator snappers exceeded 80 pounds. These surveys documented the first records of the species in Warrior Creek (a Little River tributary), Okapilco Creek (a Withlacoochee tributary) and the Willacoochee River itself. The trapping surveys will be repeated in fiscal 2020, further exploring the status of Suwannee alligator snapping turtle populations in Georgia.

Spotted Turtles
The spotted turtle is a small, freshwater turtle species that is considered to be declining across much of its range in the eastern U.S. However, a lack of published data and standardized inventory surveys makes assessing the status of spotted turtle populations difficult.
As part of a multistate Competitive State Wildlife Grant involving numerous other states along the eastern seaboard from Maine to Florida, The Orianne Society was contracted to conduct spotted turtle surveys on a limited number of sites across the species' range in Georgia. Surveys were conducted in fiscal years 2018 and 2019 during the spring when spotted turtles are most active through a combination of trapping and visual encounter surveys.
Surveys confirmed that Georgia has abundant wetland habitat that is potentially suitable for spotted turtles. Detection probability, however, was low, even when using the best available sampling methodologies. While two of the detections in the state represented both county and property records, the survey effort was limited in scope. However, the effort did provide the first standardized approach to sampling spotted turtle populations at the southern extent of their range.
Additional work is needed to continue long-term population monitoring and more comprehensively survey the species' range in Georgia.

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North Atlantic Right Whales
North Atlantic right whales are a critically endangered species numbering fewer than 425 individuals. The species was nearly driven to extinction by centuries of hunting and has been slow to recover because of reduced genetic

diversity, natural variability in food resources and human impacts, including collisions with ships and entanglement in commercial fishing rope.
Right whales forage on zooplankton along the coast of New England and Canada during spring, summer and fall. Each December and January, pregnant females migrate more than 1,000 miles to the coast of Georgia and northeast Florida, the species' only known calving grounds. Females nurse their calves for one to two months, until the calves are strong enough to migrate north in February and March. A varied number of right whales that are not

calving especially juveniles also migrate to the southeastern U.S. each winter.
The North Atlantic right whale population increased by more than 40 percent during the 2000s, suggesting the species was beginning to recover. However, in 2010 calving rates began to drop in response to changes in zooplankton distribution in New England and Canada changes apparently driven by warming ocean temperatures and associated shifts in ocean currents. At the same time, right whales began suffering unprecedented levels of mortality and injury. About 10 percent of the species has died since 2012, mostly from ship strikes and entanglement in commercial fishing gear. More than 80 percent of surviving whales bear scars from fishing rope entanglements. Even worse, females are dying at faster rates than males. As

Right whale no. 1204 with calf in April 2019 (Center for Coastal Studies, taken under NOAA permit 19315-1)
Females with Calves*

Mammals

Right Whale Calving
40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5

'84 '85 '86 '87 '88 '89 '90 '91 '92 '93 '94 '95 '96 '97 '98 '99 '00 '01 '02 '03 '04 '05 '06 '07 '08 '09 '10 '11 '12 '13 '14 '15 '16 '17 '18 '19
* All calves, including those documented outside the southeastern U.S.

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few as 100 calving females remain. The species is clearly declining, and its future is uncertain.
DNR works with scientists and managers from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Clearwater Marine Aquarium and other organizations to conserve right whales in the Southeast. Each December through March, aerial and boat surveys are done to monitor the whale population. Biologists collect genetic samples from calves and take photographs to identify other whales. The data are used to estimate population size, growth rates and other parameters. Wildlife Conservation Section staff document entangled whales and remove fishing rope from them when possible. In 2015, DNR also began working with Marine Ecology and Telemetry Research to develop satellite tags for tracking right whale movements. Little is known about how right whales use their calving and foraging habitats, or the migration paths between them.
DNR management and policy activities focus on reducing human-related mortality and protecting right whale habitat. Wildlife Conservation staff serve on the Southeast Implementation Team for Right Whale Recovery and the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Team, and are active in the North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium. Support is also provided by DNR's Coastal Resources and Law Enforcement divisions with education and outreach, policy efforts and enforcement of federal right whale protections. Most funding for DNR's right whale conservation efforts is provided by grants from NOAA.
During the 2019 calving season, survey teams identified seven females with calves, four adult females without calves and four adult males. (In the 2000s, more than 20 females with calves and 100-plus other whales were seen in the Southeast some winters.) While the 2019 season was another below-average year, seven calves was an improvement over 2018 when no calves were seen a first since surveys began in the 1980s. Population models show that 15-20 births are needed per year for the population to grow. Until calving rebounds, reducing human causes of mortality is key to the species' survival. One silver lining: No dead, injured or entangled whales were observed in Southeast waters in 2019.
DNR's tagging project has been on hold since 2017 due to permit restrictions and a low number of available whales to tag.

Manatee temporarily stranded in tidal pool on Jekyll Island (Trip Kolkmeyer/DNR)

Marine Mammal Stranding Network
The Georgia Marine Mammal Stranding Network was created in 1989 to coordinate marine mammal stranding responses in the state. The Wildlife Conservation Section coordinates the Georgia network with funding from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries and help from other agencies and private organizations. Network goals include investigating human impacts on marine mammals, monitoring population health, providing rapid and humane response to live stranded marine mammals, contributing to marine mammal research, and educating the public about marine mammal conservation.
Since 2000, the network has documented an average of 32 stranded dolphins and whales per year. Bottlenose dolphins were the most commonly stranded species, making up 80 percent of strandings, followed by pygmy and dwarf sperm whales (13 percent combined). Other species that have stranded in Georgia historically include Atlantic spotted dolphins, Atlantic white-sided dolphins, rough-toothed dolphins, Risso's dolphins, pygmy killer whales, false killer whales, shortfinned pilot whales, humpback whales, Bryde's whales, North Atlantic right whales and multiple species of beaked whales.
The network documented 34 whale and dolphin strandings in calendar year 2018. These included

29 bottlenose dolphins, one pygmy sperm whale, two dwarf sperm whales, one pygmy killer whale and one humpback whale. Two strandings were due to human causes: A live bottlenose dolphin was successfully disentangled from a commercial crab pot by a Chatham County Marine Patrol officer, and another bottlenose dolphin apparently died from entanglement in an unknown type of line or twine. Eight bottlenose dolphins and the pygmy killer whale stranded from a variety of natural causes, including disease, stillbirth and starvation. Necropsies did not reveal any evident cause of death in two dolphins and the dwarf and pygmy sperm whales. In the remaining 18 cases, cause of death could not be determined because of incomplete examinations, advanced decomposition or scavenger damage. In one extreme case, white sharks and tiger sharks devoured a 28-foot-long humpback whale carcass in only four days 30 miles off the Georgia coast.
The public is encouraged to report stranded marine mammals in Georgia by contacting DNR at 800-2-SAVE-ME (800-272-8363).
Florida Manatees
Florida manatees inhabit tidal rivers, estuaries and near-shore ocean waters throughout coastal Georgia during the warm months of the year. The Florida manatee population numbers at least 6,600, with approximately half of the population found along Florida's Gulf Coast, and the remainder along the Atlantic Coast and the

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St. Johns River. Each spring and summer an unknown number migrate into Georgia, returning to Florida in fall as water temperatures cool.
Formerly listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act, manatees were downlisted in March 2017 to threatened status thanks to sustained population growth throughout their U.S. range. The Wildlife Conservation Section cooperates with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and others to conserve manatees in Georgia.
Management focuses on reducing human-related mortality and protecting habitat. Recovery tasks include documenting causes of mortality and injury, rescuing injured and out-of-habitat manatees, monitoring distribution and habitat use, educating boaters about watercraft impacts and reviewing permits and policies that may affect manatees and their habitat.
Eighty manatee mortalities have been documented in Georgia waters since 2000. The leading causes of mortality are watercraft collisions (28 percent), followed by cold stress/ hypothermia (15 percent). Less common causes of mortality included drowning in shrimp

nets, entrapment and gunshot. Nine manatee carcasses were found in Georgia during calendar year 2018. Four died from watercraft-related injuries. The cause of death could not be determined in the other cases.
Wildlife Conservation conducted the fourth year of a five-year manatee satellite-tagging project in 2018 in cooperation with the U.S. Navy, Clearwater Marine Aquarium, Georgia Aquarium and others. The primary objective is studying fine-scale movements of manatees around Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay to assess the risk of watercraft collisions and other human impacts. Other objectives include investigating migratory behavior and identifying travel corridors.
As part of the project, four manatees were caught near Cumberland Island in May 2018. Each was fitted with high-accuracy, GPS-linked satellite transmitters and released. Two other manatees that were tagged in 2017 remained tagged long enough to migrate back to Georgia in 2018. These six manatees spent a total of 514 days in Georgia waters during 2018. All six traveled into Kings Bay base during the year, each spending an average of 17 days inside the base. One manatee spent 58 days in South Carolina waters.

Tracked manatees spent most of their time in brackish estuarine waters between the barrier islands and mainland, but four manatees ventured into the Atlantic Ocean and four swam short distances up freshwater rivers. The longest distance from north to south was logged by a manatee known as TGA028. This animal spent part of the winter of 2018 near Palm Beach, Florida, and spent summer 420 miles to the north near Beaufort, South Carolina. Results to date show that manatees rely heavily on the Intracoastal Waterway to migrate north and south between estuaries in Georgia. They also appear to spend more time along the marsh edges than in the middle of river channels, a behavior that could place them at lower risk of watercraft strikes while in Georgia.
Small Mammals
A grant for bat and small mammal conservation originally awarded to the Wildlife Conservation Section in 2012 continued to support work on these species in Georgia through December 2018. In January 2019, the agency received a new grant to continue this work.
DNR, the Georgia Department of Transportation and the University of Georgia began a project in

DNR staff lead training on surveying culverts for bats (DNR)

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2014 designed to learn more about the range of cave-dwelling bats in Georgia, with a focus on the federally listed Indiana bats and northern long-eared bats. Since the Department of Transportation, or DOT, is required under the Endangered Species Act to ensure projects do not jeopardize federally listed bats, determining the accurate range and habitat specifics of these species helps DOT assess project predictability, balance federal funding by congressional district and possibly lower project planning and construction costs.
A UGA graduate student used capture records from 2007-2017 to identify changes in the distribution and habitat use of northern long-eared bats as the species suffered population declines from white-nose syndrome, or WNS. In work involving dynamic occupancy modeling relative to covariates, the student identified landscape features useful for predicting occupancy and extinction, and developed models showing that northern long-eared bats likely only persisted in Georgia in 2014 in areas of high-elevation deciduous forest. The results suggest that the most effective conservation will occur in these areas in the northern extent of the species' range in the state. Likewise, areas where the bats most likely persist should be targeted for avoidance or minimal activities, as well as for conservation efforts. Unfortunately, the student was unable to complete similar models for the Indiana bat due to a lack of captures for this species.
Also in fiscal year 2019, Wildlife Conservation, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and DOT continued surveying for bats in transportation structures. The surveys of bridges and culverts revealed a surprising number of structures used by bats yearround: About 10 percent of all structures checked. A smartphone application to record site visit data was completed in 2019 and the "`Georgia Bats in Bridges" app is available for download on Android and iOS platforms. This app was developed in partnership with UGA to allow researchers to record survey data at bridge and culvert sites. DNR can access the data immediately when logged by staff and consultants working in the field.
DOT is working with DNR and the Fish and Wildlife Service to protect these bat populations during maintenance, repair and replacement projects. Wildlife Conservation also developed plans with DOT to repair and replace bridges and culverts that have significant bat roosts. An example of

the partnership was seen this fiscal year when repair work was completed on an Interstate 75 bridge in Gordon County. This bridge provides habitat for thousands of bats and was scheduled for resurfacing and joint replacement work. DOT and DNR worked together to keep the bats safe throughout the work, while assuring the maintenance was completed on time.
The statewide Anabat survey continued in fiscal 2019. Project volunteers drove more than 30 transects across the state collecting bat calls. Most routes (detailed on www.georgiawildlife.com/ AnabatProject) were run once or twice, despite rainy weather that caused delays. Wildlife Conservation used software and visual identification to analyze Anabat survey calls collected through 2018. Through analysis, biologists can determine most bat species and numbers per route. The routes will be run over multiple years to build a long-term set of call data for determining bat population trends across the state.
A citizen-science program started in 2014 to monitor summer bat maternity roosts in the state and continued in 2019. This outreach encourages the public to count bats at bat houses, barns and other roosts twice each summer. The effort mirrors programs in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin and allows the public to contribute to long-term monitoring of wildlife populations.
Wildlife Conservation continued participating, as well, in the North American Bat Monitoring Project, which involves stationary and mobile acoustic sampling in selected grid cells across the continent. Georgia biologists surveyed within 12 grid cells in summer 2019, while also establishing additional routes for future sampling efforts.
A federal grant initiated in 2018 continues to fund white-nose syndrome work in Georgia. As of winter 2019, Wildlife Conservation had confirmed WNS in 14 north Georgia counties. Biologists also documented a 93-percent decline in populations at known hibernacula in north Georgia.
Although tri-colored bats have historically been the most abundant bat during the winter in north Georgia caves, low numbers of Myotis bats have always been observed. In fiscal 2019, however, no Myotis bats except for gray bats, which seem to be resistant to WNS, were seen during the north Georgia winter surveys. Data from summer

mist-netting in the state also show declines for tricolored bats and Myotis bats, compared to previous summer mist-net surveys. In summer 2019, Wildlife Conservation established long-term mist netting sites at previously surveyed locations with historic captures of tracked species. These sites will be sampled each year or as often as other project priorities allow. This will allow biologists to monitor trends in capture data in the years since the arrival of WNS. The sampling sites are dispersed across the state, in areas where WNS has been documented and areas where it hasn't.
According to the Fish and Wildlife Service, as of the close of fiscal 2019 WNS had killed millions of bats and been documented in 33 states and seven Canadian provinces. Wildlife Conservation will continue to monitor sites in winter to document the disease's spread and related mortality. Monitoring has been expanded to the southern portion of the state, as well. During surveys, staff members swab bats to check for Pseudogymnoascus destructans, also known as Pd, the fungus that causes WNS.
In winter 2019, 87 culverts were surveyed, and 47 percent had bats. The most significant site had 112 tri-colored bats and one gray bat. Some swab samples from this survey season are pending, but the swabs that have been processed have been negative for Pd. Biologists are working with the public and the caving community to promote awareness of WNS and support for bat conservation. The agency's annual report on WNS is promoted through social media pages and the Georgia Wild e-newsletter. The report also is summarized in the online report "Tracking a Killer: WNS in Georgia," which is updated each year.
A grant from The Environmental Resources Network, or TERN, supported Wildlife Conservation staff efforts to establish bat houses and native bat gardens in several places in Georgia. An additional grant supported a partner group, Habitat For Bats, to conduct 12 bat house-building workshops at state parks across the state. Participants included family groups and individuals interested in bats and the expansion of bat habitat. A total of 120 one-chamber bat house kits were built. Each participant was given a bat house kit manual (which details the information needed to finish and install the bat house) and a packet of native plant seeds for species that promote pollinators, many of which are insects that bats eat.

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Wildlife Conservation staff conducted 26 bat education and outreach programs in fiscal 2019. These programs were given at school groups, garden clubs, scout clubs, state parks and nature centers statewide.
Also in 2019, Wildlife Conservation began planning a citizen science project to survey for eastern spotted skunks and other high-priority small mammals in Paulding Forest and Sheffield wildlife management areas, near Rockmart. This project is in the beginning stages, but initial site selection has been completed, and the process of recruiting volunteers is in progress. Using protocols developed by a multistate working group, a technician placed 15 motion-activated cameras at accessible sites using sardines and a strong-smelling lure as bait. No previous work has been completed in these areas, and biologists

are hopeful that spotted skunks, a species of conservation concern in Georgia's State Wildlife Action Plan, will be detected. The public was also encouraged to report spotted skunk sightings through the Wildlife Resources Division website, www.georgiawildlife.com/spottedskunkreporting.
Supported by a multistate State Wildlife Grant initiated in 2015, a UGA doctoral student continued research focused on the southeastern pocket gopher. The overall goal is to conserve and restore southeastern pine savannas in Georgia, Alabama and Florida. One way to accomplish this is through better understanding, as well as recommending and restoring, conditions to promote southeastern pocket gophers, a critical species in this habitat and one that has suffered significant population declines across its historic range.

In summer 2016 and 2017, the student conducted transect walking surveys on wildlife management areas and other state lands, as well as several military bases and private lands throughout the species' range. Pocket gophers were found on many private quail plantations in the Red Hills region of Thomas County, at Joseph W. Jones Ecological Research Center at Ichauway, on Fort Benning and at private sites in Marion, Taylor and Schley counties. The student trapped 25 pocket gophers at the Jones Center near Newton, six at Georgia Veterans State Park in Cordele and two on private lands. Tissue samples were collected for analysis. In summer 2018, the student worked to trap and relocate pocket gophers in unprotected areas to other properties and track their movement and survival at these new locations.

Southeastern myotis take shelter in a culvert (Pete Pattavina/USFWS)

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Blue shiner (top) and a trispot darter from Holly Creek in the Coosa-Tallapoosa drainage (Ani Popp/DNR)

Freshwater Aquatic Species

Aquatic Conservation Initiative
Georgia is one of the richest states in freshwater aquatic biodiversity, ranking among the top five in the number of native species of crayfishes (70), fishes (265), mussels (127) and aquatic snails (84). However, Georgia also ranks among the top states in imperiled freshwater aquatic species. A recent assessment recognized 152 imperiled aquatic species in Georgia, more than half of which have a significant part of their global range within the state's boundaries. Approximately 22 percent of Georgia's freshwater fishes, 28 percent of mollusks and 36 percent of crayfishes are classified as

imperiled or critically imperiled in the state. Yet even these numbers understate the problem because they do not include the 48 species, mostly mollusks, considered extirpated from Georgia waters.
The Wildlife Conservation Section launched the Aquatic Conservation Initiative in 1998 to determine the status of Georgia's aquatic fauna and to develop conservation plans for declining species. Wildlife Conservation conducts hundreds of aquatic surveys around the state each year, documenting or monitoring important populations of high-priority species. In fiscal year 2019, efforts focused on robust redhorse, sicklefin redhorse, blackbanded sunfish and, in the Coosa River drainage, other rare fish and mussel species. The agency also hired its first

regional aquatic biologist. This position is focused on State Wildlife Action Plan high-priority species and habitats in the Coosa drainage of northwest Georgia. A new mussel biologist also was hired. The focus for this scientist is mussels in Atlantic Slope and Gulf Coast drainages and reorganizing staff to cover the state's other drainages. These key personnel changes mark Wildlife Conservation's transition from a single aquatics biologist covering the entire state in 1998 to a team of biologists and technicians with the capacity to accomplish more targeted regional projects.
Data from surveys and monitoring, including data submitted through the agency's scientific collecting permit program, are entered into the NatureServe Biotics database, a national inventory of rare

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DNR's Ani Popp sampling mussels (DNR)

species. Partnerships also are maintained with the Georgia Museum of Natural History and the Stream Survey Team of DNR's Fisheries Management Section, increasing the amount of data available for environmental review and conservation planning. In 2019, these data were used to support the development of range-wide status maps for at-risk aquatic species. The maps, available online at https://georgiabiodiversity.A2hosted. com/StatusMaps, are vital to helping assess the status of species petitioned for listing under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. This data, combined with staff expertise, were also used to help identify Regional Species of Greatest Conservation Need for the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies' Wildlife Diversity Committee. The purpose of this regional listing is to help center conservation efforts on species that might be imperiled across the Southeast as opposed to only within a portion of their range.

n Coosa-Tallapoosa River Drainage
A collaborative multiyear effort assessing the conservation status of bridled darter, frecklebelly madtom, holiday darter and trispot darter concluded in fiscal year 2019. All four fishes were petitioned for listing under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. The project's goals were to compile existing distribution data, conduct additional surveys, evaluate the taxonomic status of three of the species and provide a summary report and data to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for species status assessments. Work during the year included developing online range maps summarizing the status of each species, sampling for frecklebelly madtom at sites where their environmental DNA, or eDNA, had been recently detected and submitting a final report and data to the Fish and Wildlife Service.

