by Dottie Head, Director of Communications
 
Georgia Audubon was recently awarded a grant from the Richard King Mellon Foundation to increase public awareness of the importance of bird-friendly native plants and to promote voluntary actions to reduce the spread of invasive plants through statewide expansion of the Plants for Birds Program and increasing invasive plant species monitoring throughout the state.

“Georgia Audubon is delighted to receive this grant from the Richard King Mellon Foundation to expand our efforts to educate Georgians about the interconnectedness of healthy native plant habitat and overall environmental health,” says Jared Teutsch, Georgia Audubon executive director. “Our ecosystems depend on birds, and birds depend on the resources provided by native plants. When an ecosystem is not functioning for birds, it is or soon will be detrimental to people, too.”

As part of this project, Georgia Audubon will promote voluntary actions to reduce the spread of invasive plants through targeted education, outreach, and monitoring campaigns through the statewide expansion of our Native Plants for Birds Program.
​
With a history of building public support for bird-friendly native plants, Georgia Audubon is a leading partner for the nationwide Plants for Birds initiative, spearheaded by the National Audubon Society, which has a goal of adding one million native plants to our greenspaces through native plant sales, habitat restoration, and public education. To date, Georgia Audubon has distributed or planted 57,876 native plants in Georgia.

The spread of non-native invasive plant species greatly contributes to native habitat degradation. Despite this, invasive plants are readily sold at large nurseries throughout Georgia, which further exacerbates the problem. Implementing efforts to limit the transport, propagation, and sale of invasive plant species would be hugely beneficial, but in order to do so, the list of recognized invasive species in the state of Georgia needs updating.

The Georgia Exotic Plant Pest Council is the body in charge of officially listing invasive plants threatening native habitat in Georgia. The purpose of the Georgia EPPC Invasive Plant List is to identify and categorize plants that pose threats to natural areas in Georgia. The invasive plant list is divided into four categories, with one (1) being the most invasive and four (4) being the least invasive. Unfortunately, detailed distribution information does not exist for many species, making it difficult to rank plants adequately. As part of this grant, Georgia Audubon volunteers will be leveraged to help fill in data gaps of the Georgia EPPC Invasive Species List to make the list more robust and provide better guidance for plant growers and retailers.

In addition, Georgia Audubon will utilize its Wildlife Sanctuary Program as a way to encourage property owners to fill their landscapes with native plants and remove or control non-native invasive species. The Wildlife Sanctuary Program recognizes individuals who are providing critical wildlife habitat and creating healthy habitats for wildlife and people. To date, Georgia Audubon has certified more than 700 properties as Wildlife Sanctuaries.

Finally, Georgia Audubon will continue to increase native plantings through the management of large-scale ecological restoration projects across the state with partners like the Georgia State Parks system, land trusts, city parks, the Army Corps of Engineers, and other nonprofit organizations. These projects remove invasive plant species, engage the public in monitoring birds and other wildlife on the project sites, and restore the areas with native plants. Each property—whether one of our managed restoration projects or a certified Wildlife Sanctuary—is a patch of restored habitat in the frayed fabric of the ecosystem in which it lies. By educating about and landscaping with native plants, Georgia Audubon is working to turn a patchwork of green spaces into a quilt of restored habitat across the state.

“Georgia is facing a significant loss of our favorite bird species due to habitat loss and degradation, climate change, pesticide use, and other factors. Statewide, 23 percent—or 58 of Georgia’s 254 bird species—are vulnerable,” says Teutsch. “As the largest statewide organization connecting people with birds and healthy habitats, Georgia Audubon can play a critical role in promoting responsible, voluntary behaviors that can slow the spread of invasive plants...all through the lens of birds.”

For more information about the Richard King Mellon Foundation, visit https://www.rkmf.org/. For more information on Georgia Audubon, visit https://www.georgiaaudubon.org/.

About the Richard King Mellon Foundation: Founded in 1947, the Richard King Mellon Foundation is the largest foundation in Southwestern Pennsylvania, and one of the 50 largest in the world. The Foundation’s 2021 year-end net assets were $3.4 billion, and its Trustees in 2021 disbursed $152 million in grants and program-related investments. The Foundation focuses its funding on six primary program areas, delineated in its 2021-2030 Strategic Plan.
 
