The issues below have been reviewed and approved by the Conservation Policy Committee in support of GNPS MISSION STATEMENT: To promote the stewardship and conservation of Georgia's native plants and their habitats through education and with the involvement of individuals and organizations.
Significant Georgia conservation issues:
There is a proposal in Congress to authorize three dams on the Flint River, presently one of Georgia's longest stretches of free-flowing river. The Flint drainage is filled with plants in the protected category, the most famous of which is the Shoals Lily (Hymenocallis coronaria). Others are Trillium reliquum in the Montezuma area and Silene polypetala in the Potato Creek area.
The beach and dune systems of Jekyll Island are the most important habitats to protect and restore on the island. There are development proposals affecting state-owned land on Jekyll Island which is a sensitive location--beach front of a Georgia barrier island that serves as important habitat for many forms of wildlife, including nesting areas for the loggerhead turtle.
Oaky Woods is a beautiful 19,200 acre tract of wilderness in Houston County, Georgia which is threatened by residential and commercial development.
The Wolf Creek Tract (140 acres), in Grady County, is home to one of the largest and most dense populations of Trout Lily (Erythronium umbilicatum), as well as rare trilliums and orchids. Please see the website for current funding status.
Congress has approved a study for a new interstate to connect Savannah GA to Knoxville TN (The Third Infantry Division Highway or I-3). Any feasible route would destroy numerous North Georgia plant habitats and the southern Appalachians as we know them today.