Finelined pocketbook (DNR)

Unfortunately, sampling at positive eDNA sites in the Conasauga and Coosawattee rivers failed to collect any frecklebelly madtoms, meaning additional surveys are warranted. Taxonomic studies indicate important genetic and morphological differences among populations of frecklebelly madtoms, holiday darters and bridled darters that merit consideration when setting conservation objectives.
The Fish and Wildlife Service determined that bridled and holiday darters did not require federal listing, but the agency listed the trispot darter as threatened in 2019. A decision on listing the frecklebelly madtom is expected in fiscal 2020. Regardless of federal listing status, all four species will remain a conservation focus in Georgia.
For example, the Wildlife Conservation Section started another project to support conservation of trispot darters in 2019. This fish has a complex life history, requiring migration from feeding habitats in large rivers to breeding habitats in tiny headwater streams. Documenting more breeding sites and ensuring fish passage between breeding and feeding habitats is critical for recovering the species. Wildlife Conservation partnered with the Geological Survey of Alabama, the University of West Alabama and the Cawaco Resource Conservation and Development Council to conduct an eDNA survey for trispot darter. In 2019, DNR staff collected water samples from 90 sites within the trispot darter's known and potential range in Georgia. The University of West Alabama is processing the samples. Results will guide sampling efforts in fiscal 2020.

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Wildlife Conservation also joined forces with the University of Georgia's River Basin Center to establish an annual fish and mussel monitoring program in Holly Creek, a major tributary to the Conasauga. The first fish and mussel surveys were conducted at 10 sites in fiscal 2019. Several rare fish and mussel species were detected, including blue shiner (at nine sites), trispot darter (three sites), bridled darter (three sites), finelined pocketbook (two sites), Alabama creekmussel (four sites), Coosa creekshell (six sites) and Alabama rainbow (six sites). The monitoring surveys will be conducted annually, complementing a larger suite of conservation actions being implemented in the Holly Creek watershed by partners from The Nature Conservancy, UGA's River Basin Center, Limestone Valley Resource Conservation and Development Council, and the Fish and Wildlife Service.
Staff helped monitor fish passage in Raccoon Creek. As with Holly Creek, Raccoon Creek is identified as a high-priority watershed in Georgia's State Wildlife Action Plan. The Nature Conservancy and Kennesaw State University have been working to replace a culvert that impedes fish movements upstream. The culvert was removed in June 2019 and partners are monitoring the effect. Early data suggest fish are moving freely past the old culvert site, opening up habitat for Etowah and Cherokee darters.
Wildlife Conservation also contracts with UGA for long-term monitoring of fishes in the Etowah and

Conasauga rivers. These river systems are among the most diverse and imperiled in the southeastern U.S. Monitoring has been ongoing since 1998. Information from these studies has been important for conservation planning, species status assessments and documenting relationships between fish populations and environmental stressors.
n Tennessee River Drainage
Despite its large size and unique dorsal fin shape, the sicklefin redhorse was not recognized as a distinct species until 1991. The fish has a limited range in the Little Tennessee and Hiwassee River systems in North Carolina and Georgia. The only Georgia population occurs in Brasstown Creek, yet this population is considered critical for conserving the species. Throughout the year, sicklefin redhorse use a variety of habitats in large creeks and rivers, varying from overwintering in pools and runs near Hiwassee Reservoir in North Carolina to spawning in the rocky upper reaches of Brasstown Creek in Georgia.
In 2016, DNR entered into a Candidate Conservation Agreement for the sicklefin redhorse with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, Duke Energy, Tennessee Valley Authority and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. Through the agreement, partners cooperate on actions that conserve, manage and improve sicklefin redhorse populations, with the goal of precluding the need to list the species under the Endangered Species

Act. Based in part on this effort, the Fish and Wildlife Service decided in 2016 that listing sicklefin redhorse was not warranted.
In fiscal year 2019, the Wildlife Conservation Section continued work with partners to conduct a fourth consecutive year of fyke net sampling in Brasstown Creek and for a second consecutive year in the Valley River in North Carolina. Fish in both streams share summer and winter feeding habitats in the mainstem Hiwassee River, but can be intercepted by nets during their spring spawning migration. The favored method is setting fyke nets, which use side nets to funnel migrating fish into a central chamber, much like a weir. Captured fish are weighed, measured, assessed for health and reproductive condition, and released in their direction of travel. All fish are injected with a Passive Integrated Transponder (PIT) tag, which is used to track individual fish that are recaptured in fyke nets or detected when they swim over one of four PIT antenna systems installed in Brasstown Creek and the Valley River. The antenna systems consist of a loop of wire buried in stream gravel and connected to a tag reader on the bank.
Fyke net sampling in spring 2019 yielded 67 adult sicklefin redhorse, including five recaptures from earlier years. Of these 67 fish, 25 were caught in Brasstown Creek and 42 in the Valley River. The number of tagged and untagged fish encountered

Fyke net set for sicklefin redhorse (Brett Albanese/DNR)

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each year is used to estimate annual survival, recruitment and population size of sicklefin redhorse in each stream. Preliminary estimates indicate that more than 1,000 adult sicklefin redhorse migrate into Brasstown Creek each year.
n Atlantic Slope Drainage
The story of the robust redhorse begins much earlier than the sicklefin redhorse's. The robust redhorse was first described in 1869 from a single specimen, and historically occurred in large Atlantic Slope rivers from the Altamaha River in Georgia to the Pee Dee River in North and South Carolina. Weighing upward of 20 pounds and known to live nearly 30 years, the robust redhorse is the largest and longest-lived sucker in the Southeast. It has specialized pharyngeal molars that allow it to crunch native mussels and Asiatic clams. Robust redhorse also feed on other aquatic invertebrates, such as insect larvae and snails. Adults overwinter in the lower sections of rivers and migrate upstream to spawn in shoal and gravel bar habitat, always preferring the deepest available flowing habitat.
Despite its size and large spawning aggregations, this cryptic and hard-to-capture species was presumed extinct for more than 100 years: Its preferred spawning habitat of Piedmont shoals had been inundated or blocked by dams and its name misapplied to a related sucker. Yet when DNR biologists conducting fish surveys in the Oconee River collected several robust redhorse in 1991, state, federal and industry officials recognized the ecological importance of the rediscovery and the potential impact on hydropower operations, especially if the species was federally listed.
The Robust Redhorse Conservation Committee, a group of stakeholders that includes state and federal agencies, public utilities and others, has directed research and recovery work since the early 1990s. Those efforts, ranging from Georgia to North Carolina, have included the nation's first Candidate Conservation Agreement with Assurances for an aquatic species initiated to reintroduce robust redhorse into Georgia's Ocmulgee River and projects varying from rearing and stocking of fish to monitoring survival and recruitment of stocked and wild fish, enhancing spawning habitat, tracking fish by telemetry and studying population dynamics. Genetic analyses revealed that the species is comprised of three distinct groups, or evolutionary significant units, which

are named by river basins: the Altamaha, Savannah and Yadkin-Pee Dee units. These analyses are helping guide research and management.
Despite the extensive work, an apparent decline in the species resulted in a petition for Endangered Species Act listing, with a review by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service expected in 2024. A competitive State Wildlife Grant awarded to Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina in 2016 is powering a multiyear project to identify and implement management actions needed to ensure the species' survival across its range. Objectives include determining if known populations are self-sustaining, improving adaptive management for populations and implementing management actions to bolster conservation. Others involved with DNR and the states include Georgia Power, Georgia Southern University, the University of Georgia's Georgia Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, the Fish and Wildlife Service, and other agency and industry partners.
DNR has increased monitoring in Georgia, adding more habitat surveys, visual surveys during spawning season and electrofishing surveys. The agency's robust redhorse team is also working to improve management of range-wide data, prepare status reports and raise public awareness.
Heavy and frequent rains in spring 2019 prevented partners from conducting most surveys for robust redhorse. Visual surveys at known active spawning locations in the Broad, Ocmulgee and Savannah rivers were tried but high flows and turbidity prevented observation of any fish and spawning activity. High flows also precluded staff from conducting habitat surveys. The only electrofishing survey conducted was in the Little Ocmulgee River near the confluence with the Ocmulgee, and no robust redhorse were encountered.
However, partners were able to continue a long-term population study of the Savannah unit that began during fiscal year 2018. Funded by the competitive State Wildlife Grant and Georgia Power, the study involves collaboration with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, UGA's School of Veterinary Medicine and Georgia Southern University. In 2018, partners and volunteers tagged and released 11 individuals 10 males and one female with surgically implanted acoustic transmitters. The goal for 2019 was to collect and tag nine more fish, but heavy rains and high flows washed out this effort.

The acoustic transmitters have a 10-year battery life and emit a sonic ping that researchers hope will be detected by receiver arrays already used to track sturgeon and striped bass. On the Savannah, that array system stretches from the estuary to Augusta Shoals near Augusta, the entire known range of the robust redhorse's Savannah evolutionary significant unit. The study should not only deepen understanding of the species' life history and population dynamics, but also provide insight into the efficacy of a pending fish passage at New Savannah Bluff Lock and Dam.
In 2019, all 11 tagged fish were picked up by the stationary array. Most fish spent several weeks resting in the vicinity of the spawning area. One went upstream to the New Savannah Bluff Lock and Dam, then headed downstream. Another swam the gauntlet down to the salt wedge, then came back halfway upstream, where it remained for months. A few others joined this marathon swimmer, and researchers plan on targeting this area for additional studies.
Since high flows and muddy waters prevented visual surveys during spawning season, partners used a handheld receiver to search for tagged fish by boat. This tracking is also useful when tagged fish are in reaches between receivers. In May 2019, staff were able to confirm that at least four of the fish did make the spawning migration. Partners will continue to actively track tagged fish throughout winter in hopes of pinpointing areas that might be conservation priorities for the robust redhorse.
While mostly sidelined by wet weather, significant progress was made on another key task in the State Wildlife Grant: developing a range-wide database that will help the Robust Redhorse Conservation Committee make research and management decisions. In fiscal 2019, staff completed a draft version of the database and began importing partner data. This process revealed data gaps and discrepancies in reported observations. Staff also held multiple workshops with current and retired researchers to clear up ambiguities and helped with executive committee duties, such as renewing the memorandum of understanding that outlines the larger group's purpose, goals and participation. All partners are expected to renew their commitment to robust redhorse conservation for another 10 years.

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Robust redhorse conservation will continue to be a focus in fiscal year 2020. Staff will be working with the committee on a status assessment document that summarizes range-wide data and study results. The document will help the Fish and Wildlife Service determine whether federal listing is warranted for the robust redhorse. Also, Wildlife Conservation and Georgia Power will be drafting a renewal of the Ocmulgee Candidate Conservation Agreement with Assurances. Monitoring will be a priority. Efforts in the Altamaha unit will include searching for new spawning sites in the Ocmulgee, visiting historic spawning sites in the Oconee, sampling for overwintering fish in the lower Altamaha and doing habitat and visual surveys on the Broad. In the Savannah unit, visual monitoring and tagging will continue.
The Altamaha River basin is well-known among aquatic scientists for its diversity of freshwater mussel species, including endemic forms such as the Altamaha spinymussel. In 2017, DNR entered into a Candidate Conservation Agreement for the Freshwater Mollusks of this basin with Georgia Power and the Fish and Wildlife Service. The purpose is to implement conservation actions for mussels and snails occurring within or near Georgia Power's project areas in the Oconee, Ocmulgee and Altamaha rivers. The agreement provides a mechanism for funding critical surveys, monitoring and research, and will be a major focus of Wildlife Conservation's mussel biologist in coming years. In fiscal 2020, the agency's mussel biologist will also take part in a species status assessment for the Altamaha spinymussel.
During 2019, staff also managed contracted research involving federally endangered shortnose and Atlantic sturgeons. The work is carried out by researchers at UGA's Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources and is funded by the National Marine Fisheries Service. Current projects focus on monitoring juvenile recruitment of both species in the lower Savannah and Altamaha rivers and estimating the number of adult Atlantic sturgeon migrating into the Altamaha for spawning. The Altamaha and Savannah river populations of both species are among the largest within their overall ranges and are significant for recovery of each fish.

DNR's Matt Rowe (left) discusses mussels in an Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint workshop (DNR)

n Gulf Coast Drainage
As part of a collaborative State Wildlife Grant project with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, the Wildlife Conservation Section completed the final year of fieldwork for the blackbanded sunfish project. The goal was to assess the status of this species in both states using eDNA and traditional fish sampling methods. Water samples were collected at 31 Georgia sites in 2015, but only five sites tested positive for blackbanded sunfish eDNA. Exhaustive sampling using multiple methods boat electrofishing, seining and trapping at these and other nearby sites in 2017-2018 did not yield any blackbanded sunfish. In contrast, South Carolina DNR detected blackbanded sunfish and their eDNA at nine of study sites in that state. Collectively, these results indicate that eDNA sampling is effective at detecting the occurrence of blackbanded sunfish, but positive eDNA occurrences may not always correspond to large viable populations.
In fiscal year 2019, Wildlife Conservation expanded the geographic scope of the project by collecting additional eDNA water samples at nine sites in eastern Georgia. Sites were selected because they contained high-quality habitat for blackbanded sunfish and were between known populations in

South Carolina and south Georgia. Georgia DNR's Fisheries Management Section also contributed to this work in 2019 by providing genetic material (fin clips) from five blackbanded sunfish they encountered in the Okefenokee Swamp. Unless the recent eDNA samples document new populations, Okefenokee Swamp may be the only stronghold for this species in Georgia. Fiscal year 2020 goals include processing the new eDNA samples and completing the final report.
Wildlife Conservation also has been monitoring important populations of freshwater mussels in southwest Georgia since the early 2000s. These populations face significant threats from streamflow depletion associated with extreme droughts and agricultural water withdrawals. However, the opposite problem occurred in fiscal 2019, as high stream flows and damage from hurricane damage prevented staff from completing any data collection. In the lower Flint River basin, Spring Creek suffered substantial flooding and habitat alteration because of Hurricane Michael. Much debris was deposited and the channel was substantially altered within monitoring reaches. In fiscal 2020, staff will work with partners to clear debris and resume monitoring in Spring Creek and other long-term monitoring sites.

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Sweet pitcherplants at Ohoopee Dunes WMA (Marylou Moore/DNR)

Plants and Natural Habitats

Rare Plant Conservation
Georgia is a global hotspot for botanical diversity. The Wildlife Conservation Section tracks populations of more than 780 plant species, 155 of which are protected in Georgia. Plant conservation depends on wisely chosen priorities and contributions from partners. In Georgia's State Wildlife Action Plan, plant conservation follows a multipronged approach: Surveys and monitoring, habitat stewardship, safeguarding genetic material, and fostering partnerships are all high priorities in protecting plant biodiversity.
n Surveys and Monitoring
Periodic surveys and monitoring are important to determine trends in priority plant populations and detect critical declines before local extirpation occurs. Results provide important

data to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for formal species status assessments.
Funded by a special grant from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, in-depth survey and data organization were undertaken in Georgia and South Carolina for two species being considered for federal listing under the Endangered Species Act: purple honeycomb-head and Ocmulgee skullcap. Purple honeycomb-head is declining range-wide due to habitat changes attributed to fire suppression and feral hogs. The 74 Georgia locations were combined with other states' data to create a range-wide status map, which is available online. For Ocmulgee skullcap, results revealed the unexpected result that 22 locations listed for this species were actually populations of the similar-looking Mellichamp's skullcap. This work refined the key differences between the species. At final count there are 28 known

sites for Ocmulgee skullcap, a plant that faces threats of development pressure, herbivory and invasive species.
In fiscal year 2019, Wildlife Conservation Section staff also conducted a fourth year of monitoring the status of large-flowered skullcap at five sites in northwest Georgia. Largeflowered skullcap is locally frequent with stable populations and will likely be delisted when a few more sites are protected.
Georgia aster remains a high-priority species for surveys and monitoring since it is part of a Candidate Conservation Plan. This showy, deeppurple aster has been reported from nearly 130 sites across 35 Georgia counties. Partners in the Georgia Plant Conservation Alliance have set up permanent monitoring plots and work together each fall to collect data. Wildlife Conservation

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has established long-term monitoring plots on six state properties. Managed through thinning the canopy and applying prescribed fire, most sites have seen significant increases in the number of flowering stems, although two populations remain small and need improved management.
An ongoing survey for federally endangered hairy rattleweed focused in fiscal 2019 on population estimates at a private site in Wayne County, which has possibly more than 1,000 individuals. The property will likely be permanently protected.
Wildlife Conservation staff also continued annual population monitoring for Radford's mint. This annual grows up to 26 inches tall, has cinnamonscented leaves and sports showy pink flowers in the fall. The state-endangered species is also known to exist in only two locations along the north side of the Altamaha River. One location is on a private hunt club under a conservation

easement with The Nature Conservancy. The second site is on Townsend Wildlife Management Area, managed by DNR in Long and McIntosh counties. Townsend has extensive xeric aeolian river dunes, and when the property was acquired in 2008, it was planted with the invasive sand pine. Assessments of the Radford's mint population began in 2009, and only 278 individuals were found. Since, the habitat has been improved by thinning and replacing sand pine with longleaf pine. In 2005, Radford's mint was outplanted in six areas, several of which have sustained annual populations. The 2018 population assessment counted 3,922 individuals at Townsend. This includes a new subpopulation found next to the plant's historic population centers on the WMA.
On The Nature Conservancy's Broxton Rocks Preserve in Coffee County, Wildlife Conservation and Nature Conservancy staff led a project to

protect the site's rare sandhills lily from being eaten by deer. Browsing by white-tailed deer can have damaging effects on individual lilies, which occur in the ecotones between piney uplands or flatwoods and adjacent bottomlands. Staff carefully placed wire caging around the lilies to help protect them from deer.
Wildlife Conservation also initiated a survey of state-rare pondspice in the lower Altamaha River corridor of protected lands. Of the few pondspice populations surveyed by the close of fiscal 2019, most were in stable condition, although some plants were smaller because they were resprouting after prescribed burns. Browsing by deer on the new growth was also documented as a threat. While conducting the surveys, a new population of pondspice was discovered.

Ocmulgee skullcap (Alan Cressler)

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Hairy rattleweed (Jacob Thompson/DNR)

n Safeguarding
Ultimately, for the most imperiled rare plants, safeguarding of genetic material, augmenting populations and introducing populations are critical conservation actions. Safeguarding involves propagation by cuttings, seed or plants to ensure that Georgia-native genotypes are available to enhance natural populations or establish new ones.
New safeguarding work has been made possible through a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Coastal Wetlands Program grant to restore 10 pitcherplant seeps and one depressional pond on Ohoopee Dunes Wildlife Management Area near Swainsboro. The project will safeguard federally listed and federally petitioned species, including the hooded, parrot, southern purple, sweet and yellow trumpet pitcherplants, as well as pondberry, pond spice, purple honey-comb head, swamp bumelia and wireleaf dropseed. Wildlife Conservation negotiated assuming management responsibility from Georgia Power and will no longer use herbicides to control woody and herbaceous competition, relying instead on prescribed fire and mechanical methods.

n Habitat Restoration
Imperiled rare plant populations often require targeted stewardship that addresses recovery needs that are finer than broad-scale prescribed fire or timber management programs can address. These approaches include localized control of woody or invasive vegetation, excluding herbivores and smallscale controlled burning and hydrologic repairs. The habitats involved vary, although bogs are one focus.
Mountain Pitcherplant Bogs
Mountain bogs are one of the most critically endangered habitats of the Southern Appalachians. The bogs are typically small, from a half-acre to 5 acres, and usually associated with seeps, springs and small creeks. These early successional habitats support a variety of unique and imperiled flora and fauna, including the federally threatened bog turtle and swamp pink, possibly the state's rarest reptile and plant species, respectively. Other rare and state-protected mountain bog plants include the montane purple pitcherplant (which is petitioned for federal listing), broadleaf white meadowsweet, Carolina bog laurel, Canada burnet, Cuthbert's turtlehead and marsh bellflower.

