|
Birds Georgia is excited to announce the official launch of Bird City Georgia, a new statewide initiative designed to help communities become healthier for both birds and people. With this launch, Georgia becomes the 16th member of the Bird City Network, joining more than 200 communities across four countries working to create bird-friendly environments. Bird City Georgia is a collaborative effort led by a steering committee with representatives from Birds Georgia, the Georgia Native Plant Society, and the Georgia Ornithological Society. Together, we are guiding cities, towns, counties, and campuses across Georgia in taking meaningful steps to protect native bird populations while enhancing quality of life for residents. To become a certified Bird City, a community must meet at least 12 requirements from the program’s comprehensive Action List. Examples include controlling invasive species on public lands, promoting native plants, and creating or preserving wildlife corridors and green spaces. Benefits to Certified Bird Cities Birds are essential indicators of ecosystem health. Actions taken to protect birds also support pollinators, improve air and water quality, and reduce harmful chemical use. What’s good for birds is good for people, too – these steps can help create more vibrant and livable communities. Birds also help support economic development. Becoming certified as a Bird City can promote local tourism and local businesses. Communities will also receive a variety of direct benefits from the Bird City Program including:
Get Involved Bird City Georgia welcomes applications from cities, towns, counties, and campuses. Interested communities are encouraged to read the action list, assemble a group of local stakeholders, and begin the application process. For more information and to learn how your community can apply, visit: https://birdcity.org/georgia About the Bird City Network American Bird Conservancy (ABC) and Environment for the Americas (EFTA) joined forces with major support from US Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) to create The Bird City Network. The Network unites Bird City Programs across the hemisphere into a powerful collaborative force for birds - bringing people together in their home communities to make them healthier for birds and for people. About Birds Georgia: Birds Georgia is building places where birds and people thrive. We create bird-friendly communities through conservation, education, and community engagement. We look forward to celebrating the 100- year anniversary of our organization in 2026. Learn more at https://www.birdsgeorgia.org/. Photos L to R: Create and maintain a public demonstration garden focused predominantly on native plants to benefit birds, wildlife, and ecosystems. Photo by Logan Jones Birds Georgia; Demonstrate on-going efforts to reduce window collisions at building(s) within your community by mitigating problem glass or utilizing proven bird-friendly design. Photo by Jill Helton; Educate and engage all ages in conservation activities. Photo by Birds Georgia.
0 Comments
The tenth annual Georgia Bird Fest returns this spring with more than 40 events between April 11 and May 16. Join fellow nature and bird enthusiasts for exciting field trips, workshops, and other events to celebrate and enjoy Georgia’s exciting spring migration period.
Georgia Bird Fest includes events across Georgia, from the mountains to the coast, including both in-person and virtual events and workshops. Some of the event highlights for Georgia Bird Fest 2025 include past favorites such as a canoe trip on the Chattahoochee River; a Warbler Weekend in North Georgia; trips to Phinizy Swamp near Augusta and Harris Neck NWR on the coast; an overnight stay at the Len Foote Hike Inn in Dawsonville; a boat trip on the Altamaha River; a Shorebirds Weekend on the Georgia Coast, and much more. The highlight of the 2025 event will be the Georgia Bird Fest Summit on April 25 and 26 on Jekyll Island. The two-day event will kick off on Friday with trips to Georgia hotspots, including Cumberland Island, a Hampton River Boat trip, and more. Saturday morning will begin with field trips to Jekyll Island hot spots, followed by the Georgia Bird Fest Summit at the Villas by The Sea. Janisse Ray, an acclaimed writer, naturalist, and environmental activist from Baxley, Georgia, will give the keynote address at this year’s Georgia Bird Fest Summit. Ray’s work blends personal narrative with ecological themes, and her deep connection to the southern Georgian landscape profoundly shapes her writing. In addition to her memoirs, Ray has authored poetry and essays featured in over 40 anthologies, with her works translated into multiple languages. She lives on a family farm in southern Georgia, practicing organic farming and seed saving, aligning her lifestyle with her environmental values. An inductee of the Georgia Writers Hall of Fame and recipient of a Pushcart Prize, Ray inspires through her writing and teaching, championing stories as tools for ecological and social change. Registration for Georgia Bird Fest is now open at https://www.birdsgeorgia.org/birdfest.html. All proceeds from Georgia Bird Fest benefit the conservation, education, and community engagement efforts of Birds Georgia. We would like to thank the following event sponsors: Georgia Power Company, Southwire, Athletic Brewing Company, the Bird Collective, Outdoor Learning School and Store, Jekyll Island Authority, and Vortex.  Last spring, with funding from the Georgia Ornithological Society, Birds Georgia began recruiting private landowners for a pilot nightjar study. Every few years, Birds Georgia selects a ‘focal species’, which drives our conservation, education, and community engagement efforts. From 2023 to 2025, our focal species is the Chuck-will’s-widow. More often heard than seen, these captivating creatures belong to a group of birds known as nightjars.
