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THURSDAY. NOVEMBER 25. 2021 PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS PAGE 7A
Public’s help needed reporting winter monarch sightings
The public is encouraged to report monarch sightings
from Dec. 1 through March 1.
From Georgia Department from across the Southeast
of Natural Resources’ and Gulf states provided
Wildlife Resources Division more than 5,800 observations
of monarch butterflies. This
We asked and, thankfully, winter, the partnership of uni-
you delivered. Now we need versifies, agencies and other
your help again. organizations called Mon-
Last winter, volunteers archs Overwintering in
Southeastern States is re
questing the public’s contin
ued involvement in reporting
sightings.
Sonia Altizer, a University
of Georgia ecology professor
and director of Project
Monarch Health, said the in
formation can help scientists
determine if these iconic but
declining butterflies “can
overwinter as non-breeding
adults in the southern U.S.
and how this might affect fu
ture population numbers.”
The monitoring will also help
document how winter-breed
ing activity might be affect
ing the annual migration to
Mexico.
Understanding migration
and overwintering behavior
is crucial to conserving mon-
archs, a candidate for listing
under the Endangered
Species Act.
Thousands of monarchs
stream across the South each
fall on their way to wintering
grounds in central Mexico. In
the spring, this eastern popu
lation of the butterfly returns
to the U.S. and Canada to
breed.
But not all monarchs mi
grate to Mexico. Volunteer
observations over the past
O'NeiLL OUTDOORS
By O'NEILL WILLIAM!
Driving during the
Whitetail Season
{O’Neill’s column appears
twice monthly in the
Progress, generally in the
first and third weeks of a
month.}
The following
column/recommendations
were generally gleaned per
sonally from communica
tions I've received from the
Georgia Department of Nat
ural Resources in preparation
for the Fall Whitetail Deer
Hunting season. It will serve
you well whether you're a
hunter or not.
If you are driving a car or
truck, knowing or being re
minded of the follow may
just save the life of a deer and
possibly severe damage to
your vehicle. So
Watch out for deer on
and near roads during the
fall season. Why during fall?
This time of year is peak deer
activity season, according to
the Georgia Department of
Natural Resources’ Wildlife
Resources Division.
“Motorists should be alert
and pay close attention to
roadsides as we are nearing
the annual peak time of year
for deer movement,” said
Charlie Killmaster, state deer
biologist with DNR’s
Wildlife Resources Division.
“Keep in mind that deer often
travel in groups, so if a deer
crosses the road ahead of you
there is a good chance that
another will follow. In many
cases, that second deer is the
one hit as the driver assumes
the danger has passed and
fails to slow down.”
There are two main rea
sons why drivers may see
more deer along roads in the
fall:
• Mating Season - Deer
mating season occurs be
tween October and late De
cember, depending on the
geographic location in the
state. Male deer go into “rut”
and begin actively searching
for mates. This behavior re
sults in a massive increase in
deer movement, bringing
them across roadways.
• Time Changes - As we
begin to “fall back” for day
light savings time, our days
become shorter and nights
become longer. Rush hour for
most commuters tends to fall
during the same hours in
which white-tailed deer are
most active - dawn and dusk.
Driving tips
• Deer Are Unpre
dictable: Always remember
deer are wild and, therefore,
can be unpredictable. A deer
calmly standing on the side
of a road may bolt into or
across the road rather than
away from it when startled
by a vehicle. A Whitetail deer
doesn't know what a car is
nor if it's a danger to them.
What you're being exposed to
is a Doe being chased by a
Buck. Neither is remotely
concerned about your car.
• One Deer Usually
Means More: Always take
caution and slow down when
a deer crosses the road in
front of you. Deer usually
travel in groups, so it is likely
that others will follow.
• Time of Day: As deer
are most active at dawn and
dusk, they are typically seen
along roads during the early
morning and late evening -
the same times most people
are commuting to and from
work.
• Time of Year: While
deer-car collisions can occur
at any time of year, the fall
breeding season is a peak
time for such accidents. Dur
ing the fall breeding season,
deer movement increases and
this often brings them in con
tact with roadways that cross
their natural habitats.
Road shoulders generally
provide beneficial food
plants both during extremely
dry times of the year and fol
lowing a long, hard winter.
Deer are attracted to these
plants in late-winter, early
spring and late summer.
Georgia’s deer rat map
(http://georgiawildlife.eom/r
ut-map) is an excellent tool
for motorists to determine
local peaks in deer move
ment. Drivers should be es
pecially wary of deer during
these time periods.