For 25 years, the Wildlife Conservation Section has worked to restore mountain bogs independently and as a member of the Georgia Plant Conservation Alliance, or GPCA. In fiscal year 2019, work continued to control woody competition, invasive plant species and feral hog damage, as well as engineer hydrologic repairs and modifications at priority sites. Extensive clearing was helped by a U.S. Forest Service Youth Conservation Corps team and a seasonal crew of The Nature Conservancy.
In 2019, Wildlife Conservation and the GPCA held 14 workdays totaling more than 70 volunteers and involving six mountain bogs. Outplanting sites were armored against feral hog damage by installing "hog-tent" exclosures and heavy log barriers, as well through efforts to control hog numbers. DNR Game Management Section, in consultation with the GPCA, used four corral traps and night-vision scopes to harvest 134 hogs, mostly in the Blue Ridge ecoregion. Atlanta Botanical Garden, The Environmental Resources Network (Wildlife Conservation's friends group) and the U.S. Forest Service funded the purchase of six cameras, providing rapid detection of feral hogs and remediation of damage.

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Yellow fringed orchid in newly-discovered bog on Sandhills WMA West (Hal Massie/DNR)

Construction of a new mountain bog display garden at Smithgall Woods State Park was designed, supplied with plants and overseen by the GPCA.
Wildlife Conservation also continued its participation in the Bog Learning Network, a consortium of scientists and land managers working to advance the restoration and management of Southern Appalachian bogs. Botanist Dr. J. Mincy Moffett Jr. and herpetologist Thomas Floyd served on the network's steering committee, along with Carrie Radcliffe from Atlanta Botanical Garden. A principal activity of the steering committee included developing new initiatives for coordinating protection of bogs; increasing membership and outreach, including expanding into new states; facilitating and providing education and learning opportunities; and promoting and supporting conservation in the field. The network also continued its Work and Learn Fun Field Day Series, in which participants learned about mountain bog botany, ecology and bog impacts from invasive plant species.

Volunteers involved contributed hours of labor. The series visited a Georgia bog in fiscal 2019.
Coastal Plain Pitcherplant Bogs
Bog restoration is not limited to the mountains. Georgia's Coastal Plain herbaceous bogs are small but rare jewels, another highest-priority habitat for rare plant conservation. These bogs face threats such as hydrologic disturbance, fire suppression and land development. Many species of southeastern Coastal Plain pitcherplant and orchid species found in these bogs are safeguarded by Georgia Plant Conservation Alliance partners, with corresponding habitat restoration projects.
One long-term project is conserving the state's only known site for the Coastal Plain purple pitcherplant, in a bog complex in southeast Georgia. The complex is also home to four other protected plant species, a diverse suite that not only features unusual bog plants but also gopher tortoises, Georgia's state reptile. Work at the site began in 2006 and has demonstrated the effectiveness of partnerships and consistent landowner outreach in concert

with the Interagency Burn Team, the Georgia Plant Conservation Alliance, Atlanta Botanical Garden, Georgia Botanical Society and the Georgia Native Plant Society.
In fiscal year 2019, new prescribed fire partnerships with three landowners were solidified and led to successful burns at the bogs. At one of these properties, more than 300 pitcherplants grown by Atlanta Botanical Garden were planted by the fire crews, volunteers and the landowner. Also, a volunteer workday drew more than 25 people who cleared shrubs from the bog habitats.
Another important privately-owned bog called Race Pond is found in a powerline right of way and has rare plant species such as Florida hartwrightia, purple honeycomb-head and hooded pitcherplant. In 2019, staff removed pine and hardwood saplings from the site to maintain an open bog habitat. Later in the year, hartwrightia and purple Honeycombhead were collected to grow plants to introduce a population of the plants in a bog at Laura S. Walker State Park in Ware County.

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n Partnerships for Protection
Georgia Plant Conservation Alliance
The Georgia Plant Conservation Alliance, or GPCA, is an innovative network of 49 public gardens, government agencies, academic institutions, utility companies and environmental organizations committed to preserving Georgia's endangered flora. Formed in 1995 with the Wildlife Conservation Section as a charter member, the GPCA initiates and coordinates efforts to protect natural habitats and endangered species through biodiversity management, public education and rare plant propagation and outplanting (i.e., safeguarding).
Member organizations are engaged in recovery projects involving 104 imperiled plant species. Of these, 99 are in safeguarding programs at botanical gardens, arboreta and seed banks, and 49 species have been reintroduced successfully into the wild. GPCA has 11 safeguarding partner institutions that hold and manage ex-situ collections for recovery and study.
GPCA contributions to plant conservation since the alliance's start have amounted to an estimated $2.5 million in direct and indirect support. More than $1.8 million was supplied by non-DNR members supporting high-priority species and habitats identified in Georgia's State Wildlife Action Plan. A significant portion of contributions came from GPCA's trained volunteers, the Botanical Guardians.

GPCA continued its commitment to monarch butterfly conservation and recovery in fiscal year 2019. In fall 2018, the first training of growers and volunteers regarding milkweed pod collection and seed propagation took place at the nonprofit Coastal WildScapes in Darien. GPCA worked with new partner Monarchs Across Georgia to promote outplantings of native milkweed. This effort excludes the aggressive common milkweed, which is not native to Georgia and can create monocultures.
The Wildlife Conservation Section also worked with the Georgia Department of Transportation and other GPCA members to help DOT catalog, map and manage populations of protected plant species along state-managed roadsides. In spring 2019, DOT began compiling all known occurrences new and extant of protected species along roadsides encountered by DOT ecologists and ecology consultants during road project field surveys. Once verified, the Georgia Natural Heritage Program database, known as Biotics, will be updated, providing a foundation to develop a management and safeguarding program. GPCA Botanical Guardians will likely help monitor populations, and the State Botanical Garden will share project information through its Learning Through Leading program to provide students the opportunity to help with the ongoing project.
GPCA also helped develop and teach an ephemeral wetland restoration workshop at Wakulla Springs, Florida. The workshop was designed to inform

land and fire managers on restoration techniques useful in fire-suppressed ephemeral wetlands of Alabama, Florida and Georgia. The alliance added conservation networking from a rare-plant perspective and provided horticultural expertise regarding common wetland species that imperiled amphibians use to lay eggs.
Two more seed storage facilities for conservation and research in Georgia came online in 2019: one at Atlanta Botanical Garden and the other at the Joseph W. Jones Ecological Research Center. Both labs are storing seed from species in active recovery, as well as more common species identified in the State Wildlife Action Plan.
In outreach and education, a new Certificate in Native Plants curriculum sponsored by GPCA was developed and is being taught at the University of Georgia's Tifton campus. This effort is generating a new cohort of students who are being trained in botany, horticulture, ecology and conservation, and who hold promise of becoming new Botanical Guardians for south Georgia's imperiled species. On another front, the State Botanical Garden's Connect to Protect program, which creates small-site pollinator gardens in public and urban settings for public education and to connect fragmented landscapes, installed a dozen new gardens, raising the total statewide to 50.
Recognition of GPCA's efforts included a Federal Highway Administration Environmental Excellence

GPCA gathering (Hal Massie/DNR)

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Award in the category Ecosystem, Habitat and Wildlife. These biennial awards recognize transportation leaders across the U.S. that make outstanding contributions to environmental stewardship and partnerships beyond traditional transportation project outcomes. The award specifically recognized DOT's more than 20-year partnership with the GPCA to restore rare plant communities, safeguard protected plant species and address invasive plant species. The GPCA also received a 2019 National Environmental Excellence Award honorable mention from the National Association of Environmental Professionals for environmental management, stewardship, conservation and protection.
This year, the alliance added Berry College in Rome and Monarchs across Georgia as members.
Public-private Partnerships
Public-private partnerships are often critical to plant conservation, because most land in Georgia is privately owned.
A significant example involves cypress savanna wetlands and their federally endangered inhabitant, Canby's dropwort. Of the 21 known occurrences of the plant in Georgia, 18 are on private agricultural lands. In fiscal year 2019, the state's largest known population of Canby's dropwort was protected through a partnership with a private landowner, The Conservation Fund and DNR. At another Canby's dropwort population on Big Dukes Pond Wildlife Management Area near Millen, 35 acres of cypress savanna habitat were restored through removing the pine canopy and understory hardwoods. Long-term effects on the population and the habitat are being monitored semi-annually. In addition, Wildlife Conservation Section staff collaborated with the University of Georgia's Plant Biology Department to publish a scientific paper in the Natural Areas Journal on conserving the genetic diversity of Canby's dropwort.
Another important area for plant conservation is utility and highway rights of ways, where remnant rare habitats persist in the opened areas. Communication with partners such as Georgia Power and the Georgia Department of Transportation is critical to protecting these sites. Maintenance that is not well-planned or coordinated regarding the plants and habitats can have negative impacts. DNR and DOT have renewed their emphasis on improving data

DNR's J. Mincy Moffett Jr. and Marylou Moore bag milkweed fruits at Ohoopee Dunes WMA (Marylou Moore/DNR)

collection and communications regarding such sites. In fiscal 2019, Wildlife Conservation worked with DOT to survey and create buffers for habitat of imperiled plants such as trailing meadowrue, Tennessee yellow-eyed grass, cutleaf beardtongue and pineland Barbara's-buttons.
Staff also met with DOT and the Okefenokee Swamp Park to determine management for two rights of ways in Charlton and Ware counties. These areas include wet flatwoods and bog habitats for priority species including nightblooming wild petunia, hooded pitcherplant and parrot pitcherplant. DOT will change when it mows to avoid the impact on species and their habitat during the growing season.
Milkweeds and Migratory Butterflies
The Wildlife Conservation Section continued a project with the State Botanical Garden of Georgia and Atlanta Botanical Garden to conserve and promote native milkweeds in southeast Georgia. The focus is host plants for monarch butterflies. Staff created a mapping application and trained volunteers to help collect data. One result:

Several new populations of milkweed species were discovered and seeds collected for propagation. Finding local seed sources is vital to promote planting of native milkweeds in the coastal region. This project is aimed at bolstering the availability of native milkweeds for plant enthusiasts and for increasing populations on conservation lands.
Staff also took part in a Migratory Butterfly Monitoring project with partners in the Butterflies of the Atlantic Flyway Alliance. Long-term monitoring plots were installed to quantify the number of monarchs, Gulf fritillaries and cloudless sulphur butterflies migrating through habitats at Altama Plantation Wildlife Management Area near Brunswick. This work is part a larger, multisite data collection effort to determine what habitats and locations are the most important for these migratory species. Little is known about the relative importance of the Atlantic Flyway for migratory butterflies and especially monarchs, a species being considered for listing under the Endangered Species Act. This project will likely help inform management activities to help conserve migratory butterflies.

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n Ginseng Management
The export of American ginseng is regulated under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, an international agreement administered in America by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. In Georgia, ginseng exports are authorized by that agency in concert with the Georgia Ginseng Protection Act of 1979.
To have a legal ginseng trade, the Fish and Wildlife Service requires Georgia to maintain a ginseng management program that ensures compliance with federal and state regulations. The objective is to prevent this perennial forest herb from becoming endangered because of trade. Demand for ginseng is high in natural medicinal markets and in Asian medicine. The Wildlife Conservation Section administers the Georgia Ginseng Management Program, which monitors the harvest and sale of ginseng. Staff work with ginseng dealers, growers, the DNR Wildlife Resources Division's Game Management Section and DNR's Law Enforcement Division to make ginseng regulation and meeting those regulations transparent and simple.
In calendar year 2018, the dealer-reported wild ginseng harvest in Georgia totaled 198.4 pounds dry weight. This is lower than the 10-year average harvest of about 275 pounds dry weight. On average, dealers paid $649 a pound for Georgiaharvested ginseng, an increase of $107 more per pound than the year before.
In 2017, Georgia's ginseng program benefited from a $65,000 grant from the Fish and Wildlife Service and Friends of Plant Conservation, a North Carolina nonprofit. The grant recognized DNR Law Enforcement efforts regarding ginseng regulations. Since summer 2018, Wildlife Conservation has been using these funds for a conservation status survey of wild ginseng in Georgia, the first such assessment in the state since the 1990s. Populations of wild ginseng face many pressures, including legal harvest, poaching, consumption by deer and habitat degradation. Knowing how these populations are doing will help determine the sustainability of Georgia's ginseng trade. Results indicate that ginseng is likely in decline in the state.
Since 2017, the Fish and Wildlife Service has been leading an effort to increase communication among state and tribal ginseng programs. In

Wet pine flatwoods with hooded pitcherplants on Townsend WMA (Jacob Thompson/DNR)

fiscal year 2019, Georgia ginseng program manager Lisa Kruse contributed to formal recommendations for standardizing biological monitoring nationwide and setting outreach priorities for conservation of wild ginseng.
The cultivated ginseng trade is not significant in Georgia overall, but cultivated ginseng is encouraged in the state as one strategy to relieve pressure on wild populations. Most of the ginseng harvested in the U.S. is exported to China, although local interest in Georgia ginseng for personal use has increased. Georgia is at the southern edge of the plant's distribution, and the trade is much smaller here than in nearby states such as North Carolina and Kentucky. Ginseng exports in those states total millions of dollars a year.
Habitat Conservation and Monitoring
Wildlife Conservation Section botanists play a key role in habitat conservation though habitat mapping for land protection and management planning, often providing guidance in prioritizing areas for conservation and establishing habitat management guidelines. Staff also conduct vegetation monitoring to track changes resulting from DNR Wildlife Resources Division habitat restoration projects.

n Habitat Conservation
In fiscal year 2019, this work ranged far and wide along Georgia's coast. Wildlife Conservation Section staff led land protection efforts, including applying for land acquisition grants through the National Coastal Wetlands Conservation Grant Program. These U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service grants have proved critical for conserving coastal habitat in recent years. This year, staff submitted successful applications to help protect Cabin Bluff, a large and species-rich property in Camden County. DNR is working with The Nature Conservancy, Open Space Institute and others to help protect this important coastal site.
Wildlife Conservation biologists also worked in an advisory role to give input on management and research on high-priority coastal lands. As part of the Little St. Simons Island Ecological Advisory Council, staff helped make decisions concerning management and potential research projects on Little St. Simons, a privately owned island. Staff also served on the Cannon's Point Preserve Conservation Task Force and provided technical support to Cannon's Point, The Nature Conservancy and St. Simons Land Trust staff. This participation included reviewing potential research projects and evaluating threats to conservation values to Cannon's Point, a conservation tract of more than 600 acres on St. Simons.

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Near Ludowici, staff teamed with partners to protect the Rist Tract in the lower Altamaha River corridor. These 1,200 acres, now part of Townsend Wildlife Management Area, feature extensive and undisturbed coastal wet-flatwoods groundcover with priority species such as hooded pitcherplant, pinewoods dropseed and night-blooming wild petunia. This tract sports the highest quality pine flatwoods habitats in the lower Altamaha corridor of protected lands.
In Wheeler County in central southeast Georgia, staff continued mapping and describing habitats at Alligator Creek Wildlife Management Area. This work involves field surveys and ground-truthing of habitats as well as remote sensing using GIS. Current and future conditions habitat maps will be an important component of the WMA's long-term management plan. Staff also continued refining habitat maps and descriptions for the Lower Altamaha Corridor Management Plan, which includes eight wildlife management areas along the lower Altamaha River.
Wildlife Conservation helped conserve extensive properties near the Canoochee River. These Canoochee sandhills tracts contain significant populations of gopher tortoises, eastern indigo snakes and pine snakes, as well as a diversity of habitats including longleaf sandhills, pine flatwoods, depressions and blackwater river bottomlands. Staff also worked on a baseline property report for a Bullard Creek conservation easement covering 7,050 acres featuring longleaf uplands, pine flatwoods and diverse wetland habitats. A large part of the property was once leased by DNR as part of Bullard Creek Wildlife Management Area near Hazlehurst. Now the entire tract will be added to the WMA.
Wildlife Conservation also helped with signage for a nature trail at the Guale Preserve on St. Simons. The Guale Preserve has unique and rare coastal habitats, including xeric maritime forests, pond pine flatwoods and depression wetlands.
n Habitat Monitoring
Monitoring is key to tracking changes in habitats and measuring biological diversity and habitat suitability for rare wildlife species. Quantifying changes resulting from DNR's rare species and habitat restoration efforts will help gauge the impact this work and guide future management.
In fiscal year 2019, a collaborative monitoring project was started to track wetland restoration funded by a multistate State Wildlife Grant. The

DNR's Melanie Flood works through a thicket monitoring vegetation at Flat Tub WMA (DNR)

grant objective is restoring amphibian habitat by removing overgrown woody vegetation from seasonal ponds via prescribed fire or mechanical treatments. Rare amphibians such as the reticulated and frosted flatwoods salamanders and gopher frogs rely on open savanna-like ponds with a grassy herbaceous layer for breeding. Wildlife Conservation Section botanists, herpetologists and restoration ecologists worked together to design the vegetation monitoring protocol. Pre-treatment monitoring at 29 wetlands on state conservation lands will be completed during the fiscal 2020 growing season.
Staff also worked with the St. Simons Land Trust to complete this year's vegetation monitoring for a maritime forest restoration project on Cannon's Point Preserve. The research, a collaboration involving the St. Simons preserve and researchers from Purdue and New Mexico State universities, is documenting the effects of weed control and deer exclusion on live oak plantings in research plots. The goal: develop plans for restoring live oak maritime forests along the coast.
A statewide fire-photo monitoring program was reinvigorated this fiscal year as Wildlife Conservation's botany team gained a new full-time technician. In place since 2008, this a project with DNR's State Parks and Historic Sites Division measures long-term effects of DNR's prescribed burning program using qualitative, standardized photographs. Monitoring is done on more than 30 properties and incorporates data from site managers. New online technologies are being implemented that will improve staff accessibility to the fire photo database.