Nightjars, including those found in Georgia (Chuck-will’s-widows, Eastern Whip-poor-wills, and Common Nighthawks) are aerial insectivores, and feed mainly on flying insects, such as moths and beetles. They are typically active around dusk and dawn, and often call throughout the night during bright, moonlit spring and summer nights. You’d likely recognize their calls, as the names imitate their vocalizations: whip-POOR-will, whip-POOR-will, chuck-WILL’s-widow, chuck-WILL’s-widow. As is the case with most aerial insectivores, nightjar populations are in severe decline. Studies estimate that Chuck-will’s-widow populations have declined by 63% and Eastern Whip-poor-will’s by nearly 70% in the last 50 years (Source: Breeding Bird Survey). This is due to many factors, but habitat loss, fragmentation, and widespread pesticide use are likely contributors. There is still so much we don’t know about these birds. For that reason, in 2024, Birds Georgia began a pilot study with the goal of learning more about their distribution throughout the state, how land management strategies such as thinning or burning contribute to their presence, and how to best detect them on large working lands. Ten properties participated; from family farms, to expertly executed timber rotations, to newly acquired conservation easements, these properties varied in magnitude and management. However, they all share a common goal: they endeavor to attract wildlife and improve their habitat. Whether it be regular burning, thinning, removal of invasive species, enrollment in conservation or technical assistance programs, or a general awareness of meeting the needs of local wildlife; each site was uniquely poised to provide habitat to nightjars. We set out Autonomous Recording Units (ARUs), self-contained audio recording devices, at each site for approximately six weeks during early summer. ARUs are becoming popular tools to survey for birds, especially for species that are more cryptic, may not be as responsive to call-response surveys, or call during times of the day when it is difficult for humans to observe them. Since nightjars sing between dusk and dawn, ARUs provide an ideal method to survey for them in place of a human observer. Each unit was programmed to record for specific two-hour intervals each day and night. The units were placed in uplands, where nightjars were expected. . Some had burned as recently as two months prior, and others had never been burned. Forest composition ranged from 100% managed Loblolly Pine stands, to old-growth Longleaf with a diverse understory, to mixed hardwood-pine stands with dense midstories. Chuck-will’s-widows require multiple habitat types during the breeding season, favoring denser hardwood areas for nesting, and adjacent openings for feeding. We successfully detected Chuck-will’s-widows at seven of the 10 sites. Where Chuck-will’s-widows were present, Common Nighthawks were also present at two of those sites, and Eastern Whip-poor-wills were present at one site. While our pilot study did not reveal the intricacies of the nightjars’ habitat selection, they were more likely to be detected at properties where habitats were heterogeneous - e.g. more diverse. One property, consisting of recently burned upland pines bordered by a bottomland hardwood forest, mature Longleaf, agricultural fields with pollinator-friendly borders, and young Longleaf regeneration was a recipe for higher avian diversity; a total of 52 species were detected here in the breeding season, including game birds such as Northern Bobwhite and American Woodcock; raptors such as Swallow-tailed Kite, Mississippi Kite, and Barred Owl; and songbirds such as Hooded Warbler, Kentucky Warbler, and the ever-elusive Swainson’s Warbler. In conclusion, the more diverse your management plan, goals, and methods are, the more diverse the reward. We will continue this work in 2025 and hope to learn more about nightjar habitat selection - interested? Contact [email protected] to inquire about participation. Recent Retrofits: Birds Georgia installs Feather Friendly film at Camden County High School2/18/2025 Photos by Jill Helton. This month, Birds Georgia is putting the finishing touches on our largest retrofit to date and our fourth on the Georgia coast. This brings us to just over 5,000 square feet retrofitted since 2022. Visitors