Sturgeon

State and Federal agencies are embarked on an effort to restore fish spawning migrations on the Altamaha River and its tributaries. As part of this effort, the focus is on the Ocmulgee River and diadromous fish-fish that live part of their lives in salt water and part of their lives in fresh water.

Some species like the American shad and striped bass spawn in riverine habitats, particularly rocky shoals, where well-oxygenated water and rich supplies of food exist for newly hatched larvae and young fish. After growing in the river for a summer, shad migrate downriver to estuaries and then offshore to coastal marine waters. They are known to migrate along the coast and continental shelf northward to feeding grounds off Nova Scotia and the Grand Banks. After a few years the shad return to their native river to spawn, and generally die--thus completing a long, mysterious, and incredible journey. Unlike the shad, southern striped bass generally remain in their natal river and estuary, and refrain from making long coastal migrations.

The Ocmulgee, like other Altamaha tributaries, once had huge annual migrations of diadromous fish that moved up to spawn as far upriver as the Alcovy and Yellow Rivers. Native Americans and early settlers depended on the large migrations of fish for food, and there were large fisheries until over-fishing and construction of dams nearly eliminated the fish runs by the late 19th century. Since then, the fish, the fisheries, and the people that survived on them have largely been forgotten.

Recently, the Department of Natural Resources, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Marine Fisheries Service, and a private dam operator have been working to design a fish passage structure at the East Juliette Dam, in order to pass shad, herring, and striped bass upstream to important former habitats. Experience from other river basins like the Santee, Susquehanna, Connecticut, and Kennebec has shown that fish ladders can help fish get past major dams to safely spawn in habitats that have been blocked for more than a century. This promising effort offers hope that the fish runs will again return to the Ocmulgee.

Rare mint graces the river's banks
By Christine Griffiths, The Nature Conservancy

Along the dry, sandy ridges of the Altamaha River grows a plant so rare it even escaped Bartram's attention during his famed botanical survey of the region.

A herbaceous member of the mint family, the Radford dicerandra (Dicerandra radfordiana) was discovered in 1979 by University of North Carolina graduate student Robin Huck and is now known to exist in only two locations - both in McIntosh County. One of those locations is on International Paper (IP) property.

"We have designated that site as one of our 'Special Places in the Forest,' " said Gary Boyd of International Paper. "We realize that this land is an unique area due to the plant community, and we know it has tremendous value, more than just the timber on it."

An annual plant with narrow leaves and a purplish-pink flower that blooms in the fall, the Radford dicerandra is a type of mint that has a scent similar to cinnamon.

"It's really become a showcase plant for the lower Altamaha watershed," said Nate Thomas, land steward for The Nature Conservancy's Altamaha River Bioreserve project. "With its beautiful flower and its aromatic leaves, the dicerandra has become somewhat symbolic of the more than 120 other rare and endangered plant and animal species that the river system supports."

With funding from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, The Nature Conservancy and IP began a partnership in 1996 to conduct species research and restoration efforts. Currently, the two entities have a management agreement to protect 200 acres of timberland, which encompasses the originally dicerandra population and new populations, which were planted last year.

"Recent cooperative efforts with International Paper to put fire back into the dicerandra's natural community have resulted in a prescribed test burn that will hopefully show results this year on fire adaptability, meaning reproduction, seed production and plant growth," Thomas said.

"The partnership between The Nature Conservancy and International Paper has been crucial to the conservation of the Radford dicerandra," he said. "Our joint efforts have led to the current sustainable population and opened

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The Altamaha River system is habitat for the largest population of Short Nose Sturgeon south of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. Population trends are unknown because the last field studies ended in 1995. Short Nose Sturgeon are long lived with relatively low fecundity (egg production) and are very vulnerable to changes in the river such as:

1. flow alterations
2. change in input to the river from the aquifer
3. point and non-point source pollution

The swallow-tailed kite is the very epitome of graceful and sustained flight; the forked tail, often spread, but frequently opened and closed like scissors, helps in maneuvering. This beautiful bird is usually seen on the wing, coursing over the country at various heights and often doing aerial gymnastics, especially during the breeding season. The swallow-tailed kite nests in the hardwood forests of the Altamaha and is one of the many rare species that call our special watershed home.

The Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Wildlife Resources Division (DNR/WRD) and other supportive organizations and agencies within Georgia and throughout the species range are participating in the Swallow-tailed Kite Initiative (STKI). This ongoing program is funded by nongame wildlife license plate sales and is designed to determine this magnificent bird's distribution, habitat use and long-term management needs.

Currently, the swallow-tailed kite is absent from 95 percent of its former range. It is recognized as a high priority species because its range and numbers have been reduced so drastically. The present known breeding range of this species is limited to just seven states. Swallow-tailed kites are found throughout peninsular Florida and along major river systems of the lower coastal plains of Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas. Yet, it has not been long since this species was found throughout the Mississippi Valley and as far north as Minnesota.