• Minimize Damage: If it
is too late to avoid a collision,
drivers are advised to slow
down as much as possible to
minimize damage - resist the
urge to swerve to avoid the
deer, as this may cause fur
ther damage, sending drivers
off the road or causing a col
lision with another vehicle.
There you are. I under
stand from the GA DNR that
approximately 1,000,000 live
in Georgia. At peak times,
you'll have encounters. Be
watchful.
O'Neill Williams, born in At
lanta, is host of O'Neill Outside,
which reaches 277,000,000sub
scriber households weekly on
FOX Sports Southeast and oth
ers. His "O'Neill Outside" radio
broadcasts are heard via WSB
Radio. "O'Neill Outside" radio
is the #1 outdoor based live
radio talk show in the country.
Find out more or contact him
at ONeillOutside.com.
O’Neill advises caution on the road, as killing a big deer
by vehicle is dangerous to motorists and expensive with re
pairs.
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THE PLACE FOR SENIOR LIVING ADVICE
two decades have helped sci
entists better understand how
and why some monarchs
breed throughout the winter
in the southern U.S. Scattered
reports also suggest that
some monarchs can overwin
ter in coastal regions in a
non-breeding state, similar to
their wintering behavior in
Mexico.
The goal this winter is to
collect more data for a grow
ing partnership that has ex
panded to include
organizations such as Florida
Natural Areas Inventory and
the North Carolina Natural
Heritage Program.
Gabriela Garrison of the
North Carolina Wildlife Re
sources Commission said the
monarch is a species of great
est conservation need in
North Carolina’s Wildlife Ac
tion Plan, as in the action
plans of many other states.
“So monitoring overwinter
ing populations and learning
more about their behavior is
critical.”
The public is encouraged
to report monarch sightings
from Dec. 1-March 1 in
North Carolina, South Car
olina, Georgia, Florida, Ala
bama, Mississippi, Louisiana
and Texas.
Observations are entered
in Journey North’s online
data portal, where they are
transformed into real-time
mapping visualizations of
monarch migration and
breeding. Journey North is an
organization designed to en
gage people across North
America in tracking wildlife
migration and seasonal
change.
Program coordinator
Nancy Sheehan said the pub
lic has a long history of being
a part of scientific discover
ies. “Journey North is excited
to provide a platform for en
gaging citizen scientists in
this targeted monitoring ef
fort.”
Susan Meyers, cochair of
Monarchs Across Georgia
agreed. “Volunteers are vital
to this effort. If you enjoy
being outdoors and exploring
your local ecosystem, this is
an easy activity that can be
done alone or with your fam
ily.”
Wildlife biologist Anna
Yellin of the Georgia Depart
ment of Natural Resources
said project partners are
grateful to all who reported
sightings last winter. “When
we come together as a com
munity as we have with this
effort, we stand a better
chance of protecting the
monarch butterfly for future
generations.”
HOW TO TAKE PART
Step 1: Create a free account
at journeynorth.org/reg.
Step 2: Learn how to report
monarch sightings at jour-
neynorth.org/monarchs.
Step 3: From Dec. 1-March
1, submit monarch observa
tions at
journeynorth.org/sightings.
Piedmont
MOUNTAINSIDE
From the Desk of Denise Ray
President and Chief Executive Officer
It brings me great pleasure to announce that, for the 13th
consecutive grading period, Piedmont Mountainside Hospital
has earned an 'A' forThe Leapfrog Group's Fall 2021 Leapfrog
Hospital Safety Grade.The designation recognizes Piedmont
Mountainside's efforts in protecting patients from harm and
providing safer health care.
Earning this grade from The Leapfrog Group demonstrates
our commitment to patient safety as we provide high-quality,
patient-centered care. Each member of our team played a role
in earning this designation. I'd like to thank you all for your
dedication to patient safety and consistently seeking ways to
improve. I believe that awards like this give all of our patients,
employers, and visitors in the community a great level of con
fidence in the care that they receive at this hospital.
Developed under the guidance of a national expert panel, the
Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade uses nearly 30 measures of
publicly available hospital safety data to assign grades to more
than 2,600 U.S. acute-care hospitals twice per year. The Hos
pital Safety Grade's methodology is peer-reviewed and fully
transparent, and the results are free to the public.
It is an honor to have earned this distinction once again and
I believe it truly reflects the high quality, and safe, patient-cen
tered care we consistently provide to the community. Pied
mont's purpose is to make a positive difference in every life
we touch and that starts with keeping our patients, visitors,
and staff safe.
With sincere thanks and gratitude,
Sincerely,
Denise Ray,
CEO, Piedmont Mountainside Hospital