On other fronts, Wildlife Conservation continued a vegetation monitoring project in fire-maintained uplands at Altama Plantation Wildlife Management Area. The focus is determining the effects of management methods on longleaf pine restoration sites at the Glynn County WMA. Methods include prescribed fire, tree thinning and planting longleaf. Gopher tortoises are a focus of restoration at Altama Plantation. Monitoring will help determine if management is improving habitats the tortoises and other priority species need.
In Georgia's Coastal Plain, sandhills restoration funded by a multistate State Wildlife Grant has been monitored since 2009. Fall 2018 marked Wildlife Conservation's fifth year of data collection for the project. Involving staff and many volunteers, the monitoring tracks restoration at 10 properties and across more than 300 sampling areas. Results are reported to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and have informed sandhills management planning.
n Sandhills Conservation
Four competitive State Wildlife Grants in Georgia and other states have benefited sandhill and upland longleaf pine habitats that support gopher tortoises and other priority species. Efforts supported by the third grant continued in fiscal year 2019.
DNR received the first grant, for $1 million, in 2009 to work with Alabama, Florida and South Carolina on restoring high-priority sandhills. DNR and state wildlife agencies in Florida,

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Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana were awarded a $981,000 State Wildlife Grant in 2011 for additional habitat restoration on the targeted habitats. In fall 2015, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, South Carolina, Mississippi and Louisiana began phase 3 with the award of another competitive State Wildlife Grant for $500,000. And in late 2018, Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana and South Carolina received a $407,500 grant for phase 4.
In phase 1, which was completed at the end of fiscal 2013, all states exceeded their project goals and nearly tripled the original goal for overall acreage treated (95,000 acres treated vs. the 38,600 acres proposed). In phase 2, finished in fiscal 2015, restoration goals were again exceeded, with 76,666 acres treated versus the goal of 51,575. This work is expected to yield significant habitat benefits largely through improvements in herbaceous understory coverage for priority species such as the gopher tortoise and northern bobwhite. Phase 3, a three-year focus, calls for restoring or enhancing more than 33,000 acres of sandhill or upland longleaf habitat across the six states in the gopher tortoise's range. Work is just starting on phase 4. For it, the four states combined will treat more than 20,000 acres with prescribed fire, restore more than 100 acres

of native groundcover, control hardwoods and invasive species on 691 acres and plant 385 acres of longleaf pine.
Georgia has used phase 3 funds to: hire a seasonal fire crew for two seasons in southeast Georgia; plant longleaf pine seedlings at Townsend Wildlife Management Area near Ludowici, Alligator Creek Wildlife Management Area in Wheeler County and a private tract adjacent to Ohoopee Dunes Wildlife Management Area in Emanuel County; and contract with The Nature Conservancy to conduct additional prescribed burning and plant longleaf pines on priority lands in southeast Georgia.
Final restoration acreages across all states are being calculated for phase 3, but:
n In Georgia, 6,885 acres have received prescribed fire versus an original goal of 6,000 acres, and 1,000 acres have been planted in longleaf versus the goal of 500.
n In Florida, 29,442 acres have received prescribed fire compared to the goal of 21,000.
n And in South Carolina, 185 acres of gopher tortoise habitat have been created and 330 acres have been treated with prescribed fire

at Tillman Sandridge Heritage Preserve, the largest gopher tortoise population in the state.
Post-treatment monitoring of birds and vegetation at Georgia restoration sites was completed in spring and fall 2019, respectively.
Prescribed Fire
Prescribed fire is one of the most effective tools for conserving and restoring fire-adapted habitats and helping numerous species of conservation concern. While DNR uses other land-management techniques to improve natural habitats on state lands such as removing invasive species, planting native species and thinning timber prescribed fire is the most vital. It is a safe way to apply a natural process, ensure ecosystem health and reduce the risk of wildfire.
The acreage of prescribed burns on lands managed by DNR surged from 41,533 in 2010 to 56,089 acres in 2019, although this year's total declined slightly from an agency-record 61,937 acres burned in 2018. The Wildlife Conservation Section has played a significant role in the increase since 2010 by leading fire training for the DNR Wildlife Resources Division, helping with burn operations

DNR-MANAGED ACRES BURNED 2010 - 2019
*Totals by fiscal year

Prescribed fire (Josiah Lavender/DNR)

70,000 60,000 50,000 40,000 30,000 20,000 10,000
2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

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41,533 52,889 42,739 54,120 57,555 56,773 60,636 39,477 61,937 56,089

and conducting other prescribed fire activities.
As a member of the Interagency Burn Team, Wildlife Conservation worked with the Georgia Forestry Commission, The Longleaf Alliance, The Nature Conservancy, The Orianne Society, the U.S. Forest Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in fiscal year 2019. Staff also teamed with other Wildlife Resources Division sections and DNR's State Parks and Historic Sites Division, as well as volunteers trained to National Wildfire Coordinating Group standards. This collaboration proved essential in burning more than 56,000 acres. In return, Interagency Burn Team partners played a key role in Wildlife Conservation fire management. A number of species of conservation concern in Georgia's State Wildlife Action Plan benefitted from this work.
n Seasonal Fire Crews
Since 2009, seasonal fire crews have carried out the bulk of the Wildlife Conservation Section's prescribed fires. Always on call and working statewide, members have helped improve efficiency each year, although the number of acres burned fluctuates annually according to the weather.
For the sixth year, in fiscal year 2019 Wildlife Conservation had two seasonal fire crews, the southeast Georgia crew housed at Altama Plantation Wildlife Management Area near Brunswick and the Chattahoochee Fall Line crew based in west-central Georgia at Sandhills West Wildlife Management Area near Butler. These crews typically work independently of each other: The Fall Line crew focuses on the Fall Line Sandhills and Pine Mountain regions, while the southeast Georgia crew typically works on properties across the Coastal Plain.
The southeast Georgia crew was funded by a multistate sandhills grant focused on high-priority sandhills and gopher tortoise habitat (also see: Sandhills Conservation) as well as a habitat restoration grant. These two State Wildlife Grants support conservation priorities in Georgia's State Wildlife Action Plan.
The Fall Line crew burned nearly 9,500 acres. Significant burns included helicopter-ignited operations on Chattahoochee Fall Line, West Point, Big Lazer and Sprewell Bluff wildlife management areas, as well as Tallulah Gorge State Park in Tallulah Falls. Significant smaller burns included

Prescribed fire at Panola Mountain State Park (Hal Massie/DNR)

growing-season fires, done May through July, on blackland prairies at Oaky Woods Wildlife Management Area near Perry and on Sandhills Wildlife Management Area near Butler.
In other work, Fall Line crew members cleared and sprayed invasive exotic species, including Bradford pear on about 120 acres of woodlands at Sweetwater Creek State Park in Douglas County, musk thistle on 250 acres of Panola State Park near Stockbridge and sand pine on 300 acres added to Sandhills WMA. The crew also collected and cleaned the seed of groundcover plants (seed that will be used to restore groundcover), maintained three campgrounds at Sprewell Bluff and held a chainsaw safety class.
The southeast Georgia crew helped burn almost 8,000 acres. Members also continued working closely with seasonal fire crews from The Nature Conservancy and The Orianne Society. They helped DNR's Game Management Section and State Parks and Historic Sites Division, assisted the U.S. Forest Service on several large operations, and helped burn almost 700 acres on private conservation lands, including The Nature Conservancy's Broxton Rocks and Cabin Bluff, the Charles Harrold Preserve, the

Orianne Preserve, the Lewis Tract and key first-entry burns at the Canoochee Bog complex. In the process, members gained significant experience. Three experienced wildland firefighters returned from previous seasons and mentored new members. Crew leader Marylou Moore attended Engine Academy, received her Georgia prescribed burn manager certification from the Georgia Forestry Commission and, along with another crew member, completed the ICT5 Incident Command Type 5 task books. The crew helped mentor State Parks' fire crew and The Nature Conservancy's young Moody Forest crew.
Like their Fall Line counterparts, the southeast Georgia members also did work not associated with fire but still critical to Wildlife Conservation's mission. Members marked tortoise burrows ahead of timber harvest operations at Alapaha River Wildlife Management Area near Ocilla; removed invasive sand pine from Altama Plantation and Townsend wildlife management areas, near Brunswick and Ludowici, respectively; outplanted pitcher plants at Canoochee Bog in southeast Georgia; expanded and enhanced a parrot pitcherplant bog at Ohoopee Dunes Wildlife Management Area near Swainsboro; and helped establish and

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prepare donor plots for native groundcover at Altama Plantation and Townsend WMAs.
Other high-priority sites treated with prescribed fire by Wildlife Conservation included Wildlife Resources Division-managed lands such as Alapaha, Altama, Buffalo Swamp, Griffin Ridge, Ohoopee Dunes, Moody Forest and Townsend wildlife management areas.
In other prescribed fire updates for the fiscal year:
n Wildlife Conservation helped build the State Parks and Historic Sites burn program and continued to support it. Staff helped mentor park's new southern region natural resource manager and teamed with the sister division to burn 1,408 acres across nine parks, helping priority species and improving habitats from table mountain and pitch pine forest at Tallulah Gorge to open pine forests at Mistletoe and Chattahoochee Bend, grasslands at Panola Mountain and Pickett's Mill, and longleaf/wiregrass sandhill habitat at Reed Bingham and George L. Smith.
n As DNR's burn sites transition from restoration to maintenance, Wildlife Conservation and the Wildlife Resources Division continue to conduct more growingseason burns. These ecological burns have a profound impact on species, restoring the natural balance in fire-adapted ecosystems by reducing hardwood competition and increasing native grasses and forbs. DNR is placing increasing emphasis on growingseason burns. The Nature Conservancy and Orianne Society have played a significant role, as well.

n Hurricane Michael downed thousands of trees in southwest Georgia in October 2018, including at Silver Lake and Chickasawhatchee wildlife management areas. The heavy fuel loads from toppled trees and storm debris complicated efforts to conduct prescribed burns. Under a National Fish and Wildlife Foundation grant awarded to Wildlife Conservation, contract crews cleared debris along more than 10 miles of WMA roads and around 39 red-cockaded woodpecker nest-tree clusters at Silver Lake. Salvage logging on both WMAs also reduced fuel loads and opened stands to prescribed fire.
n Wildlife Conservation staff helped the Game Management Section with 3,595 acres of controlled burns on southwest Georgia WMAs, including 2,829 acres of growingseason burns. This work directly benefited 23 red-cockaded woodpecker groups on Silver Lake near Bainbridge and five groups at River Creek, the Rolf and Alexandra Kauka Wildlife Management Area near Thomasville. Growingseason burns at Silver Lake and River Creek largely targeted longleaf pine stands with extensive native groundcover. And at Doerun Pitcherplant Bog Wildlife Management Area near Doerun, 287 acres of longleaf forest were burned in the growing season, including many of the site's significant bogs.
n Training and Outreach
2019 proved a banner year for fire training, and the Interagency Burn Team enjoyed success in its training partnerships, efforts in which the Wildlife Conservation Section often takes a lead role. Wildlife Conservation led eight RT130 Annual Fire Refreshers, training 216 employees from DNR's

Wildlife Resources and State Parks and Historic Sites divisions, as well as the Interagency Burn Team. The refresher training was tailored to cover current topics such as lessons learned from the previous fire season, burning in wetlands, handling medical emergencies and entrapment.
Wildlife Conservation also ran an FFT2 Wildland Fire Academy, training 41 people, including six seasonal fire crews from its staff plus State Parks, The Nature Conservancy and The Orianne Society. This seminal training set the tone for ecological burning during the 2019 season. The agency played a key role in mentoring these younger crews. Wildland chainsaw safety training and ATV safety training also were offered to fire-trained staff.
Wildlife Conservation also took part in education and outreach. Staff helped the Longleaf Alliance with Longleaf 201 Academy and a Learn and Burn, workshops that teach private landowners important management techniques for conservation. Staff gave lectures and presentations to school groups and conservation organizations and contributed to articles, news releases, regional trade magazines and even a story in a national children's magazine. These efforts helped educate the public, including non-traditional audiences, about the importance of prescribed fire.
Fire staff also teamed with The Longleaf Alliance to produce a short video about Burner Bob, a mascot and passionate advocate for prescribed fire. The popular video was featured in The Roots of Resilience block at the Columbus (Georgia) Wild & Scenic Film Festival. Wildlife Conservation and other Interagency Burn Team partners led a panel discussion on wildland fire.

Prescribed fire mascot Burner Bob and Interagency Burn Team members (William Ledford/The Vidalia Advance)

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Argentine black and white tegu in the scrub (Dustin Smith) Weed Wrangle volunteers remove periwinkle at Altama Plantation WMA (Eamonn Leonard/DNR)

Georgia's State Wildlife Action Plan emphasizes increasing efforts to detect, monitor and control invasive species to conserve native wildlife and their habitats. Invasive species are nonnative animals and plants that are introduced, intentionally or accidentally, into areas outside their natural ranges and cause environmental or economic harm. Invasives have negative impacts on native wildlife and represent one of the greatest threats to biodiversity. Controlling and treating these species can yield positive, cascading effects for native wildlife and for the benefits people derive from ecosystems.
After the Georgia Invasive Species Strategy was completed in 2009, the Wildlife Conservation Section sought State Wildlife Grants to implement invasive species assessment and management programs, with a focus on the coastal region. The current project is aimed at enhancing methods for assessing and controlling invasive non-native species on public and other conservation lands. Objectives also include providing land managers with better technical and information resources to help control invasives, along with promoting the appropriate use of native plant species by public and private land managers.

n Coastal Georgia
In coastal Georgia, during fiscal year 2019 Wildlife Conservation staff:
n Continued a multiyear project to eradicate common reed from the Altamaha River delta. Work has been expanded to Camden County and near DNR's Coastal Regional Headquarters in Brunswick.

n Continued to lead the Coastal Georgia Cooperative Invasive Species Management Area. Formed in 2012, this alliance of federal, state, nonprofit and private groups is focused on managing invasive species in the 11-county coastal area. The steering committee has representatives from Wildlife Conservation, DNR's Fisheries Management Section and Coastal Resources and State Parks and Historic Sites divisions, The Nature

Invasive Species

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Conservancy, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Parks Service, Sapelo Island National Estuarine Research Reserve, Georgia Power, Georgia Department of Transportation, Georgia Ports Authority, Little St. Simons Island, Jekyll Island Authority, Georgia Forestry Commission, and the University of Georgia's Cooperative and Marine extensions.
n Awarded an AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps team to work on treating the invasive Chinese Tallow tree on St. Simons Island and Sapelo Island.
n Worked with National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to extend funding an additional year and reallocate funds to hire three Student Conservation Association interns and develop new educational outreach materials. The interns started in August 2019, helping Coastal Georgia Cooperative Invasive Species Management Area partners with invasive species management. Another focus will be helping assisting private landowners with controlling one or more of five high-priority invasive species: salt cedar, sand pine, common reed, Chinese tallow and water hyacinth. Outreach materials created from the National Fish and Wildlife funds included a billboard campaign to increase invasive species reporting and developing sets of

playing cards that feature 52 different invasive species profiles.
n Conducted an aerial treatment on 172 acres of salt cedar on former dredge spoil islands in the mouth of the Altamaha River. This work was partially funded by a grant from The Environmental Resources Network, or TERN, friends group of the Wildlife Conservation Section. These sites are likely source populations for salt cedar infestations in surrounding areas. An adaptive management approach will be used to maximize the ecological value of the sites.
n Worked with the Coastal Resources Division to conduct via drone technology a posttreatment assessment of the salt cedar treatment areas. A pretreatment flight was also conducted. Flights will be done annually to track success and determine if other management is needed.
n Continued a multiyear effort to restore habitat for one of the world's two known populations of Radford's mint. Volunteers helped plant longleaf pines where invasive sand pines had been clear-cut. The goal: safeguard the mint species while converting invasive sand pine stands to longleaf.

Readying a helicopter to treat salt cedar and phragmites (Eamonn Leonard/DNR)

Population assessments are done each October as part of the effort.
n Held two volunteer workdays in partnership with the Garden Club of America as part of the club's Weed Wrangle Initiative. Both took place in February; one to remove the invasive sand pine on Townsend Wildlife Management Area near Ludowici and the other at Altama Plantation Wildlife Management Area in Glynn County to remove periwinkle, an invasive groundcover.
n Worked with staff and interns of the Jekyll Island Authority to treat invasive salt cedar on hammocks near Jekyll.
n Partnered with Coastal WildScapes, a nonprofit group that promotes gardening with natives, to increase volunteer opportunities to collect native seed and identify and remove invasives.
n Maintained a native plant pollinator garden in a restored 1930s-era formal garden at Altama Plantation WMA. The garden is treasured by many locals and helps promote native plants and Altama Plantation's ecological value. A plan was developed and grant funding sought for a demonstration planting of native flowering and shade trees at Altama Plantation as alternatives to commonly used popular invasive species.
n As in past years, worked with the Cannon's Point Conservation Task Force to manage invasive species according to the management plan for the St. Simons Island preserve.
n Coordinated with the First Coast Invasive Working Group in northeast Florida to stay abreast of novel invasive species in the north Florida and south Georgia coastal region.
n Began the process to adapt for recording invasive species management data an ArcGIS collector smartphone application developed by the Army Corps of Engineers. The app will be made available to Wildlife Conservation staff to help track management of invasives, including the methods used and how effective they were.
n Continued to provide invasive species management technical assistance to Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay. Working with the base is a crucial first line of defense against invasive species that might be expanding north from Florida.

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Wildlife Conservation biologist Eamonn Leonard served as vice chairman of the Savannah Pest Risk Committee, which addresses pest occurrences at the Savannah and Brunswick ports. Members include the Georgia Ports Authority, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, DNR, Georgia Forestry Commission, and the state Department of Agriculture. The potential for introducing invasive species through trade activities at U.S. ports is significant. Leonard also served as treasurer for the Georgia Exotic Pest Plant Council.
n Middle Georgia
For invasive species activities in middle Georgia:
n Wildlife Conservation crews cleared about 250 acres of invasive musk thistle at Panola Mountain State Park near Stockbridge and another 120 acres at Joe Kurz Wildlife Management Area near Gay. Staff also teamed with State Parks to clear 120 acres of Bradford pear from Sweetwater Creek State Park in Douglas County. These sites are part of a larger effort to restore grassland and woodland bird habitats in the park (also see: Grassland Birds).
n Staff eradicated Japanese climbing fern from many spots at Sprewell Bluff Wildlife Management Area near Thomaston. Middle Georgia is on the leading edge of this species' spread. New infestations show up each year. The start of most of the Japanese climbing fern at Sprewell Bluff apparently involved logging equipment or vehicles. If caught early, the fern is easily controlled. Once populations are established, eradication can be nearly impossible. Staff continued a Wildlife Conservation research project started in 2018 to explore chemical types, rates and timing to control climbing fern.
n At Sandhills Wildlife Management Area near Butler, staff finished their sixth year of using herbicides to control showy rattlebox. The WMA has two tracts. Crews have eradicated showy rattlebox from Sandhills West and are monitoring Sandhills East. As of the close of fiscal 2019, no rattlebox has been found on either tract.
n Wildlife Conservation is also trying to control or eradicate beefsteak plant on about 80 acres at Panola Mountain and about 10 acres at Sprewell Bluff.

DNR's John Jensen checks a trapped tegu in Toombs County (Rick Lavender/DNR)

During fiscal 2019, staff gave talks to groups varying from garden clubs and Audubon chapters to forestry experts, local colleges, master naturalist classes and nonprofits such as Coastal WildScapes about identifying invasive species, emerging threats, native plant alternatives, resilient native plants and connections between invasives and birds.
n Argentine Black and White Tegus
In summer 2018, the Wildlife Resources Division, working with DNR's Law Enforcement Division, began investigating reports of Argentine black and white tegus in the wild in eastern Toombs and western Tattnall counties. A few of the reported sightings preceded 2018. More than 20 sightings have been reported or confirmed since that summer and six tegus were collected by Wildlife Resources in April and May 2019, including a female with eggs. Although no hatchlings or nests have been found, the animals collected and number and distribution of credible reports point to a reproducing population of the invasive lizards in this rural area.
Argentine black and white tegus are an invasive species that poses threats to native Georgia wildlife, including gopher tortoises, Georgia's state reptile and a candidate for listing under the Endangered Species Act. Tegus have been documented eating

young gopher tortoises and the eggs of alligators. The eggs of gopher tortoises and ground-nesting birds, including northern bobwhites and wild turkeys, are likely susceptible to predation. Tegus will also eat fruit, vegetables, plants, pet food and chicken eggs.
The Wildlife Conservation Section has worked to raise awareness with local residents, through emails, direct mail, flyers, news releases, online and face-to-face contacts. The agency's response also involved working with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the U.S. Geological Survey and Georgia Southern University. Wildlife Resources' Region 6 Game Management office dedicated a wildlife technician on a part-time basis to conduct tegu trapping in the area since April 2019. Later in the fiscal year, the division partnered with the Geological Survey's Invasive Species Task Force to initiate a large-scale trapping effort in Toombs and Tattnall counties using contracted students from Georgia Southern.
As of summer 2019, four students were baiting and monitoring approximately 75 traps, setting up camera traps, and, with the aid of outreach materials from the Wildlife Conservation Section, meeting landowners in the area to gather information on sightings to guide and expand their efforts. This effort continued into fall 2019, with plans to refocus trapping and outreach when tegus would emerge from brumation after the winter.