to the Camden County High School Fine Arts Building may notice lots and lots of dots on the building. These dots are special window treatments designed to prevent birds from flying into the glass. The project was made possible thanks to a partnership between Birds Georgia, Camden County High School, and the City of Kingsland through a grant from the Disney Conservation Fund. The dots are a special dot-matrix by Feather Friendly® that reduces the transparency of the glass and breaks up reflection, preventing birds from flying into them. Feather Friendly® has been applied to approximately 2,200 square feet of the exterior windows. The pattern, with dots spaced two inches apart, breaks up the reflection and alerts birds that the space is not a clear flyway, causing them to stall and fly in a different, safer direction. Current research estimates that over 1 billion birds perish each year from colliding with buildings in the United States alone. Since the Fine Arts Building opened in 2020, bird collisions have been a regular occurrence. The west façade, which faces a beautiful wetland habitat in the middle of the campus, is a deadly combination of highly reflective glass and trees. School administrators sought solutions and contacted Birds Georgia for assistance. The purchase of material from Feather Friendly® was funded by a generous grant from the Disney Conservation Fund. Material and shipping worked out to about ~$3.89/sq ft for this project. Birds Georgia, with the help of volunteers from Camden County Audubon, as well as students and staff of Camden County High School, applied the film over the course of three volunteer workdays in early 2025. A million thanks to our volunteers who assisted with the installations: Dr. Grayson Day, Jeff Potocsnak, , Jill Helton, Amy Burns & Josie Landers, Dan & Priscilla Krupp, Amanda Carroll, Mike, Brahm & Noah Bessette, Jaxon McQuaig, Loree Sherck, Cannon Nethercott, Elissa Owens, Erin Singleton, and Alexis & Izzy Stewart. Additionally, Birds Georgia provided 375 square feet of Feather Friendly® Large Scale Pro Solution to retrofit portions of the University of Georgia Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant office in Brunswick, Georgia. This building, while already partially retrofitted with CollidEscape solutions, had a few untreated windows where collisions would occasionally occur. The purchase of material from Feather Friendly® was funded by a grant from the Disney Conservation Fund. Material and shipping worked out to about ~$4 per square foot. The University of Georgia Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant office in Brunswick, Georgia houses our coastal specimen collection for Project Safe Flight and has been a valuable partner for many years. We’re happy to report that all glass around the building will now be treated with a bird-friendly film and will reduce or eliminate collisions for years to come! Retrofits along the Georgia Coast:
Other projects we’ve completed: Dunwoody Nature Center Wild Nest Bird Rehabilitation Center Sawnee Mountain Visitor Center Southface Institute Atlanta Amana Academy Blue Heron Nature Preserve Newman Wetlands Center Chattahoochee Nature Center Elachee Nature Science Center Trees Atlanta/Birds Georgia office (Bird-friendly glass) Kendeda Building, Georgia Tech Campus (Bird-friendly glass) About Project Safe Flight Project Safe Flight is a conservation effort to further understand the issue of bird/building collisions in the Atlanta metro area as well as Georgia’s coastal counties. The goal of this project is to determine what species are colliding with buildings, how many birds are affected, what parts of the state are problematic, and what can be done to make Georgia's cities more bird friendly. Volunteers with Birds Georgia’s Project Safe Flight patrol the streets during both spring and fall migration, looking for birds that have been killed or injured after colliding with buildings. More than 5,300 birds, representing 140 different species, have been collected since monitoring began in fall 2015. Ruby-throated Hummingbirds and Tennessee Warblers are the top 2 collected species across the metro-Atlanta area; Common Yellowthroat is the top species in the coastal counties. UGA Installation. Photos by Bryan Fluech. Camden County High School Installation. Photos by Jill Helton.
