Coastal Georgia Land Conservation Initiative

CONSERVANCY ASSISTS WITH COASTAL HABITAT MAPPING PROJECT

This year, the Coastal Georgia Land Conservation Initiative (CGLCI) completed its three-year-long coastal habitat mapping proj­ect. The CGLCI—a unique collaboration of the Association of County Commission­ers of Georgia, the Department of Natural Resources and the Georgia Conservancy—created 11 fine- and course-scale maps of the coastal region that detailed more than 70 different habitat types. These maps will be used to preserve critical coastal lands and promote sustainable growth patterns and development.

The first component of the project, the actual mapping of coastal lands, was conducted by the Department of Natural Resources’ wildlife biologists, who reviewed countless aerial images of the 11-county coastal region to identify land cover and habitat. Additionally, they verified the find­ings through site visitation, called “ground truthing.”

Not only do the maps provide important habitat information for ecological pur­poses, such as informing the State Wildlife Action Plan, but they also aid in planning for future growth on the coast. The Georgia Conservancy’s role is promoting the project and maps to local governments and developers so that the valuable findings can guide development and conservation to appropriate locations along the coast.

Additionally, the maps provide information to citizens that they in turn can use to influence land use decisions in their surrounding areas. For example, in partnership with our Land Conservation Program, the staff at Georgia Conservancy can better educate conservation-minded land owners about the resources on their parcels within the coastal region.

Click here to visit the Coastal Georgia Land Conservation Initiative website.

Maps in Practice

- The town of Riceboro, located in Liberty County, will use the maps to help determine where and how it should grow over the coming years. Many of the habitats biologists found in Riceboro are “globally ranked”, meaning they are considered especially rare or critical due to low occurrences around the world. Armed with that information, Riceboro has reconsidered where to advocate for development and has fast-tracked its efforts to purchase parcels with critical habitat.

- A proposal to develop a landfill on a Bryan County parcel that contained State Priority Habitats and three “globally ranked” habitats was denied after the Georgia Conservancy used the mapping results to voice its concerns in a comment letter to the Regional Commis­sion, which concluded this project was not in the best interest of the region.

This story first appeared in the fall 2011 edition of Panorama, a quarterly magazine sent to members of the Georgia Conservancy. Click here if you are interested in joining the Conservancy and receiving the magazine.