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Georgia DNR Wildlife Resources Division e-news masthead; photograph of flatwoods salamander
September 2008

Making it monthly
This issue marks Georgia Wild's switch from bi-monthly to monthly delivery. We'll keep the quality up and the news coming. Let us know what you think.

WILD Facts
Those who love the outdoors welcome cooler weather after a hot, humid summer. Hiking is more pleasant, and autumn's colors inspire nature photographers and artists. Birdwatchers search for unusual species during the fall migration. Hunters relish the chance to harvest game. These groups need not conflict with each other. Simply be aware of others and know what activities are allowed wherever you go. Considerate non-hunters will wear bright colors and stay on trails and roads so as to not disturb sportsmen deeper in the woods. Likewise, ethical hunters will exercise safety and properly identify their target.
In education
Starting in October, a new residential program at Charlie Elliott Wildlife Center will offer two- and three-day field trips with lodging for 5th- through 12th-graders and their teachers. Students will be immersed in wildlife and ecology through outdoors activities taught by staff and visiting environmental education professionals. "The goal is to provide an experience that will nurture students' awareness of self as part of the interconnectedness of all things, and foster a sense of cooperation, responsible action and stewardship toward all wildlife and natural resources,” program Director Julie Duncan said. Classes at the Mansfield center meet state education standards. Teachers can choose topics and take part with their students. Details.

D.C. updates
* The Bush administration's proposal to let federal agencies, not U.S. Fish and Wildlife or National Marine Fisheries scientists, decide whether projects pose harm to endangered animals and plants caused an uproar among Democrats and environmental organizations. Seven senators asked  Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne to withdraw the proposal, saying it violates the Endangered Species Act and legal precedent. Kempthorne said the changes will ensure the act is not used as an end-around to limit gases blamed for global warming. Some groups want to extend the public comment period.
* On another front, Kempthorne announced the recovery crediting system, describing it as a tool to help federal agencies conserve imperiled species on private lands. Agencies can bank credits for conservation actions on non-federal property and use the credits to offset impacts to the same species on federal land. The model is a Fort Hood, Texas, program benefiting the endangered golden-cheeked warbler.
* NOAA Fisheries is seeking public comment by Sept. 29 on proposed regulations to reduce ship collisions with right whales. Check here to comment or read the final environmental impact statement involving these imperiled whales, which calve off Georgia’s coast.

Photograph of a pocket gopher.








Up close

Southeastern
pocket gopher

Geomys pinetis

Family: One of 34 pocket gopher species, all found in the Western Hemisphere.
Home on the plain: Historical range includes coastal plain of southern Georgia, southern Alabama and northern half of Florida.
Looks: 10-13 inches long. Small ears and eyes. Large upper incisors, forefeet and claws. Sensitive whiskers serve as guides in dark tunnels.
Status: State-listed as threatened and a high-priority species in the Georgia  Wildlife Action Plan.
Just in: DNR-funded survey confirmed declines across Georgia. Pocket gophers were documented in only 18 of 41 counties where previously recorded. Isolated populations were found in suitable habitat.
Niche: Pocket gophers favor longleaf pine savannas and vegetated sand hills. They need loose soil for burrowing and groundcover for foraging.
Threats: Development and intensive agricultural and silvicultural practices.
Digging in: Pocket gophers live mostly 6-26 inches underground and feed on plant roots. They are solitary and territorial except during mating time. Males' burrows run up to 200 feet long. Pushed out soil forms small mounds. Surface holes are plugged to foil predators.
Keystone mammal: Burrows shelter invertebrates and reptiles like Florida pine snakes (which eat gophers). Burrowing circulates nutrients. Mounds promote seed germination. The survey found that gopher populations usually coincide with pine forests that mimic historical conditions: open canopies, diverse groundcover and frequent burns, which renew the fire-dependent ecosystems.
Next: Researchers need to check the health of existing populations, verify the survey's GIS modeling of likely habitat and explore re-establishing pocket gophers in areas. The state's Wildlife Action Plan priority on restoring fire-maintained pine savannas will help.
Why pockets? Pocket gophers use  pocket-like, fur-lined pouches on the outside of their mouths to carry food.
Mounders? Though not to be confused with gopher tortoises, pocket gophers are sometimes called salamanders, possibly referring to their sandy mounds.
Quotable: Considering the stubby creature's claws, teeth and feistiness, UGA student and survey researcher Jason Scott joked, "When it comes to wildlife, you don't want to be in a death match with pocket gophers."
Sources: Georgia Wildlife Resources, Alabama Department of Conservation
and Natural Resources