To date, most cases of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) are being seen in domestic poultry flocks, eagles, and waterfowl, not songbirds. At this time, no recommendations have been made to remove feeders or prohibit feeding of wild birds in Georgia.
Any recommendation to take down feeders and discontinue feeding wild birds would come from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service or Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR), and we will share that information with our members and followers IF a recommendation is released. Promptly report high numbers (defined as four or more) of dead or sick wild birds to DNR by calling 1-800-366-2661 or report online at https://georgiawildlife.com/report-dead-birds Photos: Bobolink, by Adam Betuel; English Ivy, by Melanie Furr; Field trip with Refugee Women's Network. by Dottie Head, Senior Director of Operations
Birds Georgia was recently awarded three grants to fund conservation and engagement work across the state. The first is a grant from the Richard King Mellon Foundation that focuses on invasive plant species removal; the second is a grant from the Turner Foundation to provide operational support for Birds Georgia’s conservation initiatives; and the third is an Audubon in Action grant to fund Birds for All programming. “Birds Georgia was thrilled to receive these three grants to support our conservation and engagement work,” says Jared Teutsch, executive director of Birds Georgia. “This funding will help us fulfill our mission of building places where birds and people thrive by expanding our conservation capacity across the state and enabling us to reach additional audiences with information and programming about birds and native plants.” The R.K. Mellon Foundation Grant is being termed the “Fearsome Five” as it targets five non-native invasive plant species, Chinese Privet, Nandina (sometimes called heavenly bamboo), English Ivy, bahia grass, and autumn fern, that negatively impact migratory bird species. Invasive plant species are another stressor affecting migratory birds during their strenuous journeys each spring and fall. Using a map of migratory bird stopover hotspots, Birds Georgia has identified high priority areas and will be hosting bio-blitzes in these areas to detect these invasive species. Birds Georgia will partner with the Georgia Native Plant Society and local Audubon chapters to develop outreach materials, produce educational videos, and host workshops, field trips, and webinars on how to identify and treat the Fearsome Five. The Turner Foundation Grant will provide operational support to Birds Georgia’s conservation initiatives, including tackling habitat degradation and loss, a leading threat to bird populations in Georgia and across the nation. Birds Georgia will work to create robust, native ecosystems through habitat restoration projects and engaging communities in conservation. Key current projects include riparian restoration along the South and Chattahoochee Rivers and native maritime vegetation work on Jekyll Island. These projects involve removing non-native invasive species, planting native flora, and creating opportunities for community engagement through volunteer events and educational programs. Such initiatives serve as educational touchpoints for the public while also addressing ecological challenges like habitat fragmentation and the decline of pollinators and native wildlife. A priority for Birds Georgia is the protection of grassland birds, which are particularly vulnerable due to urbanization and habitat loss/conversion. In Georgia, nearly a quarter of all grassland bird species, including the American Kestrel, Northern Bobwhite, and Eastern Meadowlark are now of serious conservation concern. Metro Atlanta’s rapid development and population growth, along with the connected land use changes, has exacerbated this issue, threatening critical open spaces around the metro area. Habitat restoration initiatives address this need by expanding and enhancing grassland habitats while educating communities about the importance of conserving these spaces. Finally, the Audubon in Action Grant will support the work of Birds Georgia’s Birds For All programming. Birds Georgia will work to grow a diverse community of bird lovers, and individuals working together to improve the world for birds and people. Our efforts include collaborating with both existing and new organizations to share and lead mindful birding practices, bilingual birding activities, field trips specifically designed for individuals with physical or cognitive disabilities, and community-led field walks to foster local engagement with nature that is inclusive and welcoming. Additionally, we aim to expand our Teens and Feathers program to include more teen leaders and active participants, empowering young people to take an active role in conservation.  Jay Davis was presented with a framed photo of a Red-headed Woodpecker by Tammy Poulnott. Photo by Dottie Head Jay Davis was presented with the 2024 Scottie Johnson Spirit Award at our annual Holiday Party and Annual Meeting on December 8. Jay has been an integral part of our organization's work, hosting field trips across the city, from Decatur to Marietta and all in between. It’s impossible to quantify how many birders and bird enthusiasts have been impacted by his bird-brained ideas. In 2004, he was part of a team that created the Bird Jam app, a revolutionary software that taught people how to hear and learn bird calls. Later, BirdNet and Cornell got wind of it…fast forward to today and we have the popular Merlin Bird ID App. Jay serves as the volunteer webmaster for Birds Georgia and helped create the first web presence for Atlanta Audubon when they first developed an online presence. Even today, he maintains the Birds Georgia website on his servers and helps troubleshoot when issues arrive. He’s also a prolific field trip leader (and excellent birder), leading our Georgia Bird Fest Hike Inn Trip and hosting “Wednesdays After Work Migration Watch at Cochran Shoals. Thank you, Jay, for impacting hundreds of people as you embody the curiosity, ingenuity, and character of the birds you love so much.