About Georgia Audubon: Georgia Audubon is building places where birds and people thrive. We create bird-friendly communities through conservation, education, and community engagement.

​Visitors to the Northwoods Pavilion at Dunwoody Nature Center may notice some new, tiny dots adorning the glass 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 Georgia Audubon and Dunwoody Nature Center through a grant from the Disney Conservation Fund.
 
The dots are a special CollidEscape film that reduces the transparency of the glass and breaks up reflection, preventing birds from flying into them. CollidEscape Film was applied to approximately 1060 square feet of the exterior windows. Spaced two inches apart, the dots break up the reflection and alert birds that the space is not a clear flyway, causing them to stall and fly in a different, safer direction. Current research estimates that between 365 million and 1 billion birds perish each year from colliding with buildings in the United States.
 
To learn more about Georgia Audubon's work to prevent bird-building collisions or how to prevent collisions at home, visit our collisions page. 

​December 27, 2022
 
Superintendent Gary Ingram
Cumberland Island National Seashore
101 Wheeler Street
St. Marys, Georgia 31558
 
Submitted via online portal
 
Re: Cumberland Island National Seashore Proposed Visitor Use Management Plan & Environmental Assessment (2022)
 
Dear Superintendent Ingram and the Planning Team:
 
Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the Visitor Use Management Plan for Cumberland Island National Seashore and Wilderness. We are writing to you to share our concerns about the proposed Visitor Use Management Plan (VUMP) for Cumberland Island and its potentially devastating impacts for birds.
 
Georgia Audubon’s mission is to build places where birds and people thrive. We fulfill our mission through education, conservation, and community engagement. With over 2,400 chapter members and more than 5,000 National Audubon Society members across the state, Georgia Audubon represents a broad constituency united by a desire to protect birds and other wildlife. Our constituents include coastal residents, frequent visitors, and concerned citizens who understand the significance of the natural beaches, salt marshes, and maritime forest to the more than 250 species of birds that winter, breed, migrate through, or live year-round on Cumberland Island and surrounding areas. Georgia Audubon is submitting the following comments on behalf of members from across Georgia.
 
Cumberland Island is home to pristine maritime forests, undeveloped beaches, and extensive salt marshes, and supports a rich biodiversity of wildlife and plants. These habitats are crucial to birds because of their natural and pristine state. Cumberland is a hotspot for migratory birds; being Georgia’s southernmost barrier island, it is tremendously important stopover for thousands of birds, like the Blackpoll Warbler, Red Knot, and Peregrine Falcon, where they first make landfall after endless hours of flight or fuel up before their long open water journey back to South America. 
 
Cumberland Island is also an important breeding ground in the spring and summer for many species of birds, including the threatened Least Tern and Wilson’s Plover. During the winter, Cumberland provides exceptional wintering grounds for thousands of shorebirds, sparrows, and Bald Eagles.
 
Georgia Audubon is asking the National Park Service to conduct a comprehensive Environmental Impact Statement to gain a full understanding of how both state- and federally-listed species will be impacted by the proposed increased use of Cumberland Island. The assessment in the current plan is incomplete and fails to capture the harms and potential adverse effects to state- and federally-listed bird species.
 
Our specific concerns with the FAA Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) as they relate to avian life are as follows:
 

