A little-known state law is quietly providing needed protection for many of Georgia’s rarest plants.
The Georgia Wildflower Preservation Act was enacted in 1973, part of a wave of environmental legislation that peaked that year with passage of the federal Endangered Species Act and – on the state level – Georgia’s Endangered Wildlife Act.
In a nutshell, the Wildflower Preservation Act protects plant species that DNR considers at risk of extinction, although that protection is mainly on lands the state owns or leases, said Carlee Steppe, a DNR Wildlife Conservation Section botanist. However, the law also requires state permits for moving or selling these protected species even if they are collected on private property.
Whitetop pitcherplants are one of the species protected under the Wildflower Preservation Act. (Alan Cressler)
“Compared to other states, we have fairly strong protections for plants,” Steppe said. “The act provides a strong tool to protect species on state land while also giving us the ability to regulate poaching of plants on private property.”
She explained that growing awareness of the Wildflower Preservation Act has also expanded its impact and opened avenues into more funding to conserve plants. Examples include teaming with the Georgia Department of Transportation to move pink lady’s slipper orchids and pitcherplants out of the way of roadwork, because many state highway and interstate rights of way are state lands. Building such partnerships is something the law effectively promotes, Steppe said.
Requests for permits involving state-protected plants are up, as well. Ten years ago, DNR issued three to four a year. This year, the botany team has handled about 70.
That said, many sellers of state-protected species are not aware of the law. The resulting interactions “are a learning moment for us all,” Steppe said, providing an opportunity for staff to explain the importance of the statute.
Transplanting pink lady’s slipper orchids from a road construction site (GaDNR)
Meanwhile, the number of protected plants in Georgia is growing. Proposed changes to the state’s protected species list would bump the total from 155 to 208.
Yet, in a nod to surging interest in landscaping with native plants, the amendments would exempt 39 protected species from permit requirements if the plants are grown from pre-existing horticultural stock and not collected from the wild.
It’s a tweak that points to the importance of plants, and underscores the Georgia law that has been helping protect them for over 50 years.
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