About the Scottie Johnson Spirit Award: In 2018, Birds Georgia lost an incredibly dedicated volunteer and dear friend, Ms. Eleanor Scott Johnson. Scottie, as her family and friends called her, was an avid birder and long-time volunteer for Birds Georgia. There wasn’t a task that Scottie wasn’t up for, whether that was giving educational presentations, walking a Project Safe Flight route, certifying wildlife sanctuaries, or writing the Ask Chippy column. Scottie always raised her hand to help us out. She was a nurse, a mother, a Master Birder, and a wonderful human being with an amazing spirit. Although we lost Scottie to cancer in 2018, we continue to celebrate her spirit, kindness, and perseverance annually by honoring an outstanding volunteer with the Scottie Johnson Spirit Award. (L to R): Bill Bell, Courtenay Dusenbury, Wink Weinberg Birds Georgia welcomed three new directors elected by members to the Board of Directors at their annual meeting on December 8. Bill Bell, Courtenay Anne Dusenbury, and Wink Weinberg were elected for three-year terms beginning January 1, 2025. In addition, Mary Anne Lanier, Ellen Miller, and Scott Porter will return to the Board of Directors for a second three-year term. Esther Stokes will return to the board for a special one-year term. Marc Goncher, Senior Legal Counsel, Environmental, Safety and Sustainability for The Coca-Cola Company, will serve the second year of his two-year term as board chair.
Bill Bell is a retired investment management executive with 29 years of investment experience. From 1999 to 2024, he worked at Atlanta Capital Management, an investment advisory firm with $33 billion in managed assets. During his career he served as a managing director, management committee member, and portfolio manager for the core equity team. Prior to joining Atlanta Capital, he worked for the Florida State Board of Administration where he was a portfolio manager for their special situations equity fund. Bill grew up in Tallahassee, FL and has a B.S. in Business from Florida State University. He has had a lifelong interest in the natural world and is a passionate outdoorsman and fly fisherman. He has a particular interest in ecological preservation and habitat restoration in the southeast. Bill currently serves on the board of directors for the Altamaha Riverkeeper and resides in Atlanta, GA. Courtenay Anne Dusenbury is retired from a 25-year career at Emory University’s Global Health Institute and affiliated Task Force for Global Health. She served as Director of Global and Federal Affairs for the Task Force, representing it at the World Health Organization and with Congress and the Administration. Previously, she was the Founding Director of the Global Partnership for Zero Leprosy, bringing together donors, non-governmental organizations, and persons who have experienced leprosy in a worldwide advocacy and disease elimination network. For 11 years, she was the founding director of the International Association of National Public Health Institutes (the “CDC’s of the world”) office at Emory University’s Global Health Institute, working with 100+ countries to create and improve their public health systems. She served as Emory’s Director of Global and Federal Affairs, worked as a Legislative Director in the U.S. Congress, and for the Governor of Puerto Rico in San Juan and in Washington, DC. She started her career at the Pennsylvania State Senate. She is a graduate of the Pennsylvania State University and Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health. Courtenay and her husband George live in Decatur, GA, with their two adult sons nearby. A master birder who coordinates the Project Safe Flight Decatur team, her favorite bird is the Eastern Bluebird. Winkler Weinberg is a lifelong birder. He was born in Rockaway Beach, NYC, and first paid close attention to wild birds at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Sanctuary at age nine. After leaving New York, Wink lived in Columbus OH, Augusta GA, Washington DC, and the Republic of the Philippines before settling in Atlanta. He has resided in Georgia for over 44 years. He practiced medicine as an infectious disease specialist for 45 years. He is the author of No Germs Allowed!: How to Avoid Infectious Diseases At Home and On the Road, and a co-author of The Water We Drink. Wink has served as spokesperson for Reckitt and Coleman (for Lysol), Georgia Pacific (Chairman, Health Smart Advisory Board), and Kimberly Clark (for anti-viral Kleenex). After retiring in 2022, Wink was able to devote more time to