Ask a biologist
Q:
What problems do erosion and sedimentation pose for aquatic species?
A: Biologist Brett Albanese and fisheries technician Jamie Dowd replied ...
The erosion of fine sediments is a leading cause of habitat degradation in streams. After rainstorms, sediments in streams can damage fish gills and interfere with respiration. Murky water also spells trouble for sight feeding and many visually oriented reproductive behaviors. Sediments settling onto the stream bottom can smother fish eggs and aquatic insects, stifle the water movement some fish eggs need, and even raise water temperatures (darker water absorbs more heat), affecting sensitive fishes.
Try this: Go to a local stream and try to pull out a large rock (about the size of your foot). In most cases, fine sediments have embedded the rock into the stream bottom. The space underneath the rock probably was once important for cover and even spawning. One of Georgia's endangered fishes in the Toccoa River, the wounded darter, spawns in cavities beneath large cobbles and small boulders. When sediment fills these spaces, the species loses important spawning and cover habitat. What can you do? Learn more.
E-mail us your nongame questions.

Your money at work
Painted buntings are small yet strikingly colored songbirds with a critical connection to scrub/shrub, maritime forest and salt marsh habitats along Georgia’s coast. The Southeastern population, one of two in Photo of male painted bunting.North America, breeds along the seaboard from North Carolina to Florida. Data since 1965 shows painted buntings in decline. Habitat loss, cowbird parasitism and threats such as house cats compound pet trade impacts the birds face in Latin American and Caribbean wintering grounds. After a pilot survey with Florida and the Carolinas in 2007, Georgia Wildlife Resources again surveyed distribution, habitat preferences and breeding densities this spring. Preliminary observations from routes run mostly by seasonal biologist Chris Depkin and volunteers showed expected occurrences on barrier islands and along the coast. What was unexpected was the extent of painted buntings' inland distribution along the Savannah River drainage, as well as the habitat types singing males use. Results of the Eastern Painted Bunting Population Assessment and Monitoring Project will increase understanding of the role habitat types play and help managers enhance or create breeding areas. Georgia's survey portion is partly funded through nongame wildlife license plate sales and the Give Wildlife a Chance income tax checkoff.

Ranger reports
Where there's smoke: Sgt. Mike Barr was leaving Lake Allatoona in June when he saw two men burning wire by a house. Burning wire -- in this case to remove the plastic covering -- is illegal. Barr called for help from the Bartow Sheriff's Office and Ranger 1st Class Byron Young, spoke with the men, and received permission to search the property. The check turned up drug paraphernalia and suspected drugs. The men face felony charges of drugs and unlawful dumping.

Nongame in the news
* Florida Times-Union: "Fay leaves more than usual deposits from sea," about litter in storm wash trashing marshes. (Aug. 29)
* The Monticello News: "Local man helps create helpful book," about biologist John Jensen's role in "Amphibians and Reptiles of Georgia."  (Aug. 28)
* Florida Times-Union: "Fay leaves most turtle nests intact," about storm loss of loggerhead nests. (Aug. 26)
* Savannah Morning News: "Birders flock to Georgia coast," on Colonial Coast Birding & Nature Fest. (Aug. 19)
* Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "Scientists fish for the truth about endangered species," about Nongame survey on Toccoa River. (Aug. 15)
* Georgia Public Broadcasting: "Record year for sea turtles," about loggerhead nest totals. (Aug. 6) Associated Press version circulated as far as the UK.
* The (Bainbridge) Post-Searchlight: "Silver Lake opens," about opening Silver Lake WMA to the public. (Aug. 1)
* Athens Banner-Herald: "New book is all about the reptiles," profile of "Amphibians and Reptiles," edited in part by Matt Elliott and John Jensen. (July 29)
* The (Cartersville) Daily Tribune (and others via AP): "Etowah Indian Mounds prepares for native grass project," about Wildlife Resources-led project to replant site with native groundcover. (July 25)
* Macon Telegraph (and others, via AP): "Search for rare big-eared mammal yields bonanza in midstate," about DNR-funded survey of Rafinesque's big-eared bats and habitat. Video (July 24). AJC on Rafinesque's bats. (Aug. 1)
* Savannah Morning News: "Eggs crack turtles' identities," about genetic study  using loggerheads' eggs. (July 21)
* The (Dalton) Daily Citizen: "TERN: Since '92, crucial friend to nongame work, DNR says," about the Nongame Conservation friends group  (July 21)
* Chattanooga Times Free Press: "Georgia: Specialty license plates help support wildlife conservation," about the nongame tags program. (July 21)
* Macon Telegraph: "Butterfly drought: Weather partly to blame for fewer butterfly sightings," with video, about drought's impact on annual butterfly count numbers. (July 12)