Wildlife biologists believe that the loss of foraging and roosting habitat caused by the conversion of bottomland forests and mature upland forests with large trees for nesting are the major threats to this species. By searching out nests, and conducting surveys, WRD hopes to learn about the swallow-tailed kite's breeding and nesting habitats in order to help conserve the rare species.

"The swallow-tailed kite is a high priority species because their range has been reduced so drastically. We still have much to learn about their distribution and status," said Emily Jo Williams, senior wildlife biologist with WRD's Nongame-Endangered Wildlife Program, who is heading up Georgia's Swallow-tailed Kite Initiative.

The objectives of this ambitious project are to determine the distribution of kites in Georgia, develop a description of habitat needs for nesting, foraging and roosting, develop a census technique for long-term monitoring and develop management recommendations for landowners, explains Williams.
Swallow-tailed kites, known for their extraordinary aerial grace, large 36-inch wingspan and striking black and white coloration, have a unique forked tail that makes them easy to differentiate from other birds of prey. Kites occur in Georgia during the spring and summer, arriving in early March and returning to their wintering grounds in South America in September. Kite nests in Georgia have been seen primarily in very large loblolly pine trees in bottomland forests adjacent to the Altamaha, Canoochee, Crooked, Ogeechee, Satilla, Savannah, South Newport, and St. Mary's Rivers,

Although strikingly distinctive, these graceful birds are secretive when selecting nest sites, primarily using treetops along major river systems, swamps and marshes. Because these wet areas are not easily accessible, in early April WRD biologists search areas along the Altamaha River from a five-story utility bucket provided by Georgia Power, attempting to locate nesting activity. It's not easy to locate the precise areas of densely forested habitat the swallow-tailed kite uses to forage and nest. WRD biologists have been monitoring the Altamaha River and other southeast Georgia rivers where the birds were sighted, but getting an exact fix isn't as easy as it may seem.

"We are extremely fortunate to have use of heavy-duty equipment and qualified drivers, which gives us a better chance to locate a few these rare birds," Williams said. "Reports of kite observations by DNR employees and the public also help us determine areas used by kites." These reports are followed up with surveys by helicopter and canoe.

The first kite nest documented in Georgia was sighted in 1999 with a total of nine nests discovered that year. In 2000, an additional 23 nests were observed, and in 2001, 38 nests were added to the increasing list of swallow-tailed kite nest sites in Georgia. For the first time in 2001, STKI researchers discovered four of the 38 nests in bottomland forest oak trees along the Savannah River and one nest in a cypress tree. These nest locations were found during ground searches in areas that kite sightings were reported by the public and would likely have gone undetected during aerial surveys.

In cooperation with Dr. Ken Meyer, director of the Avian Research and Conservation Institute (ARCI), WRD has been able to determine some of the unknowns of this remarkable bird. The STKI team banded and radio-tagged two juvenile kites near Georgia's Satilla River in June 2000. These birds were later located by ARCI on their wintering grounds in Brazil, verifying that they had chosen Brazil as one of their primary wintering ground roosting sites. In 2001, eight birds were tagged and three were found wintering again in Brazil.

"Tagged birds like those sighted from Georgia are used to help discover large roosts of wintering swallow-tailed kites. Some of the wetland forest roosts that kites depend on are as large as the state of Florida," said Meyer.

Over the last six years, the STKI team has used satellite and VHF telemetry tracking to locate these sites in Brazil where most or all of the U.S. swallow-tailed kite population has been seen wintering. These specific wintering location discoveries may lead to cooperative work agreements with the Brazilian authorities to protect these valuable pieces of land.

Conservation efforts for the Swallow-tailed Kite Initiative were conducted by The Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Wildlife Resource Division with funds provided by the sale of nongame wildlife license plates. WRD has been able to expand its work with the STKI in 2002 due to funding support from the nongame wildlife license tags, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service grants and the Altamaha Partnership comprised of The Nature Conservancy of Georgia, Plum Creek and International Paper.

To help with the protection and conservation of swallow-tailed kites, the public is encouraged to educate themselves to recognize this easy to identify bird and report kite sightings throughout Georgia.

To submit swallow-tailed kite sighting reports or to receive further information on WRD's Swallow-tailed Kite Initiative, please visit the Georgia Ornithological Society's website for a swallow-tailed kite distribution map and STKI observation form: www.gos.org (go to the Species Accounts link), or contact E.J. Williams, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Wildlife Resources Division, Nongame-Endangered Wildlife Program, 116 Rum Creek Drive, Forsyth, Georgia 31029, www.georgiawildlife.com, (478) 994-1438.

The Altamaha Riverkeeper office in Darien has swallow-tailed kite reporting forms and is happy to take information about your kite sightings. You can call them at (912) 437-8164 and ask for Gail Krueger.