biking, woodworking, reading, grandparenting, and he rekindled his passion for birds and conservation. Wink resides in East Cobb with his wife Lynn, a talented designer and avid gardener. Together, they have two children and four grandchildren. “We are excited to welcome Bill, Courtenay, and Winkler to the Birds Georgia Board of Directors,” says Marc Goncher, board chair. “These individuals bring a wealth of talents and experiences to the Board that will help Birds Georgia fulfill its mission of building places where birds and people thrive.” Additional Birds Georgia board members include Joshua Andrews, Michael Chriszt, Robert Cooper, Joshua Gassman, Marc Goncher, Gus Kaufman, Paige Martin, Susan Maclin, Colleen McEdwards, Jennifer Johnson McEwen, Jon Philipsborn, Marlena Reed, Jim Renner, Sally Sears, Amy Beth Sparks, and Ayanna Williams. For more information on Birds Georgia visit https://www.birdsgeorgia.org/.  Volunteers from Augusta’s River Region Chapter of the Georgia Native Plant Society and the local community helped identify plant species in the restoration field prior to treatment. Photo by Heather Levy. by Heather Levy, Stewardship Coordinator Our project at Laverlea Preserve, funded by the Cornell Land Trust Bird Conservation Initiative, is officially six months underway. Laverlea Preserve comprises 345 acres of forests, fields, and riparian buffer nestled among an urbanized area in Evans, GA. The property was donated to the Central Savannah River Land Trust (CSRLT) in December of 2022, after its sole living owner, Ms. Laverne Dorn, passed away. Ms. Dorn wanted the preserve to remain undeveloped, providing wildlife habitat and a resource for the community to enjoy. Approximately 20% of the preserve consists of remnant fields that were used for cows and hay production. Since these fields are no longer being used for agriculture, Birds Georgia and the CSRLT decided to restore the fields to native grassland habitat that would benefit wildlife and also serve as a place where the community can learn more about native habitat and local flora and fauna. We selected a 14 acre field that is visible and easily accessible from the long driveway and parking lot near the home where Ms. Dorn previously lived. During the first few weeks, we surveyed the fields with the help from our partners at Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Augusta’s River Region Chapter of the Georgia Native Plant Society, Augusta-Aiken Audubon Society, and the Butterfly Monarchy Club. We documented what species of birds, plants, and butterflies that were present in order to compare species lists after treatment. We also conducted these surveys to ensure that there were not any species of conservation concern present that may be adversely affected by our efforts. We found that the majority of grasses were non-native species used for livestock, and that the few native species present would quickly return after treatment. We did not find any butterflies during our surveys and the bird species we found were all common to the area and habitat and would benefit from the restoration efforts. In September, we applied herbicide to the field to kill the non-native grasses and prepare it for planting. To further remove the duff layer left over by the herbicide application, we are planning a prescribed burn for sometime in January. The prescribed burn, being conducted by a local contractor, will be open to the public as an educational demonstration of the importance of prescribed fire both for restoration and for management of native southeastern habitats. Following the prescribed fire, we will apply any additional herbicide as needed and prepare to plant warm season native grass and wildflower seeds in the spring and early summer of 2025. We are currently working on securing additional funding to continue to plant additional native plants and maintain the grassland with fire, as well as tackling restoring additional acreage. If you live in the Evans/Augusta area and are interested in getting on our list of volunteers to learn more about upcoming workdays, events, and bird walks, please contact Heather Levy at [email protected].  The restoration field two months after herbicide application. The planned prescribed fire will clear the remaining duff layer and leave a clean bed for native seeds to be planted. Photo by Heather Levy. By Heather Levy, Stewardship Coordinator