Coming to Outdoors"
"Georgia Outdoors" is shown on GPB channels at 9:30 p.m. Fridays, noon and 6 p.m. Saturdays and 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays (except when preempted by other programming).
* Sept. 10: "Held in Trust" (historic sites)
* Sept. 16: "Georgia Getaways"
* Sept. 19, 20, 23: "Held in Trust"
* Sept. 27, 30: "Georgia Getaways"
More online.

Calendar
* Sept. 6: 2nd Annual Butterfly Symposium, Callaway Gardens, Pine Mountain.
* Sept. 27: National Hunting and Fishing Day. Georgia events.
* Sept. 27: National Public Lands Day.
* October: Rivers Alive clean-up month.
* Oct. 7-10: 6th Eastern Native Grass Symposium, Columbia, S.C.
* Oct. 2-5: Gopher Tortoise Council annual meeting, Jekyll Island.
* Oct. 4: CoastFest 2008, Ga. DNR Coastal Resources Division, Brunswick.
* Oct. 9-13: Georgia's Colonial Coast Birding & Nature Festival, Jekyll Island.
* Oct. 16-17: Georgia Plant Conservation Alliance meeting, John Tannner State Park, Carrollton.
* Oct. 25-26: Georgia Reptile Expo, North Atlanta Trade Center, Atlanta.
* Oct. 27-29: Environmental Flows: Water for People and Nature in the Southeast, Classic Center, Athens.
* Oct. 28-31: Longleaf Alliance regional conference, Sandestin, Fla.
Click here to submit items.

Photo credits (from top):
* Reticulated flatwoods salamander. John Jensen/Ga. DNR
* Canoochee River at Fort Stewart. Fort Stewart
* Southeastern bat in hand. Kristina Summers/Ga. DNR
* Trina Morris using Anabat and a PDA. Kristina Summers/Ga. DNR
* Pocket gopher. Jason Scott
* Gray catbird feeding on American beautyberry. Terry Johnson
* Painted bunting. Bob Churi
* Building nest boxes. Ga. DNR

Georgia Wild
volume 1, issue 5

Georgia Wild is an e-newsletter produced by the Georgia Wildlife Resources Division and focused on conserving nongame species, those not legally trapped, fished for or hunted. The newsletter is delivered free. Subscribe or see archive issues here.

Wildlife Resources' Nongame Conservation Section conserves and protects Georgia's diversity of native animals and plants and their habitats through research, management and education. The section receives no state funds, depending on grants, donations and fundraisers such as nongame license plate sales, the Give Wildlife a Chance state income tax checkoff and Weekend for Wildlife.

Call (770) 761-3035 for details on direct donations. The nongame plates -- the bald eagle/U.S. flag and ruby-throated hummingbird -- are available for a one-time $25 feet at all county tag offices, by checking the wildlife license plate box on mail-in registration forms or through online renewal.

