Let Us Explain …
Bryologists at work during the Blomquist Foray (Csilla Czako/Special to GaDNR)
The 2026 Blomquist Foray hosted by DNR Wildlife Conservation Section biologists Amaad Blades and Hannah Umstead in March drew over 50 bryologists and lichenologists from the Southeast and beyond to survey for bryophytes and lichens at Ohoopee Dunes Wildlife Management Area.
Got that?
OK, here’s a quick translation for the non-botanists among us: This two-and-a-half day blitz held every two years involved scientists interested in bryophytes (simple land plants such as mosses) and lichens (fungi are one example) searching for and learning more about under-documented species.
Liverwort sporophytes, asexual spores produced in the plant’s sporophyte phase (Hannah Umstead/GaDNR)
Findings from the 2026 foray at Ohoopee Dunes near Swainsboro supported priority conservation actions listed in Georgia’s State Wildlife Action Plan, with findings contributing to species status updates, distribution data and new state records.
Foray scientists analyze samples in the lab and online (Hannah Umstead/GaDNR)
Participants combined field surveys with lab work, advancing our understanding of these often-overlooked organisms while highlighting the ecological importance of the dune ecosystems in the region.
Ohoopee’s sandy uplands (Bryan Espinoza-Prieto/University of Tennessee at Knoxville)