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Working with Landowners
With more than 90 percent of Georgia lands in private ownership, conservation on private land is crucial to wildlife and natural communities in the state. The Wildlife Conservation Section worked with landowners throughout Georgia in fiscal year 2019 (also see: Land Acquisitions and Conservation Easements).
Staff answered landowner questions and visited sites to give management advice. Landowners were advised of cost-share and grant opportunities and guided through procedures for using programs such as the Natural Resources Conservation Service's Environmental Quality Incentives, Conservation Stewardship, Wetlands Reserve Easements and Working Lands for Wildlife programs, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Partners for Wildlife.
Wildlife Conservation also:
n Worked with the American Tree Farm's Georgia program to raise awareness of Georgia's State Wildlife Action Plan among tree farm inspectors in the state.
n Provided threatened and endangered species training to loggers and others at quarterly Master Timber Harvester events. The training covers how timber harvesting affects wildlife habitat. Staff also served on the Sustainable Forestry Initiative Implementation Committee and its Private Landowner Outreach Subcommittee. Other education activities included training sessions at Southeastern Wood Producers workshops and individually with companies.
n Took part in the Mountain Longleaf Local Implementation Team's strategic planning. The team is one of 17 across the longleaf's historical range in nine states working through America's Longleaf Restoration Initiative to increase longleaf from 3.4 million to 8 million acres.
n Participated in Natural Resources Conservation Service State Technical Committee meetings to identify wildlife priorities relevant to Farm Bill programs for private landowners. Staff cooperated, as well, with the Private Lands Program of DNR Wildlife Resources Division's

Game Management Section and the Natural Resources Conservation Service in coordinating four temporary biologist positions stationed at Natural Resources Conservation Service field offices in Blakely, Douglas, Swainsboro and McDonough. These biologists work with landowners to implement federal agency programs aimed at restoring and managing longleaf pine systems. Those efforts include the Working Lands for Wildlife initiative targeting gopher tortoises and other conservation needs for priority species and habitats.

n Performed 2,100 acres of prescribed burns on seven private properties that harbor significant populations of rare species or ecosystems. Most of the sites border wildlife management areas or land where the state holds a conservation easement.
Along with Game Management and State Parks and Historic Sites personnel, staff visited DNR-held conservation easements to ensure compliance and strengthen relationships with landowners.

Private Lands

A red-cockaded woodpecker leaves her nest (Joe Burnam/DNR) Pink tape marks a tortoise burrow for protection during logging (Josiah Lavender/DNR)

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2018 Forestry for Wildlife partners with Gov. Kemp and DNR leaders

Forestry for Wildlife Partnership
The Wildlife Conservation Section has a strong role in the DNR Wildlife Resources Division's Forestry for Wildlife Partnership. This voluntary program encourages conservation of wildlife habitat on corporate forestlands in Georgia and provides public access to privately owned wildlife management areas for hunting, fishing, wildlife viewing, hiking and camping.
The Forestry for Wildlife Partners for calendar year 2018 were Georgia Power, Weyerhaeuser and CatchMark Timber Trust.
These corporations participating in Forestry for Wildlife are among the largest landowners in Georgia, directly affecting wildlife habitat on about 1 million acres. Coordinated by Game Management and Wildlife Conservation Section biologists, this public-private partnership provides opportunities to enhance wildlife conservation on these lands and benefits companies with recognition for
their conservation achievements. Companies are evaluated on conservation planning, education

and outreach, management, sensitive sites and rare-species concerns, recreation and partnerships.
Conservation targets include red-cockaded woodpecker habitat, bald eagle and swallowtailed kite nests, isolated wetlands critical to protected reptiles and amphibians, and remnant Coosa Valley prairies, home to endangered plants. The partnerships also provide the public with opportunities to enjoy the outdoors through wildlife viewing, hunting and fishing. Partners are committed to Sustainable Forestry Initiative goals, ensuring their forest managers and loggers complete the Master Timber Harvester workshop and continue their education to maintain certification or designation.
Here are some highlights of Forestry for Wildlife Partners' conservation efforts.
Georgia Power is one of the largest private landowners in the state and manages its undeveloped land for multiple benefits, including public recreation, timber production and conservation of rare species. Prescribed fire is applied to more than 6,000 acres

annually. More than 20,000 acres are open for public recreation through DNR's wildlife management areas program (WMAs include Blanton Creek, Rum Creek and Oconee). The company is also restoring longleaf pine habitat in support of conservation partner landscape goals and participates in DNR's Safe Harbor program for endangered red-cockaded woodpeckers. Several bald eagle nests are monitored and protected on company lands and lakes.
At plants Hatch and Vogtle, near Baxley and Waynesboro, respectively, Georgia Power manages habitat for gopher tortoises. The company is a participant in the statewide Gopher Tortoise Conservation Initiative and the multistate Candidate Conservation Agreement for the eastern population of gopher tortoises, which is not listed under the Endangered Species Act. Tortoises and their burrows are protected during construction and timber harvest on Georgia Power lands and during construction and maintenance on power delivery rights of ways.
The company is developing a Habitat Conservation Plan for the gray bat, Indiana bat and northern long-eared bat, all of which receive federal

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protection. As mitigation for potential construction impacts on forested habitat, favorable forest management practices, including maintaining travel corridors, foraging openings and roost trees, are being implemented at four properties within the ranges of these species. Forest management practices are also being used on properties within the Altamaha River system to enhance water quality and benefit freshwater mussels of conservation concern as part of a Candidate Conservation Agreement.
Georgia Power lands and transmission rights of ways provide habitat for several species of rare plants, including nine that are federally listed as threatened or endangered. A tract on the Chattahoochee River contains officially designated critical habitat for Georgia rockcress; Drummond Swamp at Plant Bowen in Bartow County provides habitat for the world's only known population of Georgia alder; and a transmission right of way in Wayne County harbors endangered hairy rattleweed, a plant with its entire range restricted to two Georgia counties. Georgia Power participates with other partners in a Candidate Conservation Agreement for Georgia aster, a wildflower that grows well in transmission rights of ways and likely would have been federally listed without the agreement.
Weyerhaeuser is an original member of the program. The company is committed to Sustainable Forestry Initiative standards and integrates conservation into its forests.
Conserving gopher tortoises is a key initiative. Weyerhaeuser focuses management for this iconic species on preferred soils with viable populations and helps Wildlife Conservation survey tortoises. Through these surveys, Weyerhaeuser is learning more about tortoise populations on its lands. The company also is working with DNR, the National Council for Air and Stream Improvement, the University of Georgia, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and others to better understand how tortoises respond to the shifting mosaic of suitable habitat on working pine forestlands. The work in Georgia is part of a larger effort to research tortoise ecology across the company's managed lands in the Southeast.
Weyerhaeuser is also managing several unique ecological areas in northwest Georgia, including

the Coosa Valley Prairie property (permanently protected under a conservation easement held by The Nature Conservancy); a cave that is home to a bachelor colony of gray bats, federally listed as endangered; and rock outcrops that shelter the cliff-dwelling green salamander.
In the Piedmont, Weyerhaeuser has teamed with the University of Georgia and Auburn University to explore the effects of forest thinning, prescribed fire and herbicides on plant communities, and wildlife in general. Although this work funded by DNR is centered on conserving northern bobwhites, findings will help inform managers about the ability of these pine plantation stands to maintain "open pine" conditions important to numerous species. Weyerhaeuser also cooperates in annual bait station surveys for black bears in central Georgia.
In the lower Coastal Plain, efforts continue with Wildlife Conservation on projects, including managing Henslow's sparrow habitat and wood stork rookeries, conserving isolated wetlands, and protecting swallow-tailed kite nesting areas. In southwest Georgia, the company works with DNR to survey federally endangered hairy rattleweed, an endemic plant known worldwide from only two Georgia counties.
Conservation work by CatchMark Timber Trust in fiscal 2019 included:
n Supporting a conservation easement on about 4,000 acres of company property that is part of Townsend Wildlife Management Area near Ludowici. This includes cooperating with DNR to make the land available for recreation and research, along with protecting natural areas.
n Working with The Orianne Society to conduct indigo snake surveys in Telfair County for DNR.
n Granting DNR access to company lands in Long, Brantley and McIntosh counties for annual kite nest surveys. Nest locations are stored in CatchMark's GIS database for future use.
n Managing timber harvest on CatchMark's lease at Sprewell Bluff Wildlife Management Area to support plans to reintroduce endangered red-cockaded

woodpeckers to the area. CatchMark is leaving natural longleaf at a targeted 40 basal area per acre in natural longleaf pockets and thinning 400 acres of a loblolly stand to the same per-acre basal area to prepare for DNR adding nest inserts to create red-cockaded woodpecker nest clusters. Once the other timber is cut and targets are met, CatchMark will turn the remaining timber over to DNR.
n Maintaining with the Georgia Land Trust a conservation easement in Long County. The easement protects high-priority habitats identified by Georgia's State Wildlife Action Plan and maintains open spaces next to Fort Stewart as part of the Army Compatible Use Buffer Program.
n Working with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to protect habitat for endangered fringed campion on company sites in Talbot County, and with DNR to survey those tracts to monitor existing populations and search for new ones.
n Allowing DNR to do bird surveys on company lands where site preparation prescriptions have been varied to explore possible effects on how birds use the habitat.
n Practicing silvicultural treatments that promote the conservation of gopher tortoises. This includes a robust thinning program on pine plantations that improves wildlife habitat.
n Leasing DNR more than 1,900 acres for Ocmulgee Wildlife Management Area near Hawkinsville, and all available lands to the public for hunting and recreation. CatchMark also sponsors outdoor recreational hunting opportunities with groups such as Outdoors Without Limits, which works to involve people with physical and mental disabilities in outdoor activities.
n Allowing universities access to company properties for research, such as Virginia Tech's pine growth study. CatchMark is also a member of the University of Georgia's Plantation Research Management Cooperative.
n Offering the use of portable bridges to minimize logging impacts on stream crossings.

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Community Wildlife Project
The Community Wildlife Project, an award-winning initiative of the Wildlife Conservation Section and the Garden Club of Georgia, enhances native animal and plant populations and their habitats in urban, suburban and rural communities throughout the state. Goals include:
n Fostering wildlife conservation stewardship and education in Georgia communities.
n Promoting respect and appreciation of wildlife in combination with community beautification.
n Improving the quality of life for Georgians living in these communities.

More than 750 communities, cities and counties have been awarded full certification, with more than 600 in different stages of completing certification standards. Since 2005, the Backyard Wildlife Certification survey has added about 3,800 certified backyards, 600 of which were certified with two or more adjoining neighboring yards for Neighborhood Backyard Certification.
At the close of fiscal year 2019, the category Creating a Winter Wildlife Wonderland was introduced at the biannual Community Wildlife Project workshop. This category encourages participants to include more plants that thrive during winter, providing wintering wildlife in Georgia a more diverse source of food, water and cover.

A Nesting/Roosting Box Certification that promotes adding nest and roost boxes to certified backyards grew to 79 yards in fiscal 2019. This category was revamped at the close of the fiscal year in hopes of gaining more participation. The program mirrors the Hummingbird Haven Certification, which started in 2013 and attracted hummingbirds to 489 yards as of 2019.
Each quarter, a Garden Club district can win an award for the most participation per category, overall participation and "full" certifications (a yard meeting all requirements in each category).
The Community Wildlife Project also helps Wildlife Conservation build constituency through the 10,000-member Garden Club of Georgia through habitat programs at local, state and region levels.

Male monarch on echinacea (Linda May/DNR)

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During fiscal year 2019, the DNR Law Enforcement Division enforced laws and regulations and conducted investigations involving rare and other native species not legally hunted, fished for or trapped. That work included teaming with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to enforce federal measures such as checking commercial trawlers for compliance with turtle excluder device regulations and raising awareness of marine mammals and laws protecting them.
The division's Region 7, based in Brunswick, logged 985 at-sea hours, including 405 on boat patrols, 173 for dockside inspections and another 82 by aircraft. Game wardens recorded 192 hours on TED inspections, plus 64 hours patrolling offshore.
Vessel patrol hours focused on:
n Shrimp trawler checks for TED compliance.
n Intercepts of recreational and commercial fishing vessels returning to Georgia seaports from fishing trips in federal waters.
n Offshore patrols to Special Management Zones and Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary.

n Concentrations of fishing vessels wherever they occurred in the Exclusive Economic Zone adjacent to the state.
n Offshore and near-shore patrols for compliance with the Atlantic Whale Take Reduction Plan.
TED and other federal violations documented by wardens were turned over to NOAA for handling in local courts.
The Aviation Unit flew 278 hours supporting wardens and the division's core mission of protecting natural resources. This included support for Wildlife Resources Division surveys of bald eagles, southeastern American kestrels, sandhill cranes, waterfowl, sea turtles and dolphins, plus a tagging project for manatees. The unit also flew 46 hours for prescribed burns on WMAs January-March 2018.
Also this fiscal year, the DNR Law Enforcement Division was part of an investigation involving two Kentucky tourists who took six hatchling loggerhead sea turtles from a Tybee Island beach in July and left them in a water-filled trash can at their hotel. A housekeeper found the turtles. A U.S. Fish and

Wildlife Service investigation led to charges of taking a threatened species. Each suspect was fined $930. Loggerheads are protected by federal and state law.
Five of the six hatchlings were returned to the surf on Tybee. The sixth is being used for outreach and education at the Tybee Island Marine Science Center. The turtle, nicknamed Admiral, will be released when it turns 2 years old in July 2020.
In December 2018, the state Board of Natural Resources approved DNR Commissioner Mark Williams' appointment of Thomas Barnard as division colonel and director. A 25-year DNR veteran and former field operations major, Barnard succeeded Col. Eddie Henderson, who retired that November after a 36-year career with the agency.
For more, see Law Enforcement's annual reports at www.gadnrle.org. Report poaching and the violation of protected species laws and regulations by calling the Ranger Hotline at (800) 241-4113 (or *DNR for AT&T mobility customers), emailing rangerhotline@ dnr.ga.gov or contacting a local game warden (search by county at www.gadnrle.org/find-ranger).

Law Enforcement

Sea turtle hatchlings illegally taken from Tybee Island beach (DNR)

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EDUCATION AND OUTREACH

Regional Education Centers
The DNR Wildlife Resources Division is charged with promoting the conservation and wise use of Georgia's natural resources. This educational mission involves cultivating an appreciation and understanding of wildlife resources, fostering wise stewardship and promoting safe and ethical natural resource-based recreation. Throughout its history, the Wildlife Resources Division has educated Georgia youth and families to increase awareness, engagement and stewardship regarding the state's wildlife and other natural resources. These education efforts began in 1940 when Charlie Elliott, the first director of what is now DNR, started the Junior Ranger Program. More than 25,000 children took part the first year, conducting nature surveys, planting wildlife food crops and helping "senior rangers" in short, learning and practicing conservation.
Arrowhead Environmental Education Center
Go Fish Education Center

DNR's Adam Mackinnon and students at Sapelo National Estuarine Research Reserve (DNR)

Smithgall Woods Regional Education Center
Charlie Elliott Wildlife Center
McDuffie Environmental Education Center

Grand Bay Wetland Education Center

Sapelo Island National Estuarine Research Reserve

Future herpetologist (Linda May/DNR)

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Elliott's vision of a conservation education program is reflected through Wildlife Resources' seven regional education centers and continuation of the Junior Ranger Program in the DNR State Parks and Historic Sites Division. Wildlife Resources operates the centers with local school systems, Regional Educational Service agencies and other state and federal agencies to deliver wildlife-focused education.
The centers are Charlie Elliott Wildlife Center near Mansfield, the Go Fish Education Center in Perry, Smithgall Woods near Helen, McDuffie Environmental Education Center in Dearing, Arrowhead Environmental Education Center near Armuchee, Grand Bay Wetland Education Center near Valdosta and Sapelo Island National Estuarine Research Reserve. More than 112,000 students, adults and families visited the centers in fiscal year 2019, learning about natural and cultural resources through hands-on experiences.
n Charlie Elliott Wildlife Center
At Charlie Elliott Wildlife Center, day programming continued to grow in fiscal 2019. More than 25,000 people of all ages attended programs at the 400-acre site. From learning about birds, reptiles and amphibians to enjoying a family campfire with s'mores, the events attracted Georgians statewide. The center's annual Keeping Georgia Wild Day, held in partnership with Georgia Wildlife Federation, Fellowship of Christian Athletes and National Wild Turkey Federation, drew about 1,300 visitors. Day field trips also surged in popularity, fielding 2,900 students.
Teacher workshops at Charlie Elliott are part of Project WILD (Wildlife in Learning Design), an interdisciplinary curriculum for pre-K through 12thgrade students that uses nature as the backdrop for the lessons. The center continued to experience success with Project WILD, training 554 teachers in 2019. Twenty-eight educators took part in the Teacher Conservation Workshop, a partnership with Georgia Forestry Commission and Project Learning Tree. This weeklong event held each June uses the forest as a window to environmental education. Foresters, wildlife biologists, educators and industry professionals lead the activities. The workshop is interdisciplinary and centered on the environmental, economic and social benefits of Georgia's forestry and wildlife communities. Educators visited Weyerhaeuser and International Paper sites, Gully Branch tree farm, Jordan Mill and the Georgia Forestry Commission's Flint River Nursery.

Outreach at Charlie Elliott's Discovery Center (DNR)

The 2018 Outdoor Wildlife Leadership School III supported 16 educators from across Georgia. This new workshop held by Charlie Elliott featured the lower Coastal Plain and barrier islands. Throughout the week, participants were immersed in topics relating to freshwater and saltwater marshes, swamps, and maritime forests by canoeing the Okefenokee Swamp, hiking in a marsh, participating in lab activities, seining in the ocean and birding at Altamaha Wildlife Management Area and Harris Neck National Wildlife Refuge.
In partnership with the Wildlife Resources Division's Fisheries Management Section, the center held two Fish and Learn programs, for 19 parent-child pairs. In the level 1 class, participants not only learned basic fishing techniques, they were introduced to types of rods and reels, fished in three ponds at Marben Public Fishing Area and investigated fish biology. In the level 2 class, participants explored bass fishing, techniques and lures.

The center's six summer camps rated a success, as well, averaging 14 participants each and treating more than 85 children ages 7-16 to a week of outdoor activities. Targeted camps such as Adventures in Conservation Education continued to draw crowds.
The Outreach Program at Charlie Elliott stayed busy, traveling to every corner of the state. Staff helped with the 2019 Weekend for Wildlife on Sea Island, Sportsman's Day at the State Capitol, the Claxton Rattlesnake and Wildlife Festival, and The Nature Conservancy's Earth Day celebration in Atlanta. Outreach staff also visited schools, ranging from kindergartens to universities, and provided presentations varying from civic groups to homeschoolers. Presentations focused on Georgia's physiographic regions, vertebrates, endangered species, birds of prey and reptiles.

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n Smithgall Woods Regional Education Center
The Smithgall Woods Regional Education Center is located at Smithgall Woods State Park in Helen. This almost 6,000-acre conservation park provides the perfect setting for environmentally based educational programming. With two major goals of conservation and education, Smithgall Woods provides high-quality educational activities for a wide range of constituents. Programming is coordinated and conducted by a certified teacher and wildlife interpretive specialist, in association with professionals from DNR's State Parks and Historic Sites and Wildlife Resources divisions, and with State Parkscertified volunteers. Teachers also can choose to lead activities themselves. Financial support for programming is provided through the Wildlife Resources Division, Georgia Trout Unlimited chapters and donations.
Smithgall Woods' catalog of nearly 50 programs is adaptable to reach students from pre-K through adult. Most programs correlate to state curriculum standards and focus on resources unique to the north Georgia mountains. This approach familiarizes students with local issues and demonstrates biological principles at work in their region. Most students served are from counties in Wildlife Resources' Game Management Region II. Programming is divided into two categories: outreach and onsite field trips.
During the 2018-2019 school year, Smithgall Woods reached 22,224 people through 807 programs.
This marked a 16 percent increase in overall programming from the previous year. In continuing with past trends, the number of onsite programs decreased while outreach increased. Although the 6 percent decrease in onsite programming is not concerning, it does underscore the trend toward more outreach programming and fewer field trips as a way for schools to be more fiscally responsible. Outreach programming increased by 35 percent, and that pattern is expected to continue.
As a result, although outreach comprised 62 percent of Smithgall Woods' programs, it accounted for 90 percent of students involved in the center's educational programming. These 45- to 60-minute lessons extend

programming into the winter months and serve schools experiencing budget cuts or logistical limitations. Outreach programming provided approximately 20,002 students most of them elementary or middle school opportunities to learn about animal adaptations, arachnids, birds of prey, conservation practices, genetics, Native American history and snakes and other reptiles.
Many outreach programs translate to onsite programming, where activities offer a more hands-on approach to learning. Activities such as Stream Ecology, Archery and Orienteering allow participants to become immersed in learning as well as their surroundings. During the 2018-2019 school year, 309 programs allowed for 2,222 people to enjoy the pristine outdoors of Smithgall Woods. These programs are given by reservation only and are often for groups who have returned year after year.
Along with programs scheduled through the Regional Education Center, Smithgall Woods provides public events. Certain events are annual, such as the Master Naturalist program through the University of Georgia, Blue Grass and BBQ, 1st Day Hike, and Christmas in the Cabin. Other events vary depending upon presenter availability and topic input from the public. These educational and entertainment opportunities rely heavily upon publicity. The park has adopted an aggressive approach toward advertising. Many formats are used to promote both the park and the educational center. Multiple social media platforms (including Facebook, Instagram, the DNR parks website, Explore Georgia), traditional media (radio, newspaper and flyers) and word-of-mouth have helped increase participation in educational programming as a whole. Also, attendance at large events such as TomeCon and the Bass Master Expo have publicized the park through newspaper coverage and meetand-greets. Smithgall has also filmed a series of virtual reality videos and hope that, once available, they will provide significant exposure.
Publicity, supplies and scholarships for the education center would not be possible without the Georgia Council of Trout Unlimited. Again in fiscal 2019, multiple chapters provided scholarship funding to support free outreach programming for seven counties in area school districts. Through scholarships and aggressive advertising, Smithgall hopes to engage even more people during the 2019-2020 school year.