• The Piping Plover is a federally-listed threatened shorebird that depends on the undeveloped beaches of Cumberland Island for foraging and roosting habitat during the winter and in migration. The northern, eastern, and southern shore of Cumberland Island— including 1,500 inland feet of dune and interdune habitat—has been designated critical habitat for the piping plover. The VUMP proposes construction of a motorized access dock and development, including two pavilions, in habitat that is critical for Piping Plovers. In addition, proposed  increases in visitation, use of bicycles and e-bikes, hiking trails, and motorized access that will be difficult to monitor and control will likely lead to SUBSTANTIAL disturbance of critical Piping Plover roosting and foraging habitat. The VUMP states that the Plan “may affect but is not likely to adversely affect” Piping Plovers. However, this finding is inconsistent with the VUMP’s own findings and not supported by evidence. The Plan’s proposed construction and development will result in take of federally listed Piping Plovers and adversely modify their designated critical habitat.
• Red Knots are a federally listed threatened species that complete one of the world’s longest distance migrations, traveling up to 19,000 miles round trip between wintering grounds and their summer habitat. Cumberland Island is a critical stop for these birds to rest and refuel on their long-distance journeys each year. Without adequate food resources, Red Knots will die and fail to complete their migration to the breeding grounds. The proposed motorized access dock and development as well as the dock and campsite at Beech Creek will substantially increase visitation at the South end of Cumberland Island. The increased visitation and access via bicycles, e-bikes and motorized vehicles will adversely affect Red Knot populations. A vague environmental protection zone in no way offsets the impacts of the proposed developments and increased motorized access to the south end. Similarly, a dog-free zone near the south end motorboat dock and development will not compensate for the massive increases in motorized boat access and human use of the south end. The Plan’s proposed construction and development will result in take of federally listed Red Knots and adversely modify the habitat on which they depend for their long migrations.
• The status of many nesting species (Willets, Wilson's Plovers, Least Tern, Killdeer, Gull-billed Tern) remains undetermined after a resurgence in coyote predation on the island. The VUMP fails to address the current status of vulnerable or threatened bird species or to address potential impacts of increased foot traffic and recreation.
• Increased foot traffic and recreational activities on South End Beach would likely have adverse impacts on beach-nesting birds. The "vessel landing zone" on South End Beach would result in a loss of beach-nesting habitat as well as an increase in foot traffic and increased potential for unregulated recreational activities that would have further impact beyond this zone.  Additionally, the monitoring that would be required to enforce the closure area on South End Beach designated in this plan would be difficult to enforce due to remote access.
• An increase in visitation to Nightingale beach would disturb beach-nesting birds. A correlated increase in trash would have a high probability of attracting more scavengers to nesting habitat.
• In addition, Georgia Audubon is concerned about potential disturbance by the increased visitation, motorized access, and proposed new trails and facilities on a number of other species, including Wood Storks, Bald Eagles, Least Terns, American Oystercatchers, and Wilson’s Plovers.
• The provisions in the VUMP will significantly increase visitors to the island, especially to the south end, and does not set any cap on visitation. Also, private and commercial use will increase with two new marinas, one in St. Mary’s and a second in Fernandina, along with a corresponding increase in recreational boat use and cruise ship traffic. The VUMP does not assess impact from increased visitation that exceeds their estimated numbers.
• The proposed VUMP fails to adequately address impacts to avian life as required by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the Endangered Species Act. Georgia Audubon strongly encourages the National Park Service to conduct a full Environmental Impact Statement before moving forward with any portion of the proposed Visitor Use Management Plan.

 
Thank you for your consideration, and please do not hesitate to reach out to me by email at Jared.Teutch@georgiaaudubon.org or by phone at 678-973-2437 with any questions or comments.
 
Sincerely,

Jared Teutsch
Executive Director
 

Georgia Audubon has been awarded a grant by the Disney Conservation Fund (DCF) to expand Project Safe Flight and Lights Out Georgia to the Georgia coast to help reduce bird collisions in this key region. This is the fourth consecutive grant Georgia Audubon has received from the Disney Conservation Fund to support collision-reduction efforts.
 
“Georgia Audubon is delighted to again receive support from the Disney Conservation Fund for our Project Safe Flight and Lights Out Georgia programs,” says Adam Betuel, director conservation for Georgia Audubon. “This grant will enable us to expand the collision-related work we have been doing in metro Atlanta area to the Georgia coast to study collisions and implement solutions that will reduce the number of birds killed by building collisions.”
 
Georgia Audubon will use grant monies to expand Project Safe Flight on the Georgia coast. The work will include conducting research on bird collisions and identifying and treating problematic buildings with window film to reduce collisions. A mapping system highlighting important stopover habitat on the coast will also be created, and Georgia Audubon will roll out expanded Light Out Georgia information to encourage coastal residents and commercial properties to reduce or eliminate nocturnal lighting that interferes with bird migration.
 