Photograph of nongame wildlife license plates.
Coping with growth
Ft. Stewart, new state biologist
aim for eco-buffers along base
   Fort Stewart's 3rd Infantry Division trains daily to combat terrorism around the world. But one threat looms at the boundaries of the largest Army base east of the Mississippi River: population growth and the
development it brings.
Photograph of the Canoochee River at Fort Stewart.   The transformation of forests and fields into more houses and businesses around military installations like Fort Stewart and Hunter Army Airfield raises the risk of conflict over noise, smoke, lights and even radio interference with weapons systems. Such encroachments can undercut critical training at the 280,000-acre post stretching from Glennville to Savannah.
   Ecological systems also suffer as habitat is lost, practices like prescribed burning are limited and training areas are moved to avoid problems on the perimeter.
   “The more we can keep the areas around installations rural, the better off we all are,” said Tim Beaty, Fort Stewart’s chief of Fish and Wildlife.
   Enter ACUB. The Army Compatible Use Buffer program works with partners such as the Georgia Land Trust and the Georgia Wildlife Resources Division to establish easements and otherwise shelter land from incompatible development on base perimeters. Landowners who agree to conservation easements retain use of their property while receiving tax breaks and sometimes compensation. Rare animals and plants benefit from saved habitat.
Photograph of wildlife biologist Joe Burnam.   Joe Burnam (right) began work this summer as a Wildlife Resources biologist focused on ACUB at Fort Stewart. “Right now, I’m predominantly looking at areas where development pressures are the greatest. … As it works out, they’re also pretty important areas ecologically,” Burnam said.
   Many military bases are refuges for imperiled species. Fort Benning near Columbus is a haven for endangered red-cockaded woodpeckers. The ACUB program there teamed with The Nature Conservancy to protect up to 4,000 acres and help create off-base forest corridors for the woodpeckers.
   Fort Stewart is home to five endangered or threatened species, including red-cockaded woodpeckers and the state’s largest population of flatwoods salamanders. In all, Stewart has more than 20 species of high conservation concern. The base also features some of the largest remnants of longleaf pine forest that once blanketed the South.
   Conserving natural habitat on and around the post rates critical to maintaining Georgia's wildlife diversity.
   Burnam and Beaty say that without ACUB, almost all upland acreage and some bottomland within the base’s targeted 120,000-acre buffer area could be developed within 25 years – a period in which Georgia’s coastal population is expected to double.
   Burnam’s job with Wildlife Resources’ Nongame Conservation Section involves identifying valuable conservation sites, teaming with partners to expand awareness of ACUB and working to maintain and improve habitat on land in the program.
   Response to ACUB at Fort Stewart has been high, Beaty said. So is the conservation potential. “There’s tremendous compatibility … with what wildlife needs and what the military needs,” Beaty said.

Now hear this: Device helps
scientists see, ID bats by call
Photograph of a juvenile female southeastern bat.   You’re in a South Georgia swamp at night, surrounded by fist-sized spiders and rooting wild hogs. Unusual? Not if you are looking for bats. And though you might not see them, they are there. The Anabat confirms it.
   The Anabat, a system that helps identify and survey bats by detecting and analyzing echolocation calls, is becoming a must-have for wildlife biologists. Bats use echolocation to navigate and find food. Humans can't hear most of these sounds.
    But the Anabat can. Coupled with a PDA, or hand-held computer, system displays make it possible to “see” calls.
   Wildlife Resources biologist Trina Morris (below) said she and others once had to rely on visual observation and catching bats with mist nets and harp traps to document populations.
   “Bat trapping can be very difficult and time intensive,” Morris said. “The Anabat helps us to determine which species may be using a site and where we need to spend time trapping bats.”
Wildlife biologist Trina Morris using Anabat device.   Experienced bat biologists analyzing Anabat files can sometimes determine bat species by their recorded calls, or at least narrow the list to the few species that call in the same frequency range and are found in similar habitats.
   Morris recently used the Anabat and mist nets in a survey at Chickasawhatchee Wildlife Management Area near Albany for Rafinesque’s big-eared bats and southeastern bats, both species of concern in Georgia. She captured four southeastern bats.
   Monitoring populations of bats such as the southeastern and Rafinesque’s is recommended in the Georgia Wildlife Action Plan, the blueprint for wildlife habitat conservation in the state.
   The Anabat, with its ability to track bats at night from South Georgia swamps to mountain coves, is making that monitoring easier and more accurate.