Child with crayfish (Linda May/DNR)

n Arrowhead Environmental Education Center
Through field trips, outreach lessons in Floyd County Schools, displays at public events and other programs, teachers at Arrowhead Environmental Education Center work to fulfill the mission of providing instruction in the classroom and outdoors that furthers understanding, appreciation and conservation of Georgia's natural resources. Arrowhead, a joint project of DNR and Floyd County Schools, reached 15,247 children and adults during the 2018-2019 school year with lessons keyed to Georgia educational performance standards.

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Students of all ages took part in field trips to Arrowhead's 337-acre "classroom." They examined the collection of live Georgia snakes, plus turtles, frogs, fish and other live and mounted wildlife. They walked by beaver ruins, wetlands, lakes and streams, and through woods to observe the life cycles, habitats and food chains studied at school. Classes are usually divided into two groups, alternating between an outdoors nature lesson and an indoors one. Field trips often end after a lunch at the lakeside dining shelter with a story featuring Georgia animals and reinforcing lessons in ecology, life cycles, adaptations or the food web.
Mostly during the cool months, Arrowhead teachers visited schools as part of the center's outreach program, bringing live animals, artifacts and stories to illustrate lessons. Arrowhead also presented programs and displays at public festivals and events such as the annual Outdoor Adventure Day at Sloppy Floyd State Park near Summerville, Trout Expo at the Rome-Floyd ECO Center, Trout Unlimited's Chili Cookoff at Ridge Ferry Park in Rome and Ducks Unlimited's Greenwing event, which is held at Arrowhead. These programs and exhibits often included storytelling, live animal displays and sometimes an educational scavenger hunt. Arrowhead also again played host and sponsored with Coosa River Basin Initiative the annual Coosa Basin Environmental Quiz Bowl. The bowl pits fourth-grade teams from area schools in a competition focused on the watershed's flora, fauna, ecology and history.
In addition to regular field trip and outreach lessons, Arrowhead led nature trail lessons with each class at Armuchee Elementary School on the school's campus. Students were thrilled to learn about endemic species such as the Coosa crayfish in a stream at the school, as well as ancient fossils imbedded in rock along the school's driveway. Arrowhead's resident storyteller and naturalist helped children in several schools create their own "origin stories" to highlight the adaptations of certain animal species. Through the center's adoptan-animal donation program, live animals at Arrowhead were supported by several Floyd County classrooms and students. For the 18th consecutive year, Floyd students also participated in the DNR's Fisheries Management Section's project to restore lake sturgeon to the Coosa basin. Students look forward to the

sturgeon release each year, and the outreach provides a hands-on opportunity for them to learn about Georgia's river systems.
In addition to primary support from DNR and Floyd County Schools, Arrowhead also received financial and in-kind support from schools, colleges and civic groups during the 2018-2019 school year. Berry College, Georgia Highlands College, the Coosa River Basin Initiative, Trout Unlimited, Ducks Unlimited and the Ridge and Valley Storytelling Guild all assisted in varying degrees. Support from Berry College included the school's annual Service Day, Bonner Scholar program and education department. Partly as a result, Arrowhead's nature storytelling in schools, with the Ridge and Valley Storytelling Guild, continued programs in several area schools. A portion of proceeds from the Coosa Valley Trout Unlimited Chili Cook-off were donated to Arrowhead. And Ducks Unlimited once again brought its annual Greenwing outdoor education day to Arrowhead, in which about 200 children and adults explored the exhibits, wetlands and woods.
In all projects, programs and activities, Arrowhead integrates state educational standards and seeks to use the natural resources of Georgia as a context for educating Floyd County Schools students.
n Sapelo Island National Estuarine Research Reserve
Sapelo Island National Estuarine Research Reserve Education Program offered a range of environmental educational programming during the 2018-2019 school year. Kindergarten through 12th-grade and college-level programs were held at the reserve and in area schools and universities. In all, 46 programs were delivered during the year, reaching 1,973 students from six Georgia counties and two states. The reserve offered onsite programs three days a week, with a limit of 36 participants per program due to ferry and on-island transportation limitations.
Sapelo Island Reserve sees seasonal ebbs and flows in K-12 participation. However, data show a significant increase in student participation during the past nine years.
The reserve also conducted 11 programs for 320 road scholars from the national Elderhostel program. In addition, educational opportunities

were provided for 473 participants from 22 special interest groups, including churches, birding and environmental groups, and other organizations. An additional 1,530 people took part in the reserve's public tour program. Included were tours of the island's south and north end, plus the reserve's Christmas tour program, conducted in partnership with DNR's State Parks and Historic Sites Division.
The Sapelo education program also conducted or partnered with other institutions to train 50 teachers through five teacher workshops. These workshops focused on coastal ecosystems and issues, as well as science, technology, engineering and math. One was a new program, Spreading the Seeds of Estuary Health. Funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, this workshop trained teachers from six schools to grow Spartina from rhizomes and seeds and collect growth data with the intent of replanting the Spartina on living shoreline areas along the coast. The schools were provided with greenhouses, growing tanks, curriculum, supplies and iPads to report their data to a central website.
In addition, Sapelo Island Reserve continued to be a valuable leader in training environmental educators from Burton 4-H center, Camp Jekyll, University of Georgia Marine Extension and naturalists from Little St. Simons Island. The reserve continued its role in providing professional development for coastal decision-makers for the Institute for Georgia Environmental Leadership, DNR's leadership class, the agency's annual Weekend for Wildlife and the Army Corps of Engineers' Barrier Island class. Staff conducted five lectures for 196 participants. Topics ranged from Georgia's crab and shrimp industry to bats, frogs, coyotes and hurricanes along the Georgia coast.
Sapelo Island Reserve staff and volunteers had an educational booth at Beach Week on St. Simons Island and at DNR's annual CoastFest event in Brunswick, which drew an estimated 9,300 visitors. The reserve partnered with the DNR State Parks and Historic Sites Division to conduct Sapelo's annual Christmas tours, which included 1,317 participants. The reserve's mainland Visitor Center reported 11,446 walk-in guests who were not associated with any state program.

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n McDuffie Environmental Education Center
McDuffie Environmental Education Center continues to provide a wide range of activities designed to immerse students, parents and teachers into the natural world, enhancing development of a lifelong awareness of nature and conservation. Activities available for pre-K through seventh-grade are aligned with Georgia educational standards and delivered by three certified teachers.
This year the archery program, usually offered to grades 5-7, was made available to all fourthgraders. The popularity of the archery program continued to grow, surpassing geocaching as the center's most popular activity. McDuffie also partners with DNR's Game Management to offer two National Archery in the Schools Program teacher workshops each year. Requests for a youth fishing activity increased during the 2018-2019 school year, spurring plans to expand in this

area even more during the next school year. The McDuffie Environmental Education Center's curriculum grew and evolved even more as another new activity, this one featuring the center's pond sliders, was added.
The center continued a unique partnership with a special needs class from a local school. Students helped with maintaining and organizing educational materials used by elementary students throughout the year. The help freed time for McDuffie staff to work on other aspects of educational programming. At the end of the school year, the volunteers were rewarded with a fun day at the center, complete with fishing, archery, hiking and a picnic.
Staffed entirely by part-time employees, the McDuffie Environmental Education Center is open by appointment only. Focusing on the attributes of small group instruction, the center reached 4,637 students, teachers and parents in onsite visits during the 2018-2019 school year.

Taxidermy display at McDuffie (Linda May/DNR)

n Go Fish Education Center
The Go Fish Education Center provides quality, onsite environmental education programs focused on fishing and aquatic resource conservation. Over the past several years, the center's primary focus has been holding guided field trips for schools, youth groups, daycares, churches and others. During fiscal year 2019, the center held more than 60 such trips. In addition, staff offered offsite fish dissections, service-based STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education projects, fishing camps, seminars, workshops and public educational programs designed for homeschool students and toddlers.
During the 2018-2019 school year, the Go Fish Center again partnered with a local elementary school to lead two service-based education projects focused on STEM. Students worked together to complete these projects with the goal of improving the state's natural resources and fish and wildlife populations. First-grade students propagated aquatic plants that were transplanted to public water bodies to help stabilize banks and enhance fish habitat. Fourth-grade students designed and built more than 75 fish attractors, which were placed in public waters to boost fish habitat and angler satisfaction.
Public programs for homeschool students and toddlers continued throughout the year. Homeschool programs designed for grades K-six were offered twice a month. These involved dissections, hands-on activities, experiments, lessons indoors and outdoors, and more. Topics included Soil Science and Sediments, Bait Bonanza, Black Bass of Georgia, Sharks, Walleye Wonders, Bivalves, Archery and more. Toad-ally Toddlers programs were offered monthly and included live animal presentations, lessons, songs, stories, crafts and other aspects, with topics such as Boats, Outdoor Opposites, Fishing for the Alphabet, Pond Life and Bait Bonanza. Two sessions of fishing camps were held during the summer for ages 7-15. Participants covered lessons and experiences focused on casting, bait, safety and cleaning and handling fish.
The center also held its third annual Go Fish Christmas event, featuring a scuba-diving Santa Claus and Rudolph in the center's aquariums. Visitors also took part in story-time and sing-a-longs with Mrs. Claus, crafts, jingle bell

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lure building and even snowball fights. Other educational programs offered included a pond management seminar, workshops on fishing and fly fishing basics, two hatchery tours and two Butterflies of Georgia programs.
The Georgia division of Wildlife Forever's StateFish Art contest was coordinated and judged at Go Fish again in 2019. The center received 257 entries from kindergarten through 12th-grade students across Georgia. Entries consisted of artwork and an essay. All were judged based on the students' creativity and demonstrated knowledge of the state's fish and their habitats. Winning entries from Georgia were placed on display at the center for visitors to enjoy.
In addition to educational programming, the Go Fish Center was also open to the public Fridays through Sundays throughout the entire year. Extended operating hours were offered on Wednesdays and Thursdays during the summer. Various organizational meetings and events were also held at the center. Through these combined efforts, more than 25,000 people were reached during fiscal year 2019. Future goals include offering a "pond to plate" event and more fishing-related workshops as staff continue to focus information and education efforts on the recruitment, retention and reactivation of anglers in Georgia.
n Grand Bay Wetland Education Center
Grand Bay Wetland Education Center maintained a full schedule during the 2018-2019 school year. Approximately 8,800 students and 1,800 adults attended day classes at the center, a partnership between DNR and the Coastal Plains Regional Educational Services Agency. Primary and secondary education students participated in programs that focused on native wildlife and resources in the area. All activities met Georgia Performance Standards.
With the support of superintendents, principals, teachers and parents in 12 school districts, Grand Bay quickly filled its schedule for the school year, as usual. Visiting primary students were engaged with hands-on exercises in and out of the classroom. The children observed and learned about wildlife species, from apex carnivores such as American alligators to unusual plants such as

the hooded pitcherplant, and how these animals and plants affect the environment. Visits typically ended with a hike on the boardwalk and climbing Grand Bay's observation tower.
Secondary education students performed exercises involving water quality and wildlife identification and collection. The students are provided lab equipment and supplies for performing scientific methodology. Experiments include a turbidity test, pH readings, dissolved oxygen and nitrate levels, and nomenclature usage and identification. Collecting and identifying nonendangered specimens is always a bonus for these students, who spend most of their day at Grand Bay on the boardwalk doing field tests and making observations.
While the busy schedule and limited staff do not allow for outreach programs during the school year, Grand Bay had a full summer in 2018 and 2019. Included were summer camps, one of them a new addition for area daycare centers. Valdosta State University took part in day camps and attended lessons at the facility, as well.
For fiscal year 2019, about 400 children and other students attended lessons during summer camps and school outreach programs concerning mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish found in south Georgia, as well as local plant communities and current environmental issues.
Youth Birding Competition
The Wildlife Conservation Section held the 14th annual Youth Birding Competition on April 26-27, 2019. The overall winning team identified 171 species seen or heard, a record high for the 24-hour birdathon. About 75 youths signed up, underscoring the popularity of the annual event, which promotes birding and conservation. Seven teams new to the competition took part in 2019.
During the Youth Birding Competition, teams of pre-K through 12th-grade birders representing schools, Scout troops, science clubs and other groups compete with teams of similar-aged youth to identify as many bird species as they can in the state. As part of the 2019 event, the young birders raised almost $4,000 for conservation projects, pushing the total raised since the Youth Birding Competition began to about $26,000. Among the

highlights, the Wood Thrushes raised $1,885 to help restore red-cockaded woodpecker habitat and nest sites lost in south Georgia to Hurricane Michael.
In another highlight, this year's T-shirt Art Contest fielded a record 272 drawings and paintings of native Georgia birds. A barn owl by Kaichen Guo, an 18-year-old from Duluth, was the grand prize winner. His artwork was printed on the competition's T-shirts.
The Youth Birding Competition is aimed at cultivating an interest in birds and conservation. Sponsors include The Environmental Resources Network (TERN), friends group of Wildlife Conservation; the Georgia Ornithological Society; and the Atlanta Audubon Society. Volunteers also are critical to holding the competition banquet, awards ceremony and T-shirt art contest.
Camp TALON
The Wildlife Conservation Section held the 10th annual Camp TALON (Teen Adventures Learning Ornithology and Nature) on June 1-6, 2019. The camp's foremost goal is to teach teens how to identify birds. Yet that only nicks the surface of the ecology-rich syllabus. Among other subjects, students learned about habitats and their management, threatened and endangered species, bird survey methods, coastal plants, island geology, how avian research is performed, the lives of invertebrates that live on beaches, and outdoor career opportunities.
Using cabins on St. Simons Island as a base, campers traveled by bus or boat to each day's two or three birdwatching and outdoor classroom destinations. Sites included Sapelo, Little St. Simons and Cumberland islands, as well as the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, Fort Stewart and Altamaha Wildlife Management Area near Darien.
Leaders included a dozen mostly volunteer teachers from state, federal and nonprofit agencies, as well as retired university faculty. The 16 students came from Georgia, Florida, Idaho, Nebraska and California, indicating that the camp is enjoying increased national visibility. Students counted and learned about the biology of about 110 species of birds. They also learned how tides work; how birds fly, sing and migrate; how shorebirds find food on beaches; how invasive species compete with natives; how

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Camp TALON crew on Cumberland Island (DNR)

habitats are managed; and how biologists are working to recover sensitive species such as wood storks and least terns.
In addition to support from volunteers and professional biologists, the camp's success is made possible by grants from the Georgia Ornithological Society, The Environmental Resources Network (TERN) and Atlanta Audubon Society. The 2020 Camp TALON is set for June 6-11. Registration opens in November.
Give Wildlife a Chance Poster Contest
Kindergarten through fifth-grade students submitted about 1,300 posters for the 2019 Give Wildlife a Chance Poster Contest. This annual program has encouraged students to explore the wonders of Georgia's native plant and animal species through art for 29 years.
Students from 28 public schools, private schools and homeschool groups participated in 2019, taking to heart the event's "Pollinator Power" theme. Artwork was judged based on aspects such as theme, originality, quality and impact. The posters of state-level contest winners were displayed at the State Botanical Garden of Georgia in Athens and posted on the Wildlife Resources Division's Flickr site. In addition, the parents and teachers of state winners were offered free wildlife license plates.

The contest is organized and sponsored by DNR, the State Botanical Garden of Georgia and The Environmental Resources Network (TERN), friends group of Wildlife Conservation.
Wildlife Viewing Grants
From 1999-2008, the DNR Wildlife Resources Division awarded grants for projects that provided public opportunities to see and learn about native animals and plants. Recession-era spending cuts canceled the popular program in 2009. But a decade later, the Wildlife Conservation Section resurrected it, again engaging conservation partners to help meet a wildlife viewing fascination in Georgia that involved 2.4 million people and $1.8 billion in spending in 2011, according to a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service survey.
The restart combined a $4,500 Georgia Natural Resources Foundation grant with $10,500 in Nongame Wildlife Conservation funds. Renamed Wildlife Viewing Grants, the program emphasized projects that reflected Georgia's State Wildlife Action Plan, raising awareness of the plan's priority species, habitats and conservation actions.
In that first round, 26 organizations applied and six were chosen for funding. The projects included greenway bat boxes and signage

in Athens-Clarke County; kiosks highlighting rare species along a Spring Creek boardwalk in Colquitt; a new wildlife viewing platform at Okefenokee Swamp Park; interpretive signs at Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network sites on the coast; an outreach campaign encouraging responsible wildlife viewing on St. Simons Island beaches; and signs explaining rare salamander propagation at the Amphibian Foundation in Roswell.
In fiscal year 2019, the program maintained its emphasis on State Wildlife Action Plan-related projects, but the Nongame Wildlife Conservation Fund provided all funding. This cycle fielded grant applications from 16 organizations across the state. Projects varied from viewing platforms to trail upgrades and outreach tied to pollinator habitats. The following six were funded, for a total of $16,030 in grants.
n A mountain trail viewing platform at DavidsonArabia Mountain Nature Preserve. Recipient: DeKalb County Recreation, Parks and Cultural Affairs; grant amount: $3,000.
n A viewing scope as part of a new observation platform project at 4-H Tidelands Nature Center on Jekyll Island (Georgia 4-H Foundation; $3,000).
n Repairs and upgrades on the Piedmont tupelo river swamp boardwalk and viewing platform at the Alcovy Conservation Center in Newton County (Georgia Wildlife Federation; $3,000).

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n Monarch and pollinator way stations habitats for viewing plus signage and related outreach at four Gwinnett County parks (Gwinnett County Department of Community Services; $2,198).
n A chimney swift tower and info kiosks at Talking Rock Nature Preserve in Pickens County (Southeastern Trust for Parks and Land; $2,832).
n A Satilla River Water Trail info kiosk with signage at Burnt Fort Ramp Landing near Woodbine (Satilla Riverkeeper; $2,000).
As of the end of fiscal 2019, recipients were working on their projects. Photos and final reports were due by calendar 2020. Because of the program's promise, wide interest in the grants and the importance of wildlife viewing in Georgia, Wildlife Conservation plans to offer the grants again in fiscal 2020.
Social Media
The reach of the DNR Wildlife Resources Division's social media sites Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Flickr and a blog continues to expand, raising awareness of conservation efforts and engaging constituents. The Facebook page recorded 134,006 likes through June 2019, the end of the fiscal year. Twitter had 9,797 followers, Instagram about 11,500 and the YouTube channel, more than 747,100 views. The division's blog, which includes conservation topics, logged more than 439,500 views in fiscal 2019.
The three most popular Facebook posts involving rare and other animal and plant species not legally hunted or fished were, starting with the most viewed: a timber rattlesnake that had eaten a radio-collared quail, a post that reached more than 294,000 people and registered nearly 83,000 clicks or other actions; a DNR video with senior wildlife biologist John Jensen called "What to Do When You Encounter a Snake" (reach, 207,199; engagements, 24,315) and third, a video by staff of a North Atlantic right whale and its calf (reach, 204,234; engagements, 23,113). A Georgia Wild video by DNR's Linda May about lizards also proved popular on Facebook and YouTube, drawing more than 15,000 views.
However, the DNR video that went viral in 2019 had nothing to with animals. During a spring prescribed fire at West Point Wildlife Management

DNR's Pete Griffin discusses native snakes at the Claxton Rattlesnake and Wildlife Festival (Paul Evans)

Area that included ignition by helicopter, Wildlife Conservation Section senior biologist Nathan Klaus used his phone to film pine trees exploding in pollen as gusts from the passing helicopter hit the treetops. The results on Facebook: more than 703,000 views, 8,500 shares, 1,100 engagements and 890 comments. Media including CNN and USA Today also shared the video.
On Instagram, the top three posts for the Wildlife Conservation Section were facts on eastern hellbenders (702 likes, 26 comments), why some eastern gray squirrels are white (612 likes, eight comments) and a yellow northern cardinal spotted in Tucker (533 likes, 16 comments).
DNR's Georgia Wild e-newsletter, which focuses on Wildlife Conservation's work, also added readers in fiscal 2019. The number of subscribers increased 7 percent, or by 6,632 readers, to 101,606. In summer 2019, Georgia Wild placed first in the external newsletter category at the annual Association for Conservation Information conference. The 12-year-old newsletter took home second in the national competition the year before, third in 2017, first in 2016 and third in 2014.
Also at the 2019 Association of Conservation Information conference, which DNR helped host in Savannah with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, a Wildlife Resources Division video on native snakes won social media Post of the Year. Senior wildlife biologist Nathan Klaus was featured in the second-place news release and the third-place education entry "Woodland Wonders at Tallulah Gorge."