Georgia's coast is especially important to migratory bird populations in North America due to its unique geography and relatively intact habitat. In the spring, migratory bird species from across the Neotropics rely on the Georgia coast, as it is often their first stop following a transoceanic flight. In the fall, even more birds follow the Georgia coast as they fly south. The barrier islands, maritime forests, and marshlands of the Georgia Bight are vital for migratory bird populations. In addition to the food and shelter that this region provides, many birds use the coast as a guide, choosing to follow its edge in migration rather than setting out over the risky ocean. It is estimated that over 900 million birds migrate over Georgia each year, with a large amount of that occurring along the coast. Understanding how migratory species use this space, what locations are most vital, how to lessen the threats they face, and opportunities to educate and engage the local communities are all incredibly important tasks for this region and things Georgia Audubon will explore as part of this grant work.
 
“Georgia Audubon will collaborate with a number of different organizations to complete the work, including Dr. Kyle Horton at Colorado State University’s AeroEco Lab, the Jekyll Island Authority, and other partners,” says Betuel. “We are interested in exploring the opportunities that exist surrounding light reduction, how we may tie into sea turtle conservation and other light-reduction efforts along the coast, as well as to better understand what our data tell us about protection and management opportunities along our coastline.”
 
Project Safe Flight Georgia is a conservation and engagement effort to understand the issue of bird-building collisions across the state. Project Safe Flight Georgia volunteers patrol selected routes during peak bird migration periods collecting birds that have died or have been injured after colliding with buildings. Since Project Safe Flight Georgia launched in 2015, more than 2,800 birds of 119 different species have been collected.
 
Current research estimates that between 365 million and 1 billion birds perish each year from colliding with buildings in the United States. Bright lights at night can attract and disorient migrating birds, causing them to be drawn to developed spaces, crash into structures, or “trap” them in beams of light leading to exhaustion. Birds also struggle with reflective surfaces during the day as they stop and feed or rest. Shiny glass exteriors and reflections of trees and shrubs close to buildings can all be deadly to birds who are unable to determine reflections from actual flyways or perceive glass as a barrier.
 
To learn more about Georgia Audubon’s collision-related work, please visit www.georgiaaudubon.org/building-collisions.
 
DCF grant recipients are selected based on their efforts to implement comprehensive community wildlife conservation programs, stabilize and increase populations of at-risk animals and engage communities in conservation in critical ecosystems around the world.
 
For information on Disney’s commitment to conserve nature and a complete list of grant recipients, visit www.disney.com/conservation.
 
 
About Georgia Audubon: Georgia Audubon is building places where birds and people thrive. We create bird-friendly communities through conservation, education, and community engagement. 
​

Georgia Audubon was delighted to present long-time volunteer Mary Kimberly with the 2022 Scottie Johnson Spirit Award at the Holiday Party and Annual Meeting on Sunday, December 4. 

Mary has been a longtime member and volunteer for Georgia Audubon. She's been involved with monitoring Project Safe Flight routes since the beginning of that program in 2015, waking up pre-dawn to begin her trek looking for birds that have collided with buildings or that she can deliver for rehabilitation. Mary is also a former board member for Atlanta (now Georgia) Audubon. She also previously served as the volunteer field trip coordinator before those duties were taken on by staff. She and her husband, Gavin, continue to lead frequent field trips at Murphy Candler Park and other Atlanta hotspots, and her relationships with field trip leaders were instrumental in helping us organize the very first Bird Fest back in 2016. In addition to her volunteer work with Georgia Audubon, Mary assists other bird conservation-related causes such as volunteering at the bird-banding stations at Jekyll Island and at Panola Mountain State Park.
​
About the Scottie Johnson Spirit Award

In 2018, Georgia Audubon lost an incredibly dedicated volunteer and dear friend,  Eleanor Scott Johnson. "Scottie", as her family and friends called her, was an avid birder and long-time volunteer for Georgia Audubon. 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. Previous award winners include Anne McCallum (2019), Charles Loeb (2020), and Steve Phenicie (2021).

