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Georgia Wildlife Federation

News - Winter 2007

GWF On The Coast

The Georgia Wildlife Federation proudly announces a new Coastal office, opened this fall. Sarah Gaines Barmeyer (below), Water Issues Coordinator, has relocated to Savannah and now is GWF's representative to oversee the organization's work in this critical ecoregion. Sarah will continue working on water issues statewide for GWF and the Georgia Water Coalition, as well.

Georgia Water Coalition Update

The Georgia Water Coalition continues its mission of protecting and caring for Georgia's waters — an essential ingredient for strong property values, clean water for drinking, recreation, fish and wildlife, and Georgia's continued prosperity. Over the summer and fall, the Georgia Wildlife Federation hosted partner meetings at the Alcovy Conservation Center to update our Water Coalition partners on pressing water issues and opportunities to get involved in the statewide water planning process. We reviewed GWC consensus recommendations and arranged them according to the four water planning management objectives established by the Water Council. These recommendations are published in "The 2006 Report of the Georgia Water Coalition," which is now available at www.georgiawater.org.

Over the summer, the Water Council hosted four town hall meetings to discuss the first two management objectives of the statewide water management plan. Thanks to the Georgia Water Coalition raising awareness that only four meetings were being held for public input on these critical parts of the water management plan, over 275 citizens wrote or signed letters to the Georgia Environmental Protection Division and the Water Council requesting a meeting in their location. Several state legislators and local elected officials wrote letters requesting additional meetings as well. Despite these requests, the Water Council held firm with their four town hall meetings. Board members and staff from the Georgia Wildlife Federation attended each meeting and delivered comments on behalf of our organization.

All of the attention raised about holding additional town hall meetings did make an impact. At the Water Council meeting in October, Council members promised to expand the number of cities in which they will hold town hall meetings and will be choosing those cities according to which communities sent in letters requesting a meeting. The next round of town hall meetings will be held in January 2007 to discuss the third and fourth water management objectives: meeting instream and offstream needs; and protecting water quality. Ensuring enough, good quality water in our streams for our fish, wildlife, and recreational opportunities is a central focus of the Georgia Wildlife Federation. We encourage you to attend these meetings and voice your concerns. The dates and location of these meetings will be announced soon. For additional information about the town hall meetings, please contact Sarah Barmeyer at sbarmeyer@gwf.org.

Teaming with Wildlife: Making The Conservation Connection
By Terry Tatum, Vice President - Development

As part of Georgia Wildlife Federation's commitment to "intensive education of the whole public, youth and adult, in recognizing resource conservation as vital to our way of life and its preservation" (GWF Constitution, 1936) approximately 18,000 square feet of floor space at the 2007 Fisharama® will be used for interactive and visual exhibits

designed to:

• Educate the viewing public about natural communities and the conservation priorities within their eco-regions; and
• 
  Gain support for the Georgia Wildlife Action Plan or Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy.

This new display area, called The Conservation Connection, will be staffed by members of the Teaming with Wildlife Coalition, a diverse group of conservation organizations, outdoor groups, hunting and fishing groups, individuals, businesses, and local, state and federal government officials. Each exhibit will highlight one of the priorities of the State Wildlife Action Plan and will be represented by one of Georgia's eco-regions. The regions and priorities are:

• Piedmont (Paulding Forest) Implement prescribed fire programs to restore and maintain
  fire-adapted communities;
• 
  Southwestern Appalachians and Ridge and Valley (Rome) Establish partnerships to conserve high priority aquatic and wetland habitats;
• 
  Southeastern Plains (Albany) Provide technical and financial assistance to private landowners to conserve wildlife;
• 
  Southern Coastal Plain (Ft. Stewart) Develop a statewide strategy for invasive exotic species assessment and control;
• 
  Blue Ridge (Hiawassee) Implement statewide programs for permanent land protection.

Shirl Parsons, Conservation Issues Coordinator for GWF, says, "Our hope is that The Conservation Connection will convey the importance of and need for the Georgia Wildlife Action Plan. Visitors should leave with an understanding of how federal agencies, conservation organizations and private landowners can work cooperatively towards the goal of this proactive plan to conserve Georgia's animals, plants and natural habitats before they become too costly to protect."