Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 12A PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS THURSDAY. DECEMBER 1.2022
Georgia’s smooth coneflowers a milestone for conservation
Ga. DNR press release
After more than 25 years
of work by conservationists,
the imperiled smooth cone-
flower has reached a recov
ery milestone: a downlisting
from endangered to threat
ened under the federal En
dangered Species Act.
Project partners initially
weren’t sure they would suc
ceed, said Lisa Kruse, senior
botanist with the Georgia De
partment of Natural Re
sources. ‘‘But we were
determined to make as much
of a difference as we could.
The downlisting signals that
the coneflower is actually re
covering in the landscape.”
Smooth coneflower is a
purple-blooming wildflower
with hula skirt-like petals
found in small enclaves in
the Southeast, from Georgia
through the Carolinas and
into Virginia. In Georgia,
thanks to the exhaustive ef
forts of partners including the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Serv
ice, U.S. Forest Service,
DNR, the State Botanical
Garden of Georgia and At
lanta Botanical Garden, the
plant has gained a stronger
foothold on Currahee Moun
tain, part of the Chatta
hoochee National Forest near
Toccoa.
Even during the best of
times, smooth coneflower
would have been confined to
a few pockets in north Geor
gia. The flower has adapted
to survive in the rocky, min
eral heavy of soil of pine-
oak-hickory woodlands.
However, fire played an es
sential role.
The suppression of fires
since the early 20th century
led to the rare plant becom
ing scarcer. Smooth cone
flower thrives in open, sunlit
areas. Regular fires, whether
from naturally occurring
sources such as lightning
strikes or from bums set by
Native Americans, helped
create and maintain these
openings. As those fires be-
>sWdefense~9>
KRUGER
EC9S
9mm
; 3.17’Barrel ;
< 7+1 Can ■
$259.95
RED DOT SIGHT!
sig sauer
NEVER SETTLE
R0ME95
1x20mm
2M0A
Takes CR2032
batteries
$139.95
.'iiiviaiiii.'iro
photo/Ga. DNR
Botanists, land managers and government agencies col
laborating to save rare plants, developed a plan to grow
smooth coneflower in protected gardens, restore the habitat
and return the plants to natural sites gradually. They are
optimistic about the future of this wildflower.
came less common, the tree
canopies began to close in,
blocking sunlight from the
forest floor and choking out
smooth coneflower, which is
not a vigorous competitor in
the shade.
Botanists realized that a
creative approach was
needed for smooth cone-
flower to survive. Combining
the experience of land man
agers, ecologists and
botanists, the Georgia Plant
Conservation Alliance, a net
work focused on saving rare
plants, developed a plan to
grow smooth coneflower in
protected gardens, restore the
habitat and return the plants
to natural sites to gradually
build populations.
“Being consistent with pe
riodic prescribed fires at the
landscape-scale on a three-
year rotation has been critical
to restoring habitat for this
species,” explained Mike
Brod, Forest Service staff of
ficer for fire and natural re
sources. “We found that
prescribed fire coupled with
the manual cutting of com
peting vegetation is needed
for the plant to thrive. We
have been implementing
these restoration treatments
on (Chattahoochee National
Forest) for more than 20
years and are continuing to
see these populations ex
pand.”
Beginning in about 2005,
partners began thinning trees,
using herbicides on targeted
plants and conducting con
trolled burns to open what
were once sunnier sites. The
transformation to an open
woodland took time.
THE LODGE
AT STEPHENS LAKE
Botanists also began prop
agating the plant in botanical
gardens. Unlike other rare
plants, this process for
smooth coneflower is rela
tively easy, said Heather
Alley, program manager at
the State Botanical Garden in
Athens. But the work re
quires care. Botanists gath
ered a diverse pool of genetic
material to propagate the
plant and preserve the limited
genetics of existing wild pop
ulations.
The result in Georgia is
that smooth coneflower has
expanded from a few isolated
patches of individual plants
to stable populations. That
recovery has been powered
by the collaboration, commu
nication and continuity of
conservationists, a partner
ship facilitated largely by the
Georgia Plant Conservation
Alliance. This group of 54
parks, agencies, academic in
stitutions, utility companies
and environmental organiza
tions is engaged in plant re
covery projects including 112
species, 29 of them federally
listed.
Carrie Radcliffe, conser
vation partnerships manager
at Atlanta Botanical Garden,
said the success is built on re
lationships within the al
liance “and leverages the
expertise and skills of each
partner organization in
volved.” “This work is syner
gistic and amounts to much
more than the sum of each in
dividual institution's effort."
Jennifer Ceska, conservation
coordinator at the State
Botanical Garden at the Uni
versity of Georgia, described
that synergy between GPCA
members as “remarkable.”
“Partners show up and work
hard on behalf of imperiled
plant species year after year
for decades,” Ceska said.
“While smooth coneflower
has been downlisted, these
partners will continue their
work.”
The struggle for the
smooth coneflower isn’t
over. The wildflower is one
of 14 plant species targeted in
a federal Recovery Challenge
grant that is helping fund
work by DNR and partners.
Yet the progress is signifi
cant. When listed as endan
gered in 1992, there were 21
smooth coneflower popula
tions, all considered vulnera
ble and unstable. Now there
are 44 distinct populations,
16 of which - including the
one at Currahee Mountain -
are healthy and on protected
lands.
Mincy Moffett, a Fish and
Wildlife Service biologist
who has worked with the
plant since the start of the
conservation effort, is cau
tiously optimistic.
“This is a remarkable
achievement highlighting not
only the power partnerships,
but also the creativity, flexi
bility and dogged persever
ance necessary for success,”
Moffett said. “Conservation
threats are endless. So too
must be our conservation ef
forts and vigilance.”
Fruit Favorites Gift Box
Call 1-855-534-9031 to order item 296X
or Visit HaleGroves.com/H3YF80
* Only $24.99 (reg. $37.99) plus $7.99 shipping and handling per pack to
48 contiguous states. Some restrictions may apply. Limit 5 boxes per customer.
IC: H3YF80
Jasper's Newest & Finest Senior Living Community
INDEPENDENT LIVING ASSISTED LIVING MEMORY CARE
MEET THE
TEAM
who will be
caring for
your
family!
200 Mountain Blvd South | www.TheLodgeAtStephensLake.com
706-307-4330
*must deposit by Dec. is, 2022,
and move in within 30 days of
community opening.