– Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024 –
Good morning! We have a critter-heavy newsletter today, with updates about Cumberland’s feral horses, a new invasive insect in Georgia, and the only turtle species to live in the saltmarsh. There’s even a time lapse of a late-emerging monarch butterfly that entered the world with an assist from a dab of super glue.
Questions, tips or concerns? Send me a note at mary.landers@thecurrentga.org
NEWS: ENVIRONMENT
Cumberland horse suit dismissed
Cumberland Island’s feral horses, about 150 or so strong, have a tough time eking out a living on a barrier island dominated by saltmarsh and maritime forest. As they forage, they trample the beach nests of native species including loggerhead sea turtles and piping plovers. Essentially, the horses are bad for Cumberland and Cumberland is bad for the horses. That’s the argument laid out in a April 2023 lawsuit brought by the horses and their advocates against the National Park Service, which administers the Cumberland Island National Seashore. Last week, a federal judge dismissed the suit, but did so while urging federal and state agencies to consider the substance of the complaints, as The Current’s Mary Landers reports.
NEWS: ENVIRONMENT
Home energy efficiency programs
Georgia is launching two new pilot programs offering rebates for home energy efficiency. They’re funded by $220 million from the Inflation Reduction Act, the Biden administration’s landmark climate legislation, as Emily Jones of WABE/Grist reports.
It’s been three years since the passage of the bipartisan infrastructure law, which has also targeted environmental issues, including removing lead pipes from drinking water systems. U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff on Friday listed the upgrades that have been delivered so far. The environmental highlights in the Savannah area include:
$1.2 million to Chatham Area Transit to explore a new electric vehicle micro-transit project — which would provide a reliable, call-a-ride service for Savannah residents to move around their community.
$5.4 million for Chatham Area Transit to purchase electric buses and charging equipment.
$1.5 million to help expedite the cleanup of hazardous materials across high-risk areas in Savannah.
NEWS: ENVIRONMENT
Lanternflies sighted in Georgia
If you see a spotted lanternfly in Georgia, kill it, says Georgia Department of Agriculture Commissioner Tyler J. Harper. Georgia officials last week confirmed a sighting of the invasive species in Fulton County, making the state the 18th in the nation and most southern the pest calls home. Native to East Asia, lanternflies pose a serious risk to the state’s agricultural sector but not to human health, as Leon Stafford of the Georgia Recorder reports.
NEWS: ENVIRONMENT
The other coastal turtle
Loggerhead sea turtles capture a lot of attention in Coastal Georgia. But the coast is also home to diamondback terrapins, the only turtle species that lives in the brackish water of the saltmarsh. Once plentiful, these salad-plate-sized turtles face an array of modern challenges, including drowning in forgotten crab traps and getting flattened by vehicles as the females attempt to lay their eggs on high ground. The Skidaway Audubon Diamondback Terrapin Rescue Project gives terrapins a helping hand by monitoring and protecting their egg clutches, some of which the females lay in the sand traps of Skidaway’s golf courses, where raccoons and other predators otherwise snack on them. For the 2024 season, volunteers collected 757 nests containing 6,387 eggs. With a hatch rate over 90%, the project released 5,781 hatchlings back into the wild this year.
Also noted
- A meeting in Folkston last week drew strong support for a proposed expansion of the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, as Dave Williams of Capitol Beat reports.
- A Pilot Travel Center in Chatham County will pay the Georgia Environmental Protection Division $1,400 and make plans to properly dispose of six 55-gallon drums of unknown, unlabeled oily waste found on the property. Two of the drums appeared to be leaking.
- Take a moment to enjoy a time-lapse video of a monarch butterfly emerging from its chrysalis on Monday in Savannah. The butterfly’s back story involves a dog bath and an unusual use for super glue.
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Judge dismisses Cumberland horses’ lawsuit
A federal judge dismissed a suit brought by horse advocates, but nudged federal and state agencies to listen to the substance of the complaints.
Georgia fruit growers, state agriculture experts on alert for spotted lanternfly sightings
The agency warned farmers, agriculture businesses and homeowners alike that the bug poses a serious risk to the state’s agricultural sector. It does not appear to pose a threat to humans.
Aided by super glue, a butterfly emerges
A time-lapse video shows a monarch butterfly emerging from its chrysalis.
2 Hinesville hotel companies named in federal sex trafficking suits
The federal lawsuits say there was ample evidence to alert two hotel owners in Liberty County that their properties were places where sex traffickers allegedly coerced teenagers into prostitution.
Democratic Georgia lawmaker sets goals for 2025 intended to reduce children’s gun injuries
The recommendations range from vague goals of promoting awareness of mental health to more concrete tasks like creating a government office to research causes of gun violence and a ten-day waiting period for people without weapons carry licenses to buy assault rifles.
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