Oftentimes, when I introduce myself as the Georgia Grasslands Coordinator, I am met with a puzzled look that is usually followed by the question, “What is a grassland?” I am always glad to share the truth about Georgia’s landscape. Unfortunately, I usually have to use grasslands outside of our area to illustrate what our landscape would have looked like. Outside of the longleaf pine savanna, many of our grasslands have vanished. Today, we can only see glimpses of what used to be, and those glimpses are often found in utility right-of-ways and roadsides.
Northern bobwhite
Why Do We Care?
Aside from being aesthetically pleasing, grasslands support our native fauna. Did you know that 1/3 of southeastern land vertebrates require or prefer grasslands? These species include the northern bobwhite, golden-winged warbler, and northern pine snake. Many other invertebrate species, such as monarchs and many of our bumble bees, also rely on grasslands. We need to identify our remnant grasslands and work to restore them on behalf of the plants and animals that depend on them.
Butterfly milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa) is a grassland indicator species.
The Search for Our Georgia Grasslands
So where are our Georgia Grasslands? That’s the question that the U.S. Forest Service, our partners at the State Botanical Garden of Georgia at UGA, and SGI have teamed up to answer.
North Georgia historically had a mosaic of habitats ranging from forests to grasslands. This includes the area that makes up the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest. The U.S. Forest Service is committed to altering current management activities in areas of the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest where remnant grasslands are found. The new management activities will restore and promote the grassland plant communities.
However, before restoration work can begin, we need to know exactly where the grassland remnants are located. The U.S. Forest Service has asked us to help locate areas with high restoration potential. Knowing where the remnants are will be step one in restoring Georgia’s grasslands.
Help Us Locate Georgia’s Grassland Remnants
We are utilizing iNaturalist to collect data on plant species that are indicators of remnant grasslands. You can help by joining the Georgia Grasslands Initiative project on iNaturalist. By joining this iNaturalist project and submitting your observations, you will be contributing to our conservation efforts through community science.
Wild quinine (Parthenium integrifolium) is another grassland indicator speceis.
The iNaturalist platform is an amazing tool that makes plant identification accessible, doable, and fun for everyone. While out enjoying nature you simply take photos of the plants that you encounter and upload them to iNaturalist using the phone application. We can then utilize this data to inform management activities on Georgia’s landscape. If you want to learn more about how to use iNaturalist, check out our short BioDiversity Exploration tutorial.
Since this is a new project, we are targeting the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forests and nearby areas this season. We are using the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forests as a test area or pilot project and will use what we learn this season as we expand throughout the state in the future. However, if you live in other areas of Georgia and want to submit observations, that's ok too. Observations of plants that you find in urban, suburban, rural, and natural areas throughout Georgia are all welcome. We just ask that you target the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forests and nearby areas as much as possible with your observations.
This project was funded by the Region 8, Southern Region- US Forest Service office.
Please join the Georgia Grasslands Initiative project on iNaturalist and submit your observations.
ZACH WOOD, GEORGIA GRASSLANDS COORDINATOR
Zach helps land managers, agencies, and individuals in Georgia, Alabama and South Carolina who want to restore and manage native grassland habitats. His position is a partnership between SGI and the State Botanical Garden of Georgia at the University of Georgia.