State almost done with wildlife audit

COLUMBUS, Ga. - Ever wonder where Georgia's red-cockaded woodpeckers live?

Well, state officials soon will be able to answer that and other wildlife queries, as they near completion of a two-year project to identify every species of plant and animal life in the state.

The Georgia Department of Natural Resources' Wildlife Resources Division recently held the last in a series of statewide public meetings at Columbus State University to discuss plans for its Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy. The program has a three-part goal to identify every species in Georgia that needs to be protected, locate the high-priority areas where those species are found and appropriate funds and resources for protecting those areas.

Officials say they hope to implement the plan by October 2005.

"We want to make sure that no wildlife species and no high-priority areas are being overlooked," said Jon Ambrose of the Wildlife Resources Division. "This is a major undertaking because of the sheer diversity of species in Georgia. But we need to bring all of this information together, so we know which areas need to be protected."

Georgia is one of the most biologically diverse states in the country, according to wildlife officials. It ranks second in number of amphibians, third in number of freshwater fishes, third in number of crayfishes and seventh in number of reptiles.

So far, officials have cataloged more than 40 spreadsheet pages of species and identified dozens of high-priority site maps.

"What they've done so far is compile a lot of information that has been scattered," said Becky Champion, executive director at Columbus State's Oxbow Meadows Environmental Learning Center. "We've got the dots, and now we can start connecting the dots."

Some areas targeted for increased protection include the fringe areas of Fort Benning where the red-cockaded woodpecker is known to make its home, the Piedmont and Southeastern Plains regions. Areas along local creeks and streams also are being impacted by human activity, officials said.