Georgia Power ‘Forestry For Wildlife’ Recognition Is Well Deserved

The recent announcement of Georgia Power as one of four companies honored as DNR’s 2024 Forestry For Wildlife partners should come as no surprise to sportsmen and conservationists in Georgia.

Georgia Power has about 67,000 acres of forest land that primarily serves to buffer operations or provide sites for potential future projects. About half of this is managed for timber production, and these tracts provide valuable conservation benefits for watersheds and biodiversity. They also provide valuable public recreation opportunities.

From hunting opportunities on WMAs like Oconee and Rum Creek to fishing or boating on one of the 15 Georgia Power reservoirs—Burton, Rabun and others in north Georgia, Oconee, Sinclair, Jackson and Juliette in middle Georgia, and Bartletts Ferry, Goat Rock and Oliver on the Chattahoochee River in west Georgia—sportsmen have more touch-points with Georgia Power than most realize.

Jarred Wilcox with a huge 8-point buck he killed during the Rum Creek WMA quota hunt in November of 2023. Rum Creek is one of many Georgia Power properties across the state managed for healthy forests and prime wildlife habitat.

Other areas where Georgia Power efforts benefit the wildlife and habitat in Georgia include:   

• Working to restore longleaf pine and shortleaf pine savannas on company lands. 

• Enhancing opportunities for public hunting, fishing, boating, wildlife watching, and other activities on company lands and lakes.

• Managing gopher tortoise habitat on company lands and Rights of Way (ROW) to contribute to Gopher Tortoise Conservation Initiative and Multi-state Candidate Conservation Agreement population goals. 

• Partnering with the Georgia Plant Conservation Alliance to conserve more than 30 species of rare plants on company lands and ROW, including the only known native population of Georgia alder and Critical Habitat for federally listed Georgia rockcress.

• Participating in Safe Harbor Agreements for red-cockaded woodpeckers on company lands. 

• Providing funding for stewardship grants to enhance sensitive terrestrial and aquatic habitats. 

Last week, Gov. Brian and First Lady Marty Kemp and Georgia Department of Natural Resources leaders recognized four corporate forest landowners for their stewardship and land management practices benefiting wildlife across the state. In addition to Georgia Power, Forest Investment Associates, Weyerhaeuser and PotlatchDeltic were named DNR’s 2024 Forestry for Wildlife partners.

Forestry For Wildlife At A Glance

• Program profile: https://georgiawildlife.com/fwp
• DNR Private Lands initiatives: https://georgiawildlife.com/privatelandsprogram
• DNR Wildlife Conservation Section annual report: https://georgiawildlife.com/conservation/annualreport