Wildlife Resources also placed second in online engagement with an Instagram Ask a Biologist series and third in website.
Social media efforts and the e-newsletter not only broaden the reach of Wildlife Conservation communications, they enhance interactivity and customer service.
Other Outreach
Beyond youth contests and social media, the Wildlife Conservation Section promotes awareness of wildlife and conservation in many ways speaking to civic, technical and special-interest groups, informing lawmakers on rare species, showing journalists research in the field and working with other conservation organizations, to name a few.
In fiscal year 2019, the agency staffed events varying from CoastFest in Brunswick and the Georgia Association of Tax Officials' spring conference in Athens to The Nature Conservancy's Wild for Georgia fundraiser in Atlanta and the 52nd annual Rattlesnake and Wildlife Festival in Claxton. Employees provided wildlife-related interviews to media, including The New York Times, Fox News, National Public Radio, The Associated Press, The Atlanta Journal and Constitution, WALB-TV in Albany, WABE-FM in Atlanta, Savannah Morning News, the Rome News-Tribune and Georgia Public Broadcasting. Topics varied from a record nesting season for loggerhead sea turtles to trouble with tegus in the wild in southeast Georgia. A mass stranding of

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pilot whales on a crowded St. Simons Island beach in mid-July 2019, just after the close of the fiscal year, sparked media coverage worldwide.
Outreach is mentioned throughout this report. Notable examples include:
n Senior wildlife biologist Clay George did interviews about North Atlantic right whales with many media outlets in winter 2018-2019, including a discussion about the imperiled whales with Georgia Public Broadcasting's "On Second Thought." Fellow senior biologist Mark Dodd did the same regarding the recordsetting sea turtle nesting that summer, and senior biologist Nathan Klaus was part of NPR coverage on how prescribed fires in the South help guard against wildfire.
n Staff took part in videos ranging from field clips such as wildlife biologist Joe Burnam discussing work to help red-cockaded woodpeckers recover in the wake of Hurricane Michael to more extensive productions with Public Affairs videographer Heidi Ferguson. The latter included a "Women of Georgia Wildlife" series featuring, among others, DNR's Linda May; fire safety officer Shan Cammack promoting Burner Bob, The Longleaf Alliance's prescribed fire mascot; and a popular series on snakes with senior wildlife biologist John Jensen. Biologist Laci Pattavina also filmed a video at Black Rock Mountain State Park about bats using attics for summer roosting and how they can be safely and humanely removed and excluded from homes.
n Environmental outreach coordinator Linda May and environmental review coordinator Anna Yellin organized and awarded a $1,000 grant to Monroe County teacher Dr. Kimberlie Harris, who created a bat habitat at Samuel E. Hubbard Elementary in Forsyth. The annual grant from The Environmental Resources Network, or TERN, recognizes Georgia's exceptional third- through fifth-grade teachers in life sciences.
n May also conducted programs for civic groups, including a Georgia Kiwanis webinar about urban wildlife and snake presentations for the Dunwoody Garden Club and Dunwoody Library. With other Wildlife Conservation staff, she represented DNR at the Fernbank Museum of Natural History's Adventures in Science Day and Reptile Day. May also led children's

Explaining pitcherplants at a Fernbank Museum of Natural History event (Linda May/DNR)

programs at the Adopt-a-Stream Confluence in Helen and Junior Ranger Camps at Hard Labor Creek State Park in Rutledge and wildlife presentations for schoolchildren at STEM Nights and Farm Days.
n News releases by Public Affairs' Rick Lavender varied from senior wildlife biologist Nathan Klaus receiving The Longleaf Alliance's Bill Boyer Natural Resource Professional of the Year award to a DNR study exploring ways to limit mammalian predation on nesting shorebirds and teamwork with the Georgia Department of Transportation to protect the state's largest-known bridge roost for bats while not slowing needed maintenance on the Interstate 75 bridge.
n Staff members also wrote popular articles and published research. Senior biologist Mark Dodd and biologist Tim Keyes helped author a study in The Journal of Wildlife Management on how sea level rise will affect coastal habitats. Senior wildlife biologist John Jensen and four others wrote a range-wide assessment of striped newts published in Herpetological Conservation and Biology. Jensen also co-authored research published in The Journal of Wildlife Management about head-starting gopher tortoises.
n Wildlife Resources Division blog posts by staff included field technicians Morgan Bettcher and Melanie Flood writing about their work monitoring the progress of sandhills restoration and social media coordinator Aubrey Pawlikowski providing insights into Georgia's bats.
n Wildlife Conservation was also featured in posts and videos produced by other organizations, including Georgia Outdoors' "Great Migrations," the University of Georgia's

Ranger Nick video series (featuring biologist Thomas Floyd talking about rare species in the mountains and senior biologist John Jensen about invasive Argentine black and white tegus) and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation's interactive "Living Rocks" story on conserving freshwater mussels and their habitat, which included aquatic biologist Ani Popp.
n Program Manager Dr. Bob Sargent and Charlie Elliott Wildlife Center staff held the third annual Youth Christmas Bird Count, which drew 33 young birders and their parents on Jan. 12, 2019. The annual event introduces ages 8-16 to the Audubon Society's popular Christmas Bird Count without that count's long and often cold day in the field. Participants received a brief presentation about identifying birds and then divided into teams led by expert birders for a three-hour adventure on Charlie Elliott's trails. After lunch, the young birders lead a species countdown, receive prizes such as field guides and enjoy a raptor show.
n Private lands conservation coordinator Steve Raper spoke about DNR employment and considerations regarding academic tracks as a faculty guest at Reinhardt University in Waleska. The event was part of a series of informal discussions between professionals, students majoring in biology and faculty.
n Botanist Dr. J. Mincy Moffett Jr. led field trips, including one for a Gwinnett Georgia College biology class at Ohoopee Dunes Wildlife Management Area near Swainsboro, and a more far-reaching event when the Swainsboro Middle School Science Club SciFries toured wildlife habitats and other sites in north Georgia.

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L A N D ACQ U I S I T I O N A N D CO N S E RVAT I O N E AS E M E N TS
Dawson Forest WMA 139-acre Addition Sheffield WMA 292-acre Addition Chattahoochee Fall Line WMA Hilliard Plantation Tract Lannahassee Creek WMA
Woodward Canby's Dropwort Easement
Bullard Creek Easement 7,050-acre Addition
Canoochee Sandhills WMA
Sunbury Boat Ramp Expansion
Altamaha WMA Rist Tract
Musgrove Plantation Easement

Canoochee Sandhills WMA (DNR)

Through its Real Estate Office, DNR acquired fee ownership of several properties for public recreation and conservation in fiscal year 2019 and early fiscal 2020. The agency also acquired three conservation easements for conservation purposes. The fee acquisitions expanded four wildlife management areas, led to the establishment of two new WMAs and added to a public boat ramp in coastal Georgia. The tracts were targeted in Georgia's State Wildlife Action Plan to increase public recreation and expand conservation efforts across DNR-managed lands.

Acquisitions
Here are more details about each land purchase.
Canoochee Sandhills WMA The 6,366-acre Canoochee Sandhills Wildlife Management Area was created in Bulloch and Bryan counties with the acquisition of five different tracts. A rich ecological area with longleaf pine and native groundcover, sand dunes and bottomland hardwoods, the new WMA will provide public recreation and protect important gopher tortoise habitat, as well unique natural habitats and other species considered a conservation priority.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service acquired a conservation easement over part of the property before DNR closed, which helped lower the purchase price. For the acquisition, DNR used funding from a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program grant, a Fish and Wildlife Coastal Wetlands grant, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, grants from the Knobloch Family Foundation, Bobolink Foundation and The Nature Conservancy, Stone Mountain Industrial Park Inc., The Conservation Fund and the National Wild Turkey Federation. The remaining funding needed came from DNR bond funds. The agency also received bargain sale prices from the D.B. Warnell estate and Warnell Land and Timber LP.

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Lanahassee Creek WMA (DNR)

Lanahassee Creek WMA A second new wildlife management area, 4,360-acre Lanahassee Creek WMA, was opened in Webster County. Lanahassee Creek, which also features promising features such as longleaf pine and native groundcover, will also provide for public recreation and protect key gopher tortoise habitat.
As with Canoochee Sandhills, the Natural Resources Conservation Service acquired a conservation easement on the tract before closing, lowering DNR's price. The agency then used funding from

a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program grant, a Knobloch Family Foundation grant, the R. Howard Dobbs Jr. Foundation, The Conservation Fund and DNR bond funds to acquire the tract.
Sheffield WMA Addition At Sheffield Wildlife Management Area in Paulding and Polk counties, 292 acres were acquired on Dec. 20, 2018, that will eliminate an edge-holding, improve management and increase public recreation opportunities. This tract was acquired for $657,540

with a Georgia Imperiled Bat Fund grant from The Conservation Fund.
Dawson Forest WMA Addition The addition of 139 acres to Dawson Forest Wildlife Management Area in Dawson County at the close of fiscal year 2019 eliminated an edge-holding, enhanced management and increased public recreation opportunities at the WMA. DNR acquired the tract for $300,000 using a Georgia Imperiled Bat Fund grant from The Conservation Fund and DNR bond funds.

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Gopher tortoise (Dirk J. Stevenson)

Chattahoochee Fall Line WMA: Hilliard Plantation Tract
Near Columbus and Fort Benning, wildlife habitat on the Hilliard Plantation Tract was at risk of being lost. Now the 7,089 acres are permanently protected as part of Chattahoochee Fall Line Wildlife Management Area, while also providing an important buffer for training and other military activities at Fort Benning. This acquisition in Marion County closed on Sept. 4, 2018, in partnership with The Nature Conservancy and Fort Benning. The Hilliard Tract features gopher tortoise habitat and longleaf pine stands, plus other animal and plant species considered high priorities for conservation in Georgia's State Wildlife Action Plan.
The U.S. Army provided funding to acquire a conservation easement over the tract, reducing DNR's purchase price to $9 million. The department then used funding from the U.S. Forest Service Forest Legacy Grant program in partnership with the Georgia Forestry Commission, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program grant, a grant from the Knobloch Family Foundation and DNR Bond funds to acquire the property.

Altamaha WMA: Rist Tract
The 1,201-acre Rist Tract in McIntosh County was surrounded by the Altamaha Wildlife Management Area and the U.S. Marine Corps' Townsend Bombing Range. Protecting Rist not only erased an inholding at the WMA near Darien, it increased recreation opportunities, improved WMA management options and permanently protected wetland habitat in the Altamaha River floodplain.
Because the acquisition also provided an important buffer to Townsend Bombing Range, the U.S. Navy and the Marine Corps first acquired a conservation easement on the tract, lowering DNR's purchase price. On Dec. 13, 2018, the agency acquired the remaining interest in the tract using DNR bond funds and a grant from the Knobloch Family Foundation.
Sunbury Boat Ramp Addition
In Liberty County, a 1-acre addition will allow DNR to expand the Sunbury Boat Ramp and provide more parking for more boating and fishing access in coastal Georgia. The tract closed on Dec. 19, 2018, for $262,500. The purchase was made using DNR bond funds.

Conservation Easements
DNR conservation easements in fiscal year 2019 included:
n In Dooly County, 33 acres to protect the federally endangered plant Canby's dropwort, an easement acquired by DNR in partnership with The Conservation Fund and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
n In Glynn County, more than 109 acres representing the third and final phase of the Musgrove conservation easement, acquired by DNR in partnership with the St. Simons Land Trust.
n At Bullard Creek Wildlife Management Area, a conservation easement acquired from The Conservation Fund added 7,050 acres complete with all public recreation rights to the WMA near Hazlehurst. The Natural Resources Conservation Service acquired an easement over this tract as well, again helping lower DNR's price to acquire the easement from The Conservation Fund. DNR has leased most of this land for many years, but the easement will ensure full public access. The protected land is also important for gopher tortoises and longleaf pine habitats.
Georgia Conservation Tax Credit Program
The Wildlife Conservation Section administers the Georgia Conservation Tax Credit Program in conjunction with the State Properties Commission. This program provides a tax credit for taxpayers who place conservation easements on their land or make fee-simple donations to qualified organizations.
Of the 11 applications in 11 counties received in fiscal year 2019, six were approved by the State Properties Commission and received the tax credit. Four of the 11 applications received pre-certification for the program and most have submitted final applications. In addition to the six certified applications received in fiscal 2019, five applications received before the fiscal year were certified. These 11 certifications protected a total of 2,301 acres using conservation easements donated to qualified organizations.
Staff managing the program were funded in part through the Georgia Environmental Finance Authority.

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CO N S E RVAT I O N P L A N N I N G

State Wildlife Action Plan Revision
As coordinator of the State Wildlife Action Plan in Georgia, the Wildlife Conservation Section completed and submitted revision of the plan for review by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in September 2015. The revised plan, created with the help of DNR's conservation partners and updated with the most current information, was approved in September 2016.
The Wildlife Action Plan (www.georgiawildlife. com/wildlifeactionplan) outlines critical areas of need, with a focus on keeping native species from declining to the point of requiring federal protection as threatened or endangered species. Developing, revising and implementing the plan are required to receive State Wildlife Grants. Georgia's apportionment of State Wildlife Grant funds for federal fiscal year 2019 was $1,375,101.
Officially called the Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy, this plan a 10-year

roadmap for conservation is the primary guiding document for much of Wildlife Conservation's work. In fiscal year 2019, Wildlife Conservation staff continued work with partners to implement the plan. The section also worked with the Fish and Wildlife Service on a regional team reviewing revisions of other State Wildlife Action Plans. This team approved revisions of plans for the U.S. Virgin Islands and for Florida this year.
Regional Partnerships
Since 2010, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has received three mega-petitions to list nearly 500 species under the Endangered Species Act. The Fish and Wildlife Service's Southeast Region is responsible for roughly 60 percent of the workload to evaluate these species. More than 100 of the species are found in Georgia, amplifying the need for up-to-date status information to help inform the service's 90-day findings and 12-month findings to determine whether a listing is warranted.

Tackling emerging issues such as mega-petitions to list species under the Endangered Species Act requires innovative approaches. One is the creation of regional conservation partnerships to achieve success that could not be accomplished by individual states. For example, the Southeast Atrisk Species Initiative, often referred to as SEARS, is an initiative implemented by the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies in cooperation with the Fish and Wildlife Service. The goal is for states to work together to preclude the need to federally list species. A similar effort has been undertaken in the northeastern U.S.
This collaborative approach has been successful. Since 2011, the Fish and Wildlife Service and states in the eastern U.S. have conserved 170 at-risk animals and plants. About 82 species did not warrant federal protection thanks to ongoing conservation actions, updated survey data and new information on threats to the species' survival. Organizations and individuals withdrew petitions to list another 110 species after further scientific analysis (i.e., additional surveys documenting

Northern pine snake (John Jensen/DNR)

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more populations), concluding that listing under the Endangered Species Act was not justified. Thirty-three species were either "downlisted" from endangered to threatened, delisted due to successful recovery programs or listed as threatened rather than endangered.
State agencies and the Fish and Wildlife Service have prioritized numerous and wide-ranging atrisk species for collaborative conservation efforts. One example is the gopher tortoise, a candidate for listing across its eastern range in parts of Alabama, Georgia, Florida and South Carolina. The service is coordinating with states to provide federal Section 6 funding for surveys and to develop proactive conservation agreements.
This focus on regional collaboration includes the Southeast Conservation Adaptation Strategy, called SECAS, an initiative of the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies and other state, federal and private conservation organizations. The strategy's primary product is the Southeast Conservation Blueprint. The blueprint stitches together smaller, sub-regional conservation plans into one unifying map that identifies important areas for protection and restoration.
Dramatic landscape-scale changes such as urbanization, competition for water resources, extreme weather events, sea-level rise and climate change pose unprecedented challenges for sustaining natural and cultural resources in the Southeast. Through the Southeastern Conservation Adaptation Strategy, partners are working together to design and develop a connected network of lands and waters that can support thriving wildlife populations and improved quality of life for people throughout the region. Partners completed draft version 4.0 of the Southeast Conservation Blueprint in November 2019.
In support of the regional effort, state members of the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies collaborated on a project to develop a Regional Species of Greatest Conservation Need list. The State Wildlife Action Plans in 15 Southeastern states collectively identified nearly 6,700 species of conservation concern. The goal of the project was to identify a core set of species that represent highest conservation priorities within the region. The priority-setting process involved more than 100 scientific experts. Species were evaluated and ranked based on

Beautiful crayfish (Chris Lukhaup)

several criteria, including level of conservation concern, regional stewardship responsibility and biological or ecological significance. The regional assessment focused on mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fishes, as well as better-known invertebrate groups (freshwater mussels, crayfish and bumblebees).
Overall, 960 species were identified as Regional Species of Conservation Need, representing about 25 percent of all species evaluated. Freshwater fish, with 281 species, are the group with the greatest number of regional priority species, followed by crayfish (172) and freshwater mussels (136). These three groups of aquatic organisms comprise almost two-thirds of the Regional Species of Conservation Need, highlighting the impressive aquatic biodiversity of the Southeast as well as the imperiled status of many aquatic species. The final project report and table will be available on the Georgia DNR Wildlife Resources Division website in 2020.
Biotics Database
The Wildlife Conservation Section manages the NatureServe Biotics database, the state's most comprehensive database of occurrences of rare species and natural communities. Data

in Biotics are used for many purposes, including environmental site reviews, conservation planning, scientific research, habitat restoration and management plan development. The database has more than 17,000 occurrence records for rare species in the state and provides web access to details on occurrences of special-concern species and significant natural communities.
During fiscal year 2019, Wildlife Conservation added 344 elemental occurrence records and edited 1,361 existing ones. Significant efforts were made to update information on species proposed for listing under the Endangered Species Act. Many species are under federal review, and updating database records allows for a more accurate species-review process.
Funded in part by an agreement with the Georgia Department of Transportation, staff also reviewed ecological reports and responded to 726 formal requests for site-specific data. Lists of rare and protected plants, animals and natural communities are available to the public at www.georgiabiodiversity.org. The page links to accounts featuring species identification, natural history, survey recommendations and Georgia status ranks. Species locations are available to the public by county, watershed and quarter quad.

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FINANCIAL AND ADMINISTRATION

Income tax checkoff 7% ($225,151)

Earned interest 6% ($186,305)

Donations & other income 12% ($358,210)

REVENUE
TOTAL: $3,092,565

Weekend for Wildlife* 14% ($435,875)

License plates
61% ($1,887,024)

Does not include federal and other grants, or $300,000 in state appropriations for the Wildlife Conservation Section.
*Includes 2018 Weekend for Wildlife revenue from the Georgia Natural Resources Foundation. 2019 event revenue was disbursed in fiscal 2020.

