They and other Shorebird Alliance member properties comprise 79,709 acres that have been included within the landscape designation. Simons Island, Cannon’s Point Preserve and Musgrove Preserve on St. Fish and Wildlife Service Savannah Coastal Refuges Complex, Little Cumberland Island, Little St. The nomination was backed by a number of Georgia Shorebird Alliance member organizations including Cumberland Island National Seashore, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife’s Savannah River Complex said the agency recognizes “the value of Georgia’s diverse habitats for protecting humans and wildlife.” Fish and Wildlife Service.Ĭhuck Hayes of the U.S. There were a number of partners involved in the nomination including the U.S. “Georgia is both a stopover site and a winter designation,” while some species use the barrier islands as nesting grounds, he said. There are 52 species of shorebirds in North America, and some that nest far north in the tundra spend winter in Georgia while others pass through on their flights to the Caribbean or even as far as the southern tip of South America, Winn said. The designation shows that Georgia is doing the right thing for shorebirds and everyone should take pride in that, he said. It’s a recognition of the significance of that barrier island landscape,” he said of the designation. The area also experiences one of the largest spring gatherings of wimbrel in North America, the announcement said.īrad Winn formerly headed the Georgia Department of Natural Resources non-game species program in Brunswick now works for Manomet, a small conservation organization in Plymouth, Mass. The stopover population of red knots migrating south has been estimated at 23,400 birds while up to 13,775 of the birds have been documenting using the area as they migrate north, 100 Miles said.Īlso, the area hold more than 10 percent of the population of the American Oystercatcher and black-bellied plovers have been recorded in midwinter counts as high as 10,364 and the short-billed dowitcher at a maximum high count of 14,608, according to a joint announcement from 100 Miles and WHSRN. Georgia’s barrier islands are known to support more than 30 percent of the population of red knots and the Great Lakes breeding population of piping plovers, 100 Miles said. The designation came only after some supporting studies. “Today’s announcement confirms to the rest of the world what we in Georgia already know: Our 100 miles are a wonder of the world, worthy of our pride and deserving of our protection,” said Megan Desrosiers, CEO of 100 Miles. Last month, the council unanimously approved the nomination. The Georgia Shorebird Alliance and 100 Miles submitted the nomination to the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network Council and “shepherded it through the months-long process, 100 Miles said. One Hundred Miles said the designation connects Georgia’s coast with 99 other sites in 14 countries and with numerous landowners and other steward committed to conserving shorebirds and their habitats. Language is no barrier, however, to the shorebirds that migrate along the coasts of nations in the Western Hemisphere. “Because it goes out to the Americas, it had to be translated into Spanish,” she said. The Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network, or WHSRN, voted in October to designate Georgia’s chain of coastal islands its 100th site for recognition, said 100 Miles, a coastal conservation organization.Īlice Keyes, 100 Miles’ vice president of Coastal Conservation, said the announcement of the designation was held back a week because of some language issues. | An international shorebird conservation network designated Georgia’s barrier islands a landscape of hemispheric importance for shorebirds that fly between North and South America.
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