Out my backdoor
Photo of catbird  eating beautyberry.
Plant's beauty runs berry deep
By Terry W. Johnson
   Only in recent years have Georgians begun to realize that American beautyberry is an attractive addition to home landscapes and a valuable wildlife food plant.
   Throughout most of the year, you might question the plant’s name. However, from late summer into winter, when clusters of bright purple berries festoon this native shrub, it is apparent the name is deserved.
   Some suggest the berries’ color acts like a roadside sign telling migrating songbirds and other critters, “Come eat me!” Migratory birds benefit by being able to easily find an energy-rich food source. In return, they and the host of other animals that eat the berries scatter seeds in their droppings.
   The plant's importance as wildlife food is heightened by the fact the berries remain on the shrub well into winter. Last year, the beautyberries disappeared from my yard by October. But late in December I found plenty of the purple berries on plants near Bainbridge.
   American beautyberry is a deciduous shrub that thrives in fertile loams but also grows well in other soil types. The key is planting in sites that range from full sun to partial shade. Experienced gardeners say berry production is greatest when the plant is bathed in bright sunlight no more than half a  day.
   Small, pale lilac flowers coupled with lavender berries and handsome foliage make beautyberry an attractive landscape choice. The plant seems to work especially well as an occasional shrub in a shrub border. It can also be grown as an understory shrub.
   Beautyberry needs little care and less water than many ornamentals. Pruning out dead wood each winter increases berry yields.
   To give your yard a different look, add American beautyberry. But be prepared to field questions from your human neighbors wanting to know what the plant is and where they can get their own.
   The wildlife outside your backdoor won’t need an introduction. Their association with beautyberry began long ago. Read more.

"Out my backdoor" will be a monthly feature in Georgia Wild. Terry Johnson is a former Nongame program manager with Wildlife Resources, a noted writer and expert on backyard wildlife, and executive director of TERN, the friends group for Wildlife Resources’ Nongame Conservation Section. More on TERN.


Public lands profile: Broad River Natural Area
Piedmont heritage preserved
By Jon Ambrose
   Broad River Natural Area covers 440 acres along the Broad River in Northeast Georgia’s Madison County. This state-owned property was created from two contiguous tracts bought in 1996 and 1998 with funds from RiverCare 2000, a statewide land acquisition program funded by hunting and fishing license fees, state appropriations, and private donations.
   The tracts were featured in a Broad River Heritage Trail proposal developed by members of the Broad River Watershed Association to support protection of significant tracts along the Broad, a free-flowing river that runs from Franklin Springs to the Savannah River and Clarks Hill Lake’s upper reaches. Gov. Zell Miller issued an executive order dedicating the natural area as a Heritage Preserve in 1998.
   Broad River Natural Area contains exemplary natural habitats of the Piedmont, populations of rare species such as ground juniper (Juniperus communis var. depressa) and sandbar shiner (Notropis scepticus), and significant cultural features such as an old wooden fish weir, or trap, in the middle of the river. It also has more than a mile of river frontage and several miles of walking trails.
   The primary management objective for the property is protecting rare species populations and natural communities of plants and animals. Public access is provided for hunting, fishing, hiking, wildlife observation, research and environmental education. Full profile.

Getting there
* From Danielsville, go north on U.S. 29 for two miles. Turn right onto Ga. 281 and go four miles. The area is on the right 0.3 miles after crossing the Broad River. Map
* For more: Jon Ambrose, Nongame Conservation Section assistant chief, (770) 761-3035 or e-mail.

