1,600 trees for Savannah

– Jan. 10, 2023 –

Good morning! We’re taking a look today at a program that promises to train arborists and bring the benefits of trees to Savannah’s neediest neighborhoods. And with Georgia lawmakers back in action, we examine bills about protecting the Okefenokee and proving private ownership of salt marsh. For an unusual read, dive into the “Jaws-dropping” link about how a Florida shark regrew its injured fin.

Questions, tips or concerns? Send me a note at mary.landers@thecurrentga.org

Where trees are most needed

Savannah is known for its trees, but the city’s poorer neighborhoods are typically less leafy than affluent ones. A program funded by a $1 million grant from the Georgia Forestry Commission to the Savannah Tree Foundation aims to plant trees in these marginalized communities where they’re needed most. The nonprofit also aims to build capacity by training arborists from these same communities, as The Current’s Mary Landers reports.

The goal of planting 1,600 trees over the next four years won’t make up for the tree canopy loss Chatham County now experiences, estimated as the equivalent of three football fields a day. It’s no silver bullet, said STF Executive Director Zoe Rinker.

“What STF can focus on is improving microclimates for the communities that are currently most impacted by urban heat island effect and the negative impacts of lacking tree canopy,” she said.

Read the full story here.

Savannah's tree-covered squares help cool the city. — Savannah’s tree-covered squares help cool the city.

Marsh issues debated

Georgia’s salt marsh is getting attention on several fronts. As Emily Jones of WABE/Grist reports, Coastal Georgia regulators are proposing a regulatory change that advocates worry would make it easier to build near the marsh. Those advocates are calling for a pause in the rulemaking to allow formation of a stakeholder group to address the issue. Read the article here.

In the legislature, the House Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on HB 370 on Thursday. The bill, introduced last year and sponsored by Rep. Jesse Petrea (R-Savannah), seeks to make it easier and quicker to prove private ownership of salt marsh for parcels that trace back to a King’s grant from the colonial era or to a land grant issued later by the state of Georgia.

Proponents, including Savannah’s Dr. Jerry Williams, argue they need clear title to be able to use their marsh land, in some cases after paying property taxes on it for decades, to produce income through wetlands mitigation programs. Opponents, including One Hundred Miles, say shifting the burden of proof away from landowners and to the state would force Georgia to “to make irreversible decisions in an unreasonably short period of time (180 days).”

Marshland as seen from the air on Tybee Island. A new planned levee will cover 1,200 feet of marsh, replacing a culvert that is impeding water flow and causing erosion across the marsh, according to Sen. Jon Ossoff's office. — Marshland as seen from the air on Tybee Island. Credit: Resilient Tybee

Okefenokee bill tries again

A bill before the state legislature, House Bill 71, seeks to protect the Okefenokee by banning new mining permits within the area. Although it didn’t advance last year, lead sponsor Darlene Taylor, R-Thomasville, said she’s optimistic this time, stating that the proposed Okefenokee Protection Act has support because many Georgians love the swamp, as Emily Jones of WABE/Grist reports.

“It’s a natural wonder of the world,” Taylor said. “It’s very beautiful … there’s no other place like it, and it’s important that we preserve that.”

The bill would only stop future mines or expansions, not those already applying for permits, namely that of Alabama-based Twin Pines Minerals. That permit application, which state regulators continue to review, drew tens of thousands of critical comments last year from Okefenokee supporters across the state and country. Also new since the bill was first filed, the U.S. Department of the Interior in September gave the go-ahead for the refuge to apply to become a United Nations World Heritage Site.

The bill has received bipartisan support from 91 cosponsors, but Twin Pines has impressive numbers, too, with at least 11 lobbyists registered as of Tuesday.

A bobcat crosses a boardwalk at the Okefenokee Swamp. Credit: Justin Taylor/The Current

Also noted:

• Tuesday’s severe weather had us thinking about high performance rain gear. Most of the best water-repellent clothing gets its ability to shed rain from PFAS, a category of “forever” chemicals that is being phased out of production due to health and environmental concerns. “The Quest to Ban the Best Raincoats in the World” in Heat Map tells how the big outdoor companies like Patagonia are going PFAS free.

• The invasive Cuban treefrog, with its big sticky toe pads, has captured the media spotlight for the last few weeks with articles in publications including The Augusta Chronicle and Southern Living. The amphibians’ penchant for dining on other frogs has earned it the moniker of “cannibal” frog, but eating their own is a pretty common frog behavior. And Cuban treefrogs aren’t new to Georgia, with sightings going back to the early 2000s. The Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health at the University of Georgia developed a website to map invasives, including these frogs, here.

• “I set out to investigate where silky sharks travel − and by chance documented a shark’s amazing power to regenerate its sabotaged fin.” In this piece in The Conversation, shark scientist Chelsea Black relates her unlikely discovery of a shark in Florida regrowing its dorsal fin. It’s only the second time scientists have documented such regeneration in sharks.

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