Let’s catch up on the latest on wildlife conservation projects in this corner of the state.
Coosa Barbara’s-buttons at the Floyd tract (Erin Cork/GaDNR)
Field surveys, prescribed fire and invested partners are key ingredients for conserving Georgia’s native wildlife, especially in places as botanically rich as the Coosa Valley prairies.
The Nature Conservancy has long held a conservation easement on 930 acres in Floyd County that protects numerous Coosa Valley prairie communities embedded in the broader forest landscape. Forest Investment Associates bought the tract last fall. In partnership with Georgia DNR, FIA and TNC staff are surveying and managing it to support many rare-plant species.
Maria Vogel, Nature Conservancy stewardship coordinator in Georgia, and FIA forester Bryan Blankenship are making a difference for plants such as prairie purple coneflower (Echinacea simulata) and Coosa Barbara’s-buttons (Marshallia mohrii) – both species of greatest conservation need in Georgia’s State Wildlife Action Plan – plus other wildlife.
It’s worth noting that Forest Investment Associates is also a partner in DNR’s Forestry for Wildlife Partnership. The nearly 30-year-old, voluntary program works with large landowners in Georgia to enhance conservation, while providing wildlife training and technical assistance and recognizing partners for conservation achievements.
The Berry project will benefit over 25 species, including Bachman’s sparrow (Tim Keyes/DNR)
A short drive from the Coosa Valley prairies site, DNR and Berry College will be managing and restoring over 3,000 acres of montane longleaf pine savanna and Coosa flatwoods at Berry College Wildlife Management Area and on other college lands, thanks to a new $387,000 National Fish and Wildlife Foundation grant and matching support. The upgrades will include applying more prescribed fire, controlling invasive species and developing a 50-year plan to manage the landscape.
The benefits will be Berry special (sorry – couldn’t resist), improving rare habitats to help over 25 State Wildlife Action Plan species in need of conservation such as Coosa Barbara’s-buttons, also commonly called Mohr’s Barbara’s-buttons and federally listed as threatened, and Bachman’s sparrows.
Learn more about this and other Longleaf Landscape Stewardship grants in Georgia.