Development of a Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy for Georgia

1. Development of a Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy for Georgia Georgia Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Resources Division

2. Georgia’s Biological Diversity

3. Georgia’s Biological DiversityNational Ranks • 2nd in number of amphibians • 3rd in number of freshwater fishes • 3rd in number of crayfishes • 7th in number of reptiles • 7th in number of vascular plants

4. Georgia’s Biological Diversity • Ranked 6th nationally in the number of vascular plants, vertebrate animals, and selected invertebrates

5. Threats to Georgia’s Biodiversity • Habitat conversion or destruction • Habitat fragmentation • Invasive exotic species • Acute environmental stressors • Excessive predation, disease • Accelerated climate change • Poaching

6. Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy (CWCS) • Georgia DNR has committed to develop and begin implementation by October 1, 2005 • Current project will produce draft strategy by December 2004 • Funded under FY2002 State Wildlife Grant to Wildlife Resources Division • Involves collaboration with all natural resource agencies and organizations operating in Georgia

7. Project Goal: To develop a statewide wildlife conservation plan that provides an objective assessment of the status and conservation needs of native wildlife and presents a prioritized set of strategies for protecting, restoring, and maintaining these species and their habitats

8. Components of CWCS • Rare species/natural community database development • Identification of data gaps and survey needs • Biological surveys of public and private lands • State, federal, local government lands • Lands of private cooperators

9. Components of CWCS • Assessment of distributions of species and natural communities and selection of high priority conservation targets • Development of conservation lands & sites databases • Existing conservation lands • High priority sites for protection

10. Components of CWCS • Cooperation with local governments on development of conservation plans • Collaboration with state and federal agencies on habitat protection and restoration programs • Providing technical support to private conservation organizations

11. Components of CWCS • Review of existing conservation laws, rules, and policies • Review of land protection programs • Public input and educational outreach

12. Administrative Structure for CWCS Project

13. CWCS Technical Teams • Birds • Mammals • Amphibians and Reptiles • Fishes and Freshwater Invertebrates • Terrestrial Invertebrates • Plants and Natural Communities • Ecological Systems

14. CWCS Technical Teams (cont.) • Historic Vegetation & Habitat Restoration • Database Support/Enhancements • GIS Support and Land Use/Land Cover • Conservation Tools & Regulations • Environmental Education • Outreach/Media Relations

15. Assessment of Species of Greatest Conservation Need • Biological data from WRD databases provided to technical teams in Excel spreadsheet format • Species subsets based on taxonomic group, rarity, “special concern” status • Technical teams added/deleted species as needed

16. Data Provided to Technical Teams • Birds – 49 species • Mammals – 36 species • Amphibians & Reptiles – 63 species • Fishes – 130 species • Aquatic Invertebrates – 205 species • Terrestrial Invertebrates – 67 species • Plants – 997 species

17. Special Concern Animal Species in Georgia

18. Special Concern Plant Species in Georgia

19. Factors Considered in Species Assessments • Rarity (global and state) • Endemism • Distribution in Georgia (regions, habitats) • Degree of imperilment, major threats • Population/habitat trends • Current level of protection • Survey, research, and protection needs • Potential contribution of Georgia efforts to global conservation

22. Methodology for Technical Teams • Categorical ranking factors allow sorting of species by rarity, threat, population trends, research needs, etc. • “Uncertainty ranks” help document data gaps and field inventory needs • Recommendations for changes in state rarity rank, legal status, or status as “species of concern” will be based on data provided in spreadsheets & other supporting documents

23. Georgia GAP/Aquatic GAP Data • Land cover data – 44 classes • Potential range maps for 300+ terrestrial vertebrates • Terrestrial vertebrate habitat models • “Critical reaches” for aquatic diversity in the Tallapoosa and Flint River basins

24. Natural Communities/Ecosystems • Identification of high-priority natural communities based on rarity, condition, species composition, etc. • Revision of natural community classification for Georgia • Identification of high-priority ecological systems based on species/natural community assemblages

25. Prioritizing Species, Habitats, and Conservation Sites Species Habitats/Ecosystems Conservation Sites

26. Progress to Date • Lists of high priority species have been developed and are being reviewed (300 animal species) • Research and survey needs for high priority species have been identified by technical team leaders • Key habitats are being identified and cross-walked to ecological systems in the National Vegetation Classification System

27. Progress to Date • GIS Support team has completed an initial survey of WRD staff to determine GIS data needs • Georgia GAP land cover data is being assessed as a tool for broad-scale planning • Habitat Restoration/Historic Vegetation team has identified key management issues and is working with UGA Institute of Ecology to develop a pilot project for mapping historic vegetation

28. Progress to Date • Draft assessment of conservation planning and implementation efforts in other states has been completed and is being reviewed • “Landowner’s Guide to Conservation Options” has been revised and will soon be published • GIS dataset of high-priority conservation sites is being developed, using data from DNR-TNC ecoregional planning projects as starting point

29. Progress to Date • GNHP staff members collaborating with a group of volunteers on a revision of “Natural Environments of Georgia” • WRD Education Plan is being finalized. EEA has offered to help with implementation of CWCS environmental education goals. • Database Support team is assessing needs for biodiversity data within WRD and in other agencies/organizations.

30. Next Steps January-February 2004 - Workshops to gain input from WRD staff on conservation targets, threats, and goals April-May 2004 - Regional workshops with local “stakeholder” groups June 2004 - Complete first draft of wildlife conservation strategy

31. Next Steps August-September 2004 – Hold public meetings to solicit input on draft conservation strategy December 2004 – Complete final draft of comprehensive wildlife conservation strategy