Georgia Audubon commissioned a watercolor painting of a Red-headed Woodpecker by Amanda Woomer, Georgia Audubon Board Member, that will be presented to Mary in recognition of her service to Georgia Audubon.

by Dottie Head, Director of Communications

Georgia Audubon announced five new members elected by members to the Board of Directors at their annual meeting on December 4. Jennifer Johnson McEwen, Marlena Reed, Jim Renner, Amy Beth Sparks, and Ayanna Williams were elected for three-year terms, beginning January 1, 2023. In addition, Joshua Gassman, Gus Kaufman, Paige Martin, Jon Philipsborn, and LaTresse Snead were elected to the Board of Directors for a second three-year term.
 
Jennifer Johnson McEwen Jennifer is a lifelong birder, with a passion for everything related to birds. When she’s not out enjoying nature, she is helping lead communications at Emory University. Jennifer’s career spans 25 years as a communicator with experience in broadcast news, agency, media, higher education, healthcare, and nonprofit sectors. Jennifer has spent the last 15 years directing medical and scientific communications, public affairs, and media relations for Emory’s Woodruff Health Sciences Center. Jennifer has a BA from the University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism.
 
Marlena Reed is an award-winning marketing communications professional with agency-side and client-side experience. She currently serves as Senior Director of Strategic Communications at the Arthritis Foundation. Marlena has managed public relations, marketing and social media initiatives for organizations in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. Marlena holds a bachelor of arts degree in communication from Arizona State University.
 
Jim Renner is a geologist and environmental planner with 35 years of experience in natural resource management. He is currently Manager of Environmental Stewardship for the Minerals Operations of Chemours, a leading chemical manufacturer. In this role, Jim is responsible for advancing Chemours’ corporate responsibility commitments within the Georgia and Florida mining operations by engaging with stakeholders, sponsoring independent research on the environmental effects of mining, and supporting partnerships for regionally significant conservation. Jim holds both a BS and an MS in geology from the University of Georgia.
 
As a lifelong animal and nature lover, Amy Beth Sparks has always been passionate about animals and nature. Her interest in sustainability led to her current role as Director of Communications within the Public Affairs, Communications, and Sustainability function at The Coca-Cola Company. In this role, Amy Beth has created communications strategies, crafted messaging, and supported many sustainability projects. In addition to a BA in Literature from Georgia State University, Amy Beth also holds a master’s degree in teaching English to middle- and high-school students.

Ayanna Williams is a tested leader in place-based environmentally focused nonprofits. She currently serves as the Director of Community and Environmental Resilience at the National Recreation and Park Association focusing on facilitating conversations between park and recreation professionals and community partners to amplify equitable solutions to address historic environmental injustices. Throughout her career Ayanna has cultivated a broad perspective and deep understanding of environmental resilience through local parks. Ayanna holds a Master of Social Work from the University of Michigan with a concentration in community organizing and social systems.

“We are excited to welcome Jennifer, Marlena, Jim, Amy, and Ayanna to the Georgia Audubon Board of Directors,” says Paige Martin, board chair. “These individuals bring a wealth of talents and experiences to the Board that will help Georgia Audubon fulfill its mission of building places where birds and people thrive.”
 
Additional Georgia Audubon board members include Joshua Andrews, Robert Cooper, Marc Goncher, Laurene Hamilton, Mary Anne Lanier, Susie Maclin,  Ellen Miller, Scott Porter, Esther Stokes, and Amanda Woomer. 
 
For more information on Georgia Audubon or to read the full biographical sketches of our new board members, visit our website.

About Georgia Audubon: Georgia Audubon is building places where birds and people thrive. We create bird-friendly communities through conservation, education, and community engagement. 

By Steve Phenicie
​
Probably no Pilgrim ever said to a Native American: “Would you like to come over for Thanksgiving dinner? We’re having Hooded Merganser.” The Pilgrims are known to have eaten “waterfowl” at their famous feast, but Hooded Merganser might not have been a top choice. Mergansers are the only ducks that specialize in eating fish, and because of that, their flesh is said to have a fishy taste that many people find unpalatable.

But most people are more interested in looking at these handsome birds than eating them anyway. Both sexes have crests that give them a punk-rocker appearance. They have thin, serrated bills, with males having a black head with a large white patch that varies in size when the crest is raised or lowered but is always prominent. The breast is white and the back a rich chestnut. Females and immatures are gray and brown, with tawny-cinnamon tones on the head.

