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Georgia Conservation Projects

	POCKET WILDLIFE AREA PROVIDES BIG WILDLIFE VIEWING OPPORTUNITIES Wildlife watchers at Georgia’s Chattahoochee National Forest have another opportunity for viewing waterfowl, songbirds, deer, and rabbits, thanks to support from Wildlife Forever. A shallow pond was constructed at the Pocket Wildlife Interpretive Area, which includes a self-guided hiking trail. Interpretive signs guide visitors, who hike the trail to view a variety of wildlife and habitat types. A popular area with campers and picnickers, the project gives them the opportunity to better understand nature through the information provided on the trail.
	DUCKS OVER GEORGIA The skies over Augusta, Georgia have more wood ducks, thanks to Wildlife Forever’s purchase of materials and supplies to build more than 500 wood duck boxes. Western red cedar and treated 4x4-inch posts were purchased to support the boxes. All structures had 36-inch diameter metal predator guards installed to protect the ducks and their nests. Several civic groups were involved in building and installing the boxes, including the Boys Scouts, Special Olympics participants, and a local basketball team. The structures were installed in Richmond County, along Augusta Canal, around the Merry Brothers Brickyard Ponds, and at state wildlife management areas in Georgia.
	WATERFOWL RESEARCH STUDY ON SPECIES HYBRIDIZATION The genetics of Mottled and Florida ducks in the South Atlantic Coastal Zone are being studied with support from Wildlife Forever. Biologists from the University of Georgia's Warnell School of Forest Resources are working with duck hunters to investigate the genetic variablility and level of gene flow within a population of Mottled ducks introduced to South Carolina in the mid-1970s. The researchers are seeking to detect hybridization between original and introduced duck populations and other differences between the introduced and natural populations using tissue from ducks harvested by hunters in South Carolina and Georgia. Understanding the genetic structure of introduced Mottled ducks will aid conservation efforts towards maintenance of pure Florida Mottled ducks, and help determine the broader impacts of species introduction on native populations.