Birds Georgia is excited to announce the launch of a new conservation program called the Habitat Stewardship Program. An offshoot of our Wildlife Sanctuary Program, the Habitat Stewardship Program is geared towards larger public and private lands of 10 acres or larger. The goal of the program is to enable property stewards to make improvements to their lands for wildlife while offering educational materials, technical assistance, and connections to cost-share resources. The program is open to properties in any state of conservation, from those who may be new to wildlife management or have recently acquired properties and need a lot of technical assistance to those who have been managing high quality wildlife habitat for decades. The Stewardship Coordinator, Heather Levy, who manages the program, will work closely with enrollees by providing assistance and connecting them with local practitioners and funding opportunities. The program rubric offers flexibility for landowners who may be in different regions and therefore managing different habitats and/or wildlife. The rubric also differentiates between those managing private lands and those managing public lands. There are three main categories: Habitat, Community Science. Engagement/Education, and Research and Monitoring (an optional category). Within each category are subcategories with minimum criteria that must be selected. For example, Best Management Practices, under the Habitat category, offers 17 potential options, and requires that at least five be selected. Options include actions like implementing a non-native invasive species removal plan, retaining or creating standing dead trees (snags), and using prescribed fire. There is also space in the application to include photos or additional information. The specific criteria that applicants select can be actions they are already implementing or actions they plan to accomplish within a 12-month period. For example, if a landowner/steward has not yet applied a prescribed fire on their property, but plan to do so within the next year, they may select prescribed fire as a criterion and include in the adjacent text space that they are planning on 50 acres of longleaf pine habitat during the next growing season. Program participant are eligible for a suite of benefits, including access to a digital library of technical assistance and cost-sharing resources, in-person and virtual property visits from the stewardship coordinator, and more. To ensure all areas of the state are covered and visited by local practitioners, the Stewardship Coordinator will connect any interested enrollees with their local Georgia Department of Natural Resources/Quail Forever Private Lands Program representative, Natural Resource Conservation Service office, county extension agent, and/or local conservation groups. These organizations will also have the most up to date information on current cost-share programs and can let landowners/stewards know if their property may be eligible for funding opportunities. In addition, enrollees will receive a one-year Birds Georgia membership. Membership perks include a subscription to our Private Lands Newsletter, discounts on field trips and programs, and more. Those interested may also opt in to have their properties for available engagement and research opportunities as they become available, such as our current nightjar habitat use program. Enrollees will receive a Birds Georgia Habitat Steward sign or certificate. To enroll in the program, applicants should review the rubric, fill out the application, and pay the one-time application fee, which is $150 for private landowners and $250 for publicly owned lands. Any public or private land in any part of the state is eligible to enroll. Annual monitoring reports are due near the one-year mark of the original application to provide updates to the Stewardship Coordinator. Instructions on how to apply, the rubric, benefits, and link to the application may be found on our website under the Conservation tab. While we were developing the program, we had applicants pre-enroll to provide updates on the status and launch of the program. We were excited to receive over 35 pre-applications and their full applications are beginning to trickle in. Heather Levy is thrilled to be managing this program and offering technical assistance to landowners and land stewards for the benefit of healthy habitats and wildlife. We want to sincerely thank those that have already applied and encourage you to share the program with other landowners and stewards that might be interested. If you have any questions about the program, please do not hesitate to contact Heather via email. |
AuthorBirds Georgia is building places where birds and people thrive. Categories |
RSS Feed