For habitat, Hooded Mergansers like shallow ponds, especially those where they can tuck in around the edge and find some cover. They may be in more open marsh habitats if artificial nest sites, such as those offered to Wood Ducks, are available. The nest site is typically in a tree cavity near the water, usually 10 to 50 feet above ground, but rarely up to 80 feet or more.

In addition to fish, mergansers like crayfish and other crustaceans, aquatic insects, tadpoles, mollusks, and small amounts of plant material. Young ducklings eat mostly insects.

This bird is especially common around the Great Lakes, although it is also widespread elsewhere. Year-round populations occur in two ranges: One extends from Nova Scotia to eastern Oklahoma and northern Louisiana. A second includes parts of southern British Columbia, Washington state, and patches of Oregon and western Montana. The Hooded Merganser is a short-distance migrant, with the majority wintering along the Mississippi Flyway in the south-central U.S.

Some places in metro Atlanta you might see them are E.L. Huie and other Clayton County sites such as Lakes Blaylock and Shamrock. Other areas in the state are Harris Neck National Wildlife Refuge, Dooly County Road Farm Pond, Carter's Lake, and Altamaha Wildlife Management Area. 

Some cool facts about Hooded Mergansers:

• Taking a cue from Brown-headed Cowbirds, they often lay up to 13 eggs in the nests of other ducks, both their own species and others.
• Hooded Mergansers find their prey underwater by sight. They can actually change the refractive properties of their eyes to improve their underwater vision. In addition, they have an extra eyelid, called a “nictitating membrane,” which is transparent and helps protect the eye during swimming, like a pair of goggles.
• Ducklings leave their nest cavity within 24 hours of hatching. The mother calls from the ground below the nest, and the little ones hop out, which involves a plunge of 50 feet or more. In some cases they walk half a mile or more with their mother to the nearest body of water.
• They aren’t quackers, preferring to utter hoarse grunts and chatters.
• Almost any small retention pond could hold a couple of mergansers if there is decent habitat and food, says Adam Betuel, Georgia Audubon’s conservation director.

Georgia Audubon will be moving into some new “digs” around the first of the year, and we’ll be sharing the space with friends!
 
Construction on the new Trees Atlanta Kendeda Tree House is wrapping up, and Georgia Audubon and other partners are on schedule to move into the new building at 825 Warner Street SW by the end of the year.
 
Located on 2.9 acres of a former industrial lot, the new facility includes 1.5 acres of restored greenspace and two large buildings. The main building faces Warner Street and the Westside Trail of the Atlanta BeltLine. This building houses staff offices and conference rooms, classrooms, and spaces with catering facilities for events and community gatherings. A second structure is an operations and logistics center for trucks and equipment. The buildings are surrounded by open and forested outdoor learning spaces with nearly 200 new trees that will be planted on the property.
 
Georgia Audubon will have use of five shared workstations and one private office, as well as access to meeting rooms, event space, storage for tools and other equipment, and a secure place to park the truck used by our habitat restoration team.
 
“If we learned anything from COVID, it was that we can all work very efficiently at home but that we also need a flexible work space for in-person meetings and events,” says Executive Director Jared Teutsch. “Our new space at the new Trees Atlanta Kendeda Tree House will allow us to work collaboratively when needed, while maintaining the flexibility that remote work provides. We’ll also have access to a fantastic event space that we can use for educational programs and large events, like our Georgia Bird Fest Closing Celebration.”
 
The Kendeda Tree House offers excellent access to the West Side Atlanta BeltLine and is within easy walking distance of one of Georgia Audubon’s Chimney Swift Towers.
 
Four Nonprofits Under One Roof
 
With 23,000 square feet of interior space, the new facility will accommodate Trees Atlanta, as well as three other environmental nonprofit organizations: Georgia Audubon, The Conservation Fund, and The Nature Conservancy in Georgia.
 
“The mission of each of these organizations is closely aligned with Georgia Audubon’s mission to build places where birds and people thrive, and we look forward to working collaboratively with these organizations,” says Jared Teutsch, Executive Director.
 
