Listed Species in Laurens
County | ||||
Species | Federal Status | State Status | Habitat | Threats |
Bird | ||||
Bald eagle Haliaeetus leucocephalus | T | E | Inland waterways and estuarine areas in Georgia. | Major factor in initial decline was lowered reproductive success following use of DDT. Current threats include habitat destruction, disturbance at the nest, illegal shooting, electrocution, impact injuries, and lead poisoning. |
Red-cockaded
woodpecker Picoides borealis | E | E | Nest in mature pine with low understory vegetation (<1.5m); forage in pine and pine hardwood stands > 30 years of age, preferably > 10" dbh | Reduction of older age pine stands and encroachment of hardwood midstory in older age pine stands due to fire suppression |
Wood
stork Mycteria americana | E | E | Primarily feed in fresh and brackish wetlands and nest in cypress or other wooded swamps | Decline due primarily to loss of suitable feeding habitat, particularly in south Florida. Other factors include loss of nesting habitat, prolonged drought/flooding, raccoon predation on nests, and human disturbance of rookeries. |
Reptile | ||||
Eastern indigo snake Drymarchon corais couperi | T | T | During winter, den in xeric sandridge habitat preferred by gopher tortoises; during warm months, forage in creek bottoms, upland forests, and agricultural fields | Habitat loss due to uses such as farming, construction, forestry, and pasture and to overcollecting for the pet trade |
Gopher tortoise
Gopherus polyphemus | No Federal Status | T | Well drained, sandy soils in forest and grassy areas; associated with pine overstory, open understory with grass and forb groundcover, and sunny areas for nesting | Habitat loss and conversion to closed canopy forests. Other threats include mortality on highways and the collection of tortoises for pets. |
Fish | ||||
Robust redhorse Moxostoma robustum | No Federal Status | E | Medium to large rivers with shallow to deep flowing moderately swift water. | |
Plant | ||||
Buckthorn Sideroxylon thornei | No Federal Status | E | Oak flatwoods where soil normally is saturated for long periods after floods/heavy rain (i.e., calcareous swamps; woods bordering cypress ponds) | |
Georgia plume Elliottia racemosa | No Federal Status | T | Sand ridges, dry oak ridges, evergreen hammocks, and sandstone outcrops in a variety of sandy soil conditions ranging from moist to very dry | |
Ocmulgee skullcap Scutellaria ocmulgee | No Federal Status | T | Forested
terraces, hardwood slopes and riverbanks of tributaries to the Ocmulgee, Oconee,
and Savannah Rivers | |
Relict trillium Trillium reliquum | E | E | Hardwood forests; in the Piedmont, found in either in rich ravines or adjacent alluvial terraces with other spring-flowering herbs | Logging, road construction, agricultural conversion, mining, residential/industrial development, and encroachment by Japanese honeysuckle and kudzu |