Noteworthy
* Wildlife Resources will recommend legislative changes that remove freshwater turtles from state law allowing unregulated harvest and let the Board of Natural Resources govern the take, possession, transportation and sale of the turtles. Division Director Dan Forster briefed the board in August. Stakeholder and public meetings will follow to shape the proposal. Provisions will allow landowners to take turtles from private ponds, but sell or possess them only according to board-approved rules. Most freshwater turtles in Georgia are subject to unlimited harvest. Hundreds of thousands are exported from Southeastern states each year, primarily to Asia. In March, concerns spurred a call for regulation.
* Loggerhead turtles took a lighter hit than feared from Tropical Storm Fay. While the full extent of damage won't be known until the nesting season is over, wildlife biologist Mark Dodd estimated in late August the storm surge claimed about 8 percent of loggerhead nests.
* More good news: The Jekyll Island Authority approved a beach lighting ordinance Aug. 11 that further restricts artificial lighting, which can draw sea turtle hatchlings toward land instead of the sea. Nongame coastal Program Manager Brad Winn called the ordinance, which replaces a 1981 version, the product of "a good working partnership with DNR, the Jekyll Island Authority and concerned citizens on the island.”
* On a related note, listen as Earl Possardt, International Sea Turtle Coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, talks about the status of loggerheads.
* Landowners interested in public aid for practicing conservation on their property can get help at a click. The recently updated Landowner’s Guide to Conservation Incentives navigates the financial incentives, technical aid and conservation options of nearly 20 federal and state programs.
* More than 85 exhibitors including several agencies and coastal conservation groups have signed up for the 13th annual CoastFest Oct. 4 in Brunswick. Last year's crowd topped 7,000 people, up slightly from 2006.
* Internationally known birder and author Pete Dunne will be the keynote speaker at Georgia’s Colonial Coast Birding & Nature Festival Oct. 9-13 at Jekyll Island.
* The Colonial Coast Birding Trail made the top 10 U.S. birding trails at list-focused America's Best & Top 10.
* The Fish and Wildlife Service wants to split the classification of flatwoods salamanders into reticulated and frosted, list the reticulated species as endangered, and designate 30,600 acres as critical habitat in Georgia and two other states. Georgia's critical habitat for reticulated flatwoods salamanders includes 446 privately owned acres in Baker County and 166 acres of Mayhaw Wildlife Management Area in neighboring Miller County. Other provisions protect 5,283 acres on Fort Stewart, the only place the salamander has been documented in the state since 2003.
* The shoreline along five Lake Oconee islands is being reinforced with riprap and spiced with sunken trees and spawning gravel in a promising project for game and nongame species. The National Fish Habitat Board named the public/private effort led by the Southeast Aquatic Resource Partnership to its 10 Waters to Watch list, noting potential benefits to gamefish, mussels and birds such as bald eagles and ospreys.
* Fish and Wildlife's Aug. 28 announcement of funding for aquatic projects included three in Georgia. They are the Lake Oconee islands effort ($114,286 in service and partner funds), a Southeast Aquatic Resources Partnership effort to enhance and restore springs feeding the lower Flint River ($16,114), and a project to restore brook trout in 13-plus miles of Chattahoochee National Forest streams ($112,500).
* An Oct. 25 memorial service in Lithonia will celebrate the life of Mary Sue "Petey" Giroux, creative educator, Georgia Project WET's first coordinator and 2008 recipient of the Environmental Education Alliance of Georgia's Eugene Odum Lifetime Achievement Award. Giroux, 63, of Kennesaw, died of cancer July 30.
* An Indo-Pacific gecko population has been found in Savannah, Georgia's second since the Southeast Asian lizard was documented in Brunswick in 2007. While Hemidactylus garnotii females are capable of self-fertilization, the potential risk to native species appears low. In Florida, Indo-Pacific geckos are displacing another exotic, Mediterranean geckos.
* Up to 10 swallow-tailed kites were seen gliding and feeding over fields in the Social Circle area in early August. But these acrobatic flyers more common to the coast soon disappeared, migrating to South America.
* Pro golfer Tripp Isenhour agreed Aug. 29 to a year of probation, anger management classes and 100 hours of community service -- 40 at a wildlife or animal shelter, according to the Orlando Sentinel. Isenhour pleaded no contest to misdemeanor charges after killing a red-shouldered hawk with a golf shot in December.
* A draft Aquatic Nuisance Species Management plan for Georgia has been through public review and is in the mail to a national task force. The document addressing aquatic invaders such as parrotfeather will be dovetailed with one on land-based exotics, the hope being to see both approved by 2009.
* The White House Conference on North American Wildlife Policy is set for Oct. 1-3 in Reno. The aim: Craft a 10-year plan to improve wildlife conservation and boost hunting opportunity on public lands.
* The summer 2008 issue of Eddies: Reflections of Fisheries Conservation, published by the Fish and Wildlife Service, is available online.
* Sept. 15 is the deadline to comment on a proposed Fish and Wildlife Service permit program involving bald and golden eagles. The proposal extends to the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act some permit protections and landowner options similar to those under the Endangered Species Act, a needed change after the bald eagle was de-listed in 2007.
* Enjoying the scenic Altamaha River is easier with the updated Altamaha River Canoe Trail Map & Adventure Guide. The publication, funded in part by the Nongame Wildlife Conservation Fund, highlights fishing, boating and watchable wildlife options along the river corridor.

Parting shot
Photograph of DNR's Mike Wilcox and teens building nest boxes.
Wildlife technician Mike Wilcox helps
teens in the Savannah River Challenge
Youth Detention Center build nest boxes
at Tuckahoe WMA in Screven County.
The early summer project involving the
Savannah River Challenge Program and
the Game Management and Nongame
Conservation sections resulted in 15 new
boxes for wood ducks, 40 for prothonotary
warblers and 115 for blue birds. Send us
your favorite photo of nongame wildlife or
conservation efforts!



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