The property at 825 Warner Street required brownfield remediation and had only 3% tree canopy on the lot, which includes a mature Southern red oak that stands in the western boundary of the lot. After the construction and landscape installation is completed, half of the land will be restored greenspace. With newly planted native plants and trees growing alongside the oak tree, the canopy cover will increase to more than 60% in about 15 years. Plans are underway to certify a portion of this landscape as a Georgia Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary.
 
Trees Atlanta Co-Executive Director Greg Levine shared his thoughts, “We want to be an example of how a new development can also bring ecological improvements. We hope to be a good neighbor and be a useful resource for education and employment opportunities for the neighborhoods nearest us while we work with communities across metro Atlanta.”
 
Bringing Others Along
 
The decision to share the office space was a confluence of timing and chemistry, says Trees Atlanta.
 
The Conservation Fund has offices across the country, and the choice to locate its Georgia staff at the TreeHouse is a strategic decision that will open up fresh opportunities for its current employees, as well as potentially attract new employees. “We want a vibrant and exciting workplace that will allow us to retain and attract talented staff,” according to Andrew Schock, Georgia and Alabama State Director of The Conservation Fund. “Working alongside other conservation colleagues will allow for more sharing of conservation ideas that will benefit the people of Atlanta.”
 
In March 2020, The Nature Conservancy in Georgia closed their offices as a health precaution because of COVID-19. As the months of the pandemic went on, they came to the conclusion that they worked just as effectively virtually as they did in a room together. By sharing space at the TreeHouse, they see the potential to use less office space and reduce their environmental footprint, while also having larger meeting spaces available as needed. “The last few years have presented us with many unique challenges. As much as we have all been able to do remotely, there are some things that are just better done sitting across the table from one another in a conference room,” explained Interim Executive Director Dan Ryan.
 
Georgia Audubon is excited to be moving into this wonderful new space with Trees Atlanta, The Conservation Fund, and The Nature Conservancy. We all look forward to being good neighbors in our new home on Warner Street and to welcoming members and guests to our new facility.

By Alex LoCastro, Conservation Program Coordinator
 
Recent research has shown that the biggest drivers of native bird population decline in North America are habitat loss and habitat degradation. These dual forces have been responsible for staggering losses among many of our native bird species, and today our landscapes are home to nearly three billion fewer breeding birds than they were back in 1970. To help combat these losses, Georgia Audubon’s conservation team is focused on building and restoring as much native habitat as possible for the benefit of birds and other wildlife.
​
Georgia Audubon’s Wildlife Sanctuary Program has been extremely successful, and we’re well on our way to building a network of certified native landscapes across the state, with the goal of re-establishing habitat connectivity in and around our increasingly urbanized and developed cities. In order to be certified, applicants must meet a series of environmental requirements and pass an assessment of the property carried out by our Avian Advocate volunteers. To date, the program has certified nearly 800 properties consisting of more than 29,000 acres, and we hope to continue growing the program across the state in years to come.

One limitation of the Wildlife Sanctuary Program that has in some ways contributed to the success of the program is the in-depth, rigorous process required for certification. While it is entirely feasible for our volunteers to walk the entirety of a two-acre property in metro Atlanta and make detailed recommendations about how best to improve it, it would be nearly impossible, logistically-speaking, to do the same for a 200- or 2,000-acre property somewhere in rural Georgia. It’s true that even a small plot of native plants can make a huge difference to the wildlife in your local area, but, on a larger scale, it’s critically important to help protect and rehabilitate as much habitat as possible. We’ve determined that the best way to do that is by creating a new conservation program designed specifically for these larger properties.

That program is the brand-new Georgia Audubon Habitat Stewardship Program. Unlike the Wildlife Sanctuary Program, this program is self-reporting in nature and will serve large properties of all kinds, from 10-acre, privately-owned homesteads and farms to multi-thousand-acre, publicly-owned Wildlife Management Areas and more. The goal is to enable property owners and managers to make improvements to their land for the benefit of native wildlife while also connecting them to educational resources, technical assistance programs, cost-sharing and revenue-generating programs, engagement and research opportunities, perks associated with Georgia Audubon membership, recognition as an official Habitat Steward in our program, and more. Our hope is that the program will further advance our own conservation goals while also supporting various partner organizations and providing tangible benefits to its applicants. 