Professional services (contracts, fees) 2% ($45,642)

Personnel 67%
($1,533,721)

EXPENDITURES
TOTAL: $2,291,291
Operations 31% ($711,928)
Expenditures paid through the Nongame Fund.

NONGAME WILDLIFE CONSERVATION FUND
Listed in millions per year

Wilson's plover (Tim Keyes/DNR)

12 M 11 M 10 M 9 M 8 M 7 M 6 M 5 M 4 M 3 M 2 M 1 M
FY '09 FY '10 FY '11 FY '12 FY '13 FY '14 FY '15 FY '16 FY '17 FY '18 FY '19

INCOME EXPENSES BALANCE

Nongame Wildlife Conservation Fund

For the fourth consecutive year, the Wildlife Conservation Section received state appropriations $300,000 in fiscal year 2019. However, with those appropriations making up less than 5 percent of the section's research and conservation budget, fundraising remained a priority.
Wildlife Conservation depends largely on three fundraisers: sales and renewals of the eagle and hummingbird wildlife license plates, the annual Weekend for Wildlife and the Wildlife Conservation Fund state income tax checkoff. Contributions go to what is officially the Nongame Wildlife Conservation and Wildlife Habitat Acquisitions Fund, often referred to as the Georgia Wildlife Conservation Fund. Created in 1989, the fund is dedicated by state law to support nongame

wildlife conservation, wildlife habitat acquisition and related educational and promotional projects.
The Environmental Resources Network, better known as TERN, also provides significant financial support to the Wildlife Conservation Section.
The Nongame Wildlife Conservation Fund received $3.09 million in revenue in fiscal 2019. That included $1,887,024 in license plate sales and renewals, $435,875 from the 2018 Weekend for Wildlife, $225,151 via the state income tax checkoff, $358,210 in donations, and $186,305 in earned interest and other income. The total does not include federal and other grants, or state appropriations.

Expenses paid through the fund in fiscal 2019 totaled $2.29 million. Sixty-seven percent, or $1,533,721, went to personnel expenditures, 31 percent ($711,928) to operations, and 2 percent ($45,642) to professional services, a category that includes contracts and fees. Spending over the last 10 years averaged $2.62 million annually. 2019 expenditures were down 9 percent compared to fiscal 2018.
The 2019 fund balance of $5.8 million marked a 16-percent increase over the previous year and ended a generally consistent decline over the past six years. The balance in fiscal 2012 was $7.07 million. The fund reached a low of $5 million in fiscal 2018.

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Nongame License Plates
The bald eagle and ruby-throated hummingbird tags are the Wildlife Conservation Section's largest fundraiser, a standard of support for more than two decades. Sales and renewals provide as much as two-thirds of Nongame Wildlife Conservation Fund revenues each year. In fiscal 2019, license plates accounted for 61 percent of revenue, compared to 51 and 65 percent, respectively, in 2018 and 2017.
The continuing significance of the plates for conservation is largely due to state lawmakers' decision in 2014 to lower the cost of buying and renewing DNR wildlife plates to only $25 more than a standard state tag and dedicate up to 80 percent of those fees to programs the plates benefit. Since July 1, 2014, $19 for each eagle and hummingbird tag bought and $20 for each renewed has gone to conserve wildlife and natural habitats. After bottoming out at $841,160 in 2014, tag revenues have topped $1 million annually and gradually increased each year, except for a dip in 2018.
Sales and renewals had spiraled downward after 2010 legislation upped the price for most specialty plates, reduced the share going to sponsor groups to $10 a tag, and added an annual renewal fee. While those changes initially increased revenue peaking at $1.88 million in 2011 for eagle and hummingbird tags the higher price, less money for conservation and additional fee soon undercut sales and renewals.
The challenge since has been stemming the decline in renewals while bolstering the increase

in sales through effective marketing. One key to both areas has been the redesigned eagle and U.S. flag plate released in August 2016. A smaller, less vibrant version of this iconic combo sold from 2004-2013 and still ranks as Georgia's most popular specialty plate. Also, in September 2019, after the close of fiscal 2019, DNR introduced a new and vibrant-colored "pollinator plate" featuring a monarch on a Georgia aster wildflower. This design replaced the hummingbird tag. Sales will be tracked in the 2020 report.
Sales and renewals of the newer eagle plate have helped ease the impact of declines in renewals of hummingbird and older eagle tags. For example, 4 percent more eagle plates were sold or renewed in July 2020, the start of the fiscal year 2020, compared to July the year before. Overall, there were 72,137 eagle and hummer plates on the road in Georgia at the close of fiscal 2019, down 2.1 percent from 2018. Unfortunately, that rate of decline increased this last year, with 1,568 fewer tags in circulation in 2019 compared to 1,908 fewer in 2018. The rate of decline had slowed from 2017 to 2018. For a historic perspective, the number of license plates benefiting the Nongame Wildlife Conservation Fund is down 79 percent from 2010, when there were 347,401 eagle and hummingbird tags in circulation.
(Note: Tag revenue as distributed by the state Department of Revenue can include revenue collected outside the state's July-June fiscal year. Yet DNR tracks total plates issued and renewed by fiscal year. The differences can affect year-to-year

comparisons. Also, 25 percent of net revenue from Jekyll Island's Georgia Sea Turtle Center plate goes to DNR for conserving nongame and is reported as tag revenue.)
As mentioned, Wildlife Conservation and the Wildlife Resources Division's Pubic Affairs office created the monarch-and-wildflower design to replace the hummingbird tag in fiscal 2019. Public Affairs' Heidi Ferguson also worked with Georgia Correctional Industries, the state Department of Revenue and county tax commissioners and their staff to promote DNR plates.
Weekend for Wildlife
Weekend for Wildlife is one of the country's most successful fundraisers for conserving rare and other native wildlife. The event has grossed more than $13.5 million since 2001. Started in 1989 and held each winter since at the prestigious Cloister at Sea Island, Weekend for Wildlife draws 200-400 guests for a weekend of outdoor trips, auctions and dining.
The 2018 event raised more than $1 million and, excluding expenses and fees, directed giving for programs and money raised by TERN, returned $435,875 to the Nongame Wildlife Conservation Fund. This amount was disbursed to the Wildlife Conservation Section in fiscal 2019.
The 2019 Weekend for Wildlife also raised more than $1 million. Revenue to the Wildlife Conservation Fund from that fundraiser will be disbursed by The Georgia Natural Resources Foundation in fiscal 2020.

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Georgia Wildlife Conservation Fund Checkoff
Created in 1989, the state income tax checkoff offers Georgians a convenient way to donate to the Nongame Wildlife Conservation Fund. Over the last 10 years, the checkoff's net contributions have averaged nearly $200,000 and made up about 8 percent of Wildlife Conservation Fund revenues. This revenue is collected by calendar year.
As reported in fiscal years 2016-2018, contributions to what is commonly called the Give Wildlife a Chance checkoff hit new lows, with fiscal 2017's total of $113,606 setting a record for the least amount raised by the checkoff. However, contributions rallied in fiscal 2019 to $225,151, a 73 percent increase over the $129,813 received in fiscal 2018. Checkoff revenue hit an all-time high of $510,910 in 1991.
The Georgia Wildlife Conservation Fund checkoff is line 30 on the long state income tax form (Form 500) and line 10 of the short form (Form 500-EZ).
Online Donations
In March 2018, the Wildlife Resources Division's License and Boat Registration Unit supervisor worked with division Public Affairs staff to create options for donating to the Georgia Wildlife Conservation Fund through www.gooutdoorsgeorgia.com, the agency's license and permit portal.
The additions allowed users to make a set donation or round up license purchases or renewals with the extra going to conservation. A click-through promotion titled "Keep Georgia Wild," which bundles a $10 donation with a $5 one-day hunting/fishing license, was also created. (License sales return to wildlife work in Georgia the fee plus about $45 in federal excise taxes paid by hunters and anglers on the purchases of guns, fishing rods and other gear.)
By the June 30 close of fiscal year 2018, $36,332 had been donated online to the Wildlife

DNR's Linda May honors conservation teacher grant recipient Kimberlie Harris (Valerie Mercer/Monroe County Schools)

Conservation Fund. For fiscal 2019, the total donated online and through other license sales avenues including DNR offices, Brandt Information Service's service desk and private vendors that sell licenses was $103,630. Ninety-nine percent, or $102,882, was donated online. The round-up option led in online donations, with 34,060 users giving a total of $88,322. Also, 636 people gave $10 each ($6,360 total), 325 gave $5 each ($1,625), 113 donated $25 ($2,825), 33 contributed $50 ($1,650) and 21 gave $100 ($2,100).
Donors new to www.gooutdoorsgeorgia.com select "Licenses and Permits," then create a customer account. They are then only a click away from turning their appreciation for gopher tortoises, Georgia aster and other native species into financial support for conserving them.
The Environmental Resources Network
The Environmental Resources Network, or TERN, is a nonprofit organization founded in 1992 to support Wildlife Conservation Section activities. TERN, online at www.tern.homestead.com and on Facebook, raises most of its funds through membership dues and through auction, raffle, and sale items at Weekend for Wildlife.
In fiscal year 2019, TERN funded 14 project proposals submitted by Wildlife Conservation staff, totaling $42,584. Those projects included:

Trail camera photo identification for spotted skunk surveys $7,500
Youth Birding Competition $5,515
Burner Bob breakout $5,200
Remote trapping system for feral hog control in southwest Georgia $4,525
Outdoor Wildlife Leadership School $4,080
Summer Camp ACE (Adventures in Conservation Education) $3,280
Visiting the Butterfly Skyway $2,690
Groundcover workshops $2,000
Native tree demonstration planting $1,584
Give Wildlife a Chance Poster Contest $1,550
Camp TALON $1,500
TERN Outstanding Conservation Teacher Award $1,250
GPS unit for invasive species treatment and monitoring $1,210
Youth Christmas Bird Count $700
TERN provided financial support, as well, to several other projects and related conferences throughout the year. TERN has paid or obligated more than $1.4 million to the Wildlife Conservation program since these grants were first provided in 1992.

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Upper Tallulah River in Towns County (Tom Wilson/Georgia Nature Photographers Association)

Officers for the group include President Joey Slaughter, Vice President Jerry Donovan, Secretary Kim Kilgore, Treasurer Jerry Booker, Executive Director Terry W. Johnson and Executive Secretary Wanda Granitz.
Federal and Other Funding
The Wildlife Conservation Section received more than nearly $5.66 million in federal and other grants during fiscal year 2019 to support projects that benefit nongame wildlife species and their habitats. Including spending involving grants, bonds and other funds, section expenditures totaled $20.32 million during the year.
Grant sources varied from the State and Tribal Wildlife Grants Program, the Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund and the National Coastal Wetlands Conservation Grant Program all administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Department of Defense. Use of these grants, usually matched with funds

from the Nongame Wildlife Conservation Fund, included acquiring habitat for conservation and research, surveys, and occurrence data collection focused on at-risk species.
State Wildlife Grants
In fiscal year 2019, the federal apportionment of State Wildlife Grants for Georgia was $1,375,101. That amount marked a 1.3 percent increase over fiscal 2018, but nearly a third, or $620,030, less than in fiscal 2010, the program's funding high-point. A suite of federal conservation programs, including State Wildlife Grants, have been cut since 2010. The State and Tribal Wildlife Grants Program has bipartisan support in Congress. Its funding, however, is not sufficient for states to meet the conservation needs outlined in their State Wildlife Action Plans. (A national survey determined that each state needs an average of $26 million a year to effectively implement their plans.)
State and Tribal Wildlife Grants is the only federal program designed to prevent wildlife from becoming endangered through voluntary, proactive conservation. The DNR Wildlife Resources Division

uses the funding to research and monitor species of greatest conservation need, restore habitat, acquire land, and accomplish other work identified in Georgia's State Wildlife Action Plan. This plan, a comprehensive wildlife conservation strategy created in 2005 and revised in 2015 with partner agencies, organizations, stakeholders and the public, is required to receive State Wildlife Grants.
Conservation work spurred by the Wildlife Action Plan contributes to local and state economies by supporting the nation's some 86 million wildlife viewers 16 years old and older, part of an outdoors recreation economy that generates nearly $76 billion a year nationwide in related expenditures, according to a 2016 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service survey. In Georgia, State Wildlife Grants are critical to helping conserve wildlife and natural places for current and future generations. Wildlife viewing included 2.4 million Georgians and Georgia visitors who spent, all told, an estimated $1.8 billion in the state in 2011, according to an earlier Fish and Wildlife Service survey that provided state estimates.

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Recovering America's Wildlife Act
Considering the conservation needs identified in states' Wildlife Action Plans and the insufficiency of State Wildlife Grants to meet them, the push to secure dedicated funding to prevent more than 12,000 species from becoming endangered coalesced into the Alliance for America's Fish and Wildlife in fiscal 2017. The alliance grew out of the partnership developed by the Blue Ribbon Panel on Sustaining America's Diverse Fish and Wildlife Resources. Organized by the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, this 26-member panel comprised of national leaders representing outdoor recreation retail and manufacturing, energy and automotive industries, private landowners, educational institutions, conservation organizations, sportsmen's groups, and state fish and wildlife agencies worked to identify new funding to support state fish and wildlife conservation to ensure the sustainability of wildlife.
Initial legislation introduced in 2017 was followed in fiscal 2019 by the Recovering America's Wildlife Act of 2019. As of early in the fiscal year 2020, House Resolution 3742 had 125 cosponsors, including three from Georgia Hank Johnson (D-Decatur), Buddy Carter (R-Brunswick) and Austin Scott (R-Tifton). The bipartisan legislation proposes a 21st century funding model to conserve wildlife, aiming to prevent more than 12,000 species from becoming endangered. The bills would redirect $1.4 billion annually from the general U.S. Treasury fund to an existing subaccount to facilitate states' and tribal nations' ability to conserve species of greatest conservation need in a voluntary, non-regulatory manner. No new taxes would be introduced.. Funding to states would total $1.3 billion annually and would be allocated through the Wildlife Conservation and Restoration Program, established in 2000 under the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act. Pittman-Robertson, officially the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act, has provided critical funding to states for wildlife management and conservation funding since its passage in 1937. Ten percent of the total available to states would be allocated through a competitive grants program.
DNR's Wildlife Resources Division has helped shape the effort to identify dedicated funding for states to conserve nongame. That effort included former directors Dan Forster and David Waller taking part in the Blue Ribbon Panel's first meeting. Learn more about the Alliance

DNR's Tom Patrick interviewed by an Atlanta reporter (Rick Lavender/DNR)

for America's Fish and Wildlife and Recovering America's Wildlife Act at www.ournatureusa.com.
Georgia Outdoor Stewardship Program
During the 2018 legislative session, the Georgia General Assembly passed House Bill 332 and House Resolution 238, establishing the Georgia Outdoor Stewardship Act. On Nov. 6, 2018, Georgians passed the amendment, with 83 percent of voters approving the change to the state's constitution. This new grant program will provide a dedicated funding mechanism, at an estimated $20 million a year, to support parks and trails and protect and acquire lands critical to wildlife, clean water and outdoor recreation across the state. The Georgia Outdoor Stewardship Act became effective July 1, 2019.
Preapplications for grants in the 2019-2020 cycle were due by Oct. 31, 2019. The Georgia Outdoor Stewardship Program is managed by a board of trustees. Learn more at www.gadnr.org/gosp.

Administration and Personnel
For decades, DNR botanist Tom Patrick turned attention to Georgia's rare plants and worked to conserve them. In May 2019, the Georgia Plant Conservation Alliance turned the attention on Patrick, creating an award named in his honor and handing the first one to him. Leaders said the Tom Patrick Award will be given on special occasions to recognize outstanding achievement in plant conservation.
On Aug. 22, 2019, three months after being honored by his peers, Patrick died.
He had been hired in 1986 as the Georgia Natural Heritage Inventory Program's first botanist. That program was later folded into what is now the Wildlife Conservation Section. Patrick's specialty was trilliums (the Tom Patrick award he received was engraved with a persistent trillium, a species endemic to Georgia). Yet his scope was broad, ranging from protecting mountain bogs to restoring chalk prairies in middle Georgia. He was noted

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for his knowledge of native flora he authored "Protected Plants of Georgia," a botanical standard and for his ready but respectful willingness to share that knowledge with others.
Patrick, of Monticello, is survived by his wife Bretta, two sons and other family.
Wildlife Conservation Section senior wildlife biologist Nathan Klaus received the Bill Boyer Natural Resource Professional of the Year Award at The Longleaf Alliance's biennial conference in October 2018. Named for early longleaf and prescribed fire advocate Bill Boyer, the award recognizes a natural resources professional for significant contributions to conserving longleaf pine ecosystems. Klaus, a 20-year DNR employee, has been a leader in restoring longleaf pines notably montane longleaf along the Flint River groundcover and rare species through prescribed

fire, forest management, invasive species control, land acquisitions and landowner partnerships.
Also recognized at the Longleaf Alliance conference was the Georgia Sentinel Landscape team, which earned the Department of Defense Team Achievement Award. This award is given to a Defense Department group that excels in managing and restoring longleaf ecosystems on military installations. Georgia's 20-plus Sentinel Landscape partners include DNR and nine military bases and ranges.
Wildlife Conservation Program Manager Jason Lee and DNR Real Estate Chief Steve Friedman were part of a group honored by the U.S. Forest Service for the Altamaha River Conservation Project. The effort involving the service's Forest Legacy Program was presented the Delivering State and Private Forestry Programs Group Award.

Former Nongame Program Manager Terry W. Johnson, who is retired but still deeply involved in wildlife conservation, received The Garden Club of Georgia's highest award for a non-member in spring 2019. Then-club President Jane Hersey presented the Award of Merit to Johnson for his work in helping start and continuing to lead the Community Wildlife Program. For some 20 years, this joint Garden Club/DNR program, which Johnson helped start, has focused on enhancing native wildlife and habitats statewide through the club's some 9,000 members.
The following Wildlife Conservation employees were chosen by administration as Wildlife Resources Division champions, selections announced quarterly and recognizing exemplary work: Tina Bennett, Jamie Calloway, Zach Henshaw, Melanie Holthaus, Nathan Klaus and Laci Pattavina.

DNR's Nathan Klaus at Sprewell Bluff WMA (Rick Lavender/DNR)

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GEORGIA DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES WILDLIFE RESOURCES DIVISION WILDLIFE CONSERVATION SECTION
2067 U.S. Highway 278 SE, Social Circle, GA 30025 (770) 557-3213
OFFICES ALSO AT:
116 Rum Creek Drive, Forsyth, GA 31029 (478) 994-1438 2067 U.S. Highway 278 SE, Social Circle, GA 30025 (770) 557-3213 One Conservation Way, Suite 310, Brunswick, GA 31520 (912) 264-7218
543 Elliott Trail, Mansfield, GA 30055 (770) 784-3059
Mark Williams n Commissioner, DNR Rusty Garrison n Director, Wildlife Resources Division Dr. Jon Ambrose n Chief, Wildlife Conservation Section Matt Elliott n Assistant Chief, Wildlife Conservation Section Dr. Brett Albanese, Jason Lee, Kim Morris-Zarneke, Dr. Bob Sargent n Wildlife Conservation Program Managers
Steve Friedman n Chief, DNR Real Estate Office Linda May n Outreach Coordinator, Urban Wildlife Program
Rick Lavender n Report Editor Contributors: Wildlife Conservation Section staff, DNR Real Estate Office, DNR Law Enforcement Division
FOLLOW US /WildlifeResourcesDivisionGADNR
/GeorgiaWild /georgiawildlife /georgiawildlife.wordpress.com, a Wildlife Resources blog /GeorgiaWildlife
Also sign up for the Wildlife Conservation Section's free e-newsletter, Georgia Wild. Subscribe under the Education tab at www.georgiawildlife.com.
Cover image: Big brown bat (Pete Pattavina/USFWS) Report design: OM Graphic Design

Meadow beauty in a longleaf stand at River Creek WMA (Rick Lavender/DNR)