Red Knot. USFWS
The Georgia Dept of Natural Resources (GADNR), with many conservation partners, is in the process of protecting 26,278 acres of salt marshes, tidal creeks, freshwater wetlands, maritime forests, and longleaf pine and wiregrass savannah in coastal Georgia. Located just across the Intracoastal Waterway from Cumberland Island National Seashore, Cabin Bluff and neighboring Ceylon Wildlife Management Area are significant natural areas in Georgia, which provide critical habitat along the Atlantic Flyway for numerous waterfowl and high-priority migratory birds such as Red Knot and Swallow-tailed Kite, and listed species such as Loggerhead Sea Turtle, Florida Manatee, Gopher Tortoise, Eastern Indigo Snake, and several species of rare plants.
This effort is part of a larger initiative by GADNR to connect Fort Stewart to the Okefenokee and the Georgia Coast via the Altamaha Corridor, creating a connected conservation landscape of over 1.8 million acres. Partners in recent phases include the U.S. Department of Defense, The Nature Conservancy, The Conservation Fund, Open Space Institute, USDA Forest Legacy Program, Knobloch Family Foundation, Bobolink Foundation, and Woodruff Foundation. Federal grant grant awards in the last two years include both the NAWCA ($5 million, including one $2 million grant) and National Coastal Wetland Conservation Grant ($4 million) programs which ultimately will leverage nearly $80M in partner investments. Recent accomplishments in Georgia, occurring in several phases over a few years, are among the largest and most successful conservation efforts in Georgia history and in the ACJV.