If you own or manage a large property and wish to enter it into the Habitat Stewardship Program as a pilot property, we encourage you to fill out one of our preliminary applications located at www.georgiaaudubon.org/habitat-stewardship-program. Please fill out the short survey with basic information regarding your property and its use, and you will be entered into the pool of potential candidates. From there, additional information about the program and the next steps will be provided as they become available.

Properties for this program will be considered only if they are more than 10 acres. All property types above this size are encouraged to apply to the program. Smaller spaces should consider applying for certification through the Georgia Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary Program. If you have any questions, please email Alex LoCastro, conservation program coordinator, at alex.locastro@georgiaaudubon.org.

by Georgia LaMar, Georgia Audubon Avian Advocate Volunteer

Georgia LaMar certified the Walter's Wood Homeowners Association Property on North Carter Road in Decatur as a Georgia Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary earlier this year. She interviewed Cathy Rouse, who oversaw the property restoration and certification, for this newsletter.

1. What was the impetus that set you on fire to work on a Sanctuary? I've always had a love of the outdoors and gardening, but it wasn't until I read Doug Tallamy's book Bringing Nature Home around 2010 that I learned of the connection between birds, insects, and native plants. From then on, I began focusing on planting mostly native plants in my own garden, and had it certified by Georgia Audubon several years ago. Meanwhile, around 2004 my neighborhood association acquired three overgrown lots with the idea of creating a public green space. When I retired in 2017, most of the original people involved had moved away, and despite having a good foundation of many native trees and shrubs, the area was becoming overrun again with privet, ivy, and liriope. I volunteered to manage the space, and have focused on making it a wildlife sanctuary since then. I envision Walter's Woods as a place where neighbors can learn how beautiful native plants can be, and be encouraged to replicate the look in their own gardens.
2. How do you interact with neighbors that don’t see eye to eye? I think it's best to teach by education and example. I'll talk to anyone walking by about the benefits of native plants, and I even offer to share plants with them. I also suggest alternatives to invasive plants and to broadcast spraying of pesticides. Recently a neighbor told me that a pesticide company assured them that their product was "pollinator friendly", so I asked if they would get the name of the chemical for me. Of course, they found out that the product killed bees, so then I suggested alternatives like removing standing water, creating a trap with mosquito dunks, and keeping an oscillating fan on their deck. I haven't asked if they've stopped the spraying service, but at least I've planted the seed. And that's what gardeners do, isn't it?
3. What three native plants give nature the biggest bang for the buck? Trees and shrubs are often overlooked in favor of flowering perennials, but trees and shrubs can host hundreds of species of insects, as well as providing fruits or nuts for birds and other wildlife. I particularly like black cherry, Prunus serotina, which offers both flowers and fruit, as well as being a host plant for several hundred species of butterflies and moths; tulip tree, Liriodendron tulipifera, a great early nectar source for hummingbirds and bees; and sweetgum, Liquidambar styraciflua. Folks love to hate sweetgums, but watching a winter flock of birds mob a sweetgum tree and pick through those prickly balls for seeds is an amazing sight.
   
4. What three plants would you recommend to a new native plant gardener? I've had wonderful success with hoary skullcap, Scutellaria incana. It blooms well in part-sun, reseeds well, and flowers for several weeks. Another plant I've recently discovered is bear's foot, Smallanthus uvedalia. My sister, who's a wonderful gardener in her own right, found it growing on her creek bank and shared a couple of plants with me. I left the plants standing through the winter and noticed Ruby-crowned Kinglets and goldfinches foraging through them for the seeds. It also reseeds well, so there's plenty to share. A third favorite is Indian pinks, Spigelia marilandica. They look exotic, bloom well in part-shade, and hummingbirds love them.
   
5. What is your personal favorite plant? For the last couple of years, it's been the Stone Mountain daisy, Helianthus porterii. It's a wonderful annual native to the metro Atlanta area. A friend gave me a handful of seedlings six years ago, and this spring I potted up over 90 seedlings to share with other gardeners. It blooms in August and September, so it's a great plant for filling in those late-summer bare patches we all get frustrated with. It also provides late-season nectar for pollinators, and seeds for overwintering birds.

To learn more about certifying your property as a Georgia Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary, please visit our Wildlife Sanctuary page.