ARK members take field trip to
Ohoopee Dunes

The Ohoopee Dunes ecosystem was formed by windblown sand deposited on the banks of the Ohoopee River 20,000 years ago during the late Pleistocene Age. The unique humid desert-like environment, also referred to as sand hill or sand ridge, stretches along the river in Tatnall and Emanual counties for a distance of 35 miles, covering some 40,000 acres.

The area’s plant communities are diverse and the nutrient-poor soil is carpeted with clumps of lichens, mosses, long leaf pines, twisted stunted turkey oaks, and other scrubby oak. One of the more unusual elements in the area is sandhill rosemary, an aromatic shrub that should be in bloom at the time of the walk adding both color and aroma to the landscape. The perennial is protected in Georgia and designated by the state as endangered, threatened, or rare.

The environment is also home to 98 species of rare and unique wildlife including the threatened Eastern indigo snake and gopher tortoise, and the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker.

We will meet for the tour at 10:00 a.m. near Swainsboro. Guides include one of the state’s foremost botanists and sandhill specialists, Mincy Moffett and Nature Conservancy Land Steward Erick Brown.

Please and make a contribution today to reserve your opportunity to experience this special part of the Altamaha River Watershed. Let us know you want to take a part in the walk and we will fill you in with details of the trip.