Georgia Magazine - November 2022 - 26

A red-cockaded woodpecker
(Leuconotopicus borealis), an
endangered species, takes a look
around before being released
at the River Creek Wildlife
Management Area near Thomasville.
Gopher tortoises prefer sandy areas, where they
can dig burrows with their shovel-like forelimbs.
habitat becomes unsuitable for them and other species. "
Naturalists have found that prescribed burning (a fire set intentionally
for a purpose) helps restore fire-adapted habitats by thinning out
taller trees and shrubs that block sunlight, making it easier for the shorter
plants-the ones that turtles like to eat-to flourish. (See " Why we burn, "
March 2022, page 20; bit.ly/burnarticle.) The extra sunlight also helps
gopher tortoises warm themselves in cooler temperatures.
" They are a keystone species and share their long, deep burrows with
more than 300 other species, " he says. " Lose them, and we lose many of the
others-including the eastern indigo snake. "
Brake for the snake
* Eastern indigo snake (Drymarchon couperi)
The docile, nonvenomous eastern indigo snake
is indigenous to South Georgia. These snakes are
known for their large size (as long as 7 feet) and their
lustrous, blue-black body that can appear iridescent
purple. Indigo snakes prefer sandhills and
mature, longleaf pine forests, where they use
gopher tortoise holes for both shelter and nesting
purposes.
The docile, nonvenomous eastern indigo snake
" There may be a few thousand left-
maybe, " Elliott says. " They are declining not
just because the gopher tortoises and their
burrows are declining but because humans
often kill snakes out of fear. And snakes are
vulnerable to traffic. In fact, I have a
bumper sticker on my car that says,
'Brake for the snake.' "
On both state and federal threatened
species lists and included in Georgia's
State Wildlife Action Plan (a strategy to
conserve native wildlife species and their
habitats), the eastern indigo snake is being
protected through education, conservation
easements and land preservation.
26 Georgia Magazine November 2022
A tragic whale tale
* North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis)
The waters off the Georgia and North Florida
coasts are the only known calving grounds of the
North Atlantic right whale, Georgia's state marine
mammal. With only about 350 remaining in the
world, the species is critically endangered.
Centuries of hunting drove these whales to
the brink of extinction, and they have been slow to
recover because of reduced genetic diversity, natural
variability in food resources and human impacts,
including collisions with ships and entanglement in
commercial fishing ropes.
" It's the most endangered mammal in the U.S., "
Elliott says. " But there's still hope. We've been
working with the National Marine Fisheries
Service and the fishing industry to promote
ropeless traps that won't entangle
them. And speed limits have been
implemented in shipping lanes
where the whales congregate.
where the whales congregate.
" I've loved the outdoors since
I was a boy, and I love Georgia's
wildlife. I'm optimistic that we are
making progress by paying attention
and acting. When people understand the
problems facing our endangered species,
they almost always want to help, and that
makes a difference. "
Amber Lanier Nagle is a freelance
writer living in Adairsville.
Matt Elliott, a Georgia DNR offi cial, holds an eastern
indigo snake, a reptile on both Georgia and federal
endangered species lists. Threatened species should not
be handled without appropriate state/federal permits.
MATT MOORE /
GEORGIA DNR
SUSAN CASTER / GEORGIA DNR
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http://www.bit.ly/burnarticle
Georgia Magazine - November 2022

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