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Status of Private Cypress Wetland Forests in Georgia

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Status of Private Cypress Wetland Forests in Georgia STATUS OF PRIVATE CYPRESS WETLAND FORESTS IN GEORGIA Alternatives for Conservation and Restoration ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We thank the United States Environmental Protection Agency for funding this project, and especially, Jennifer Derby and Tom Welborn for their dedication to conserving Georgia’s cypress resources. We are also grateful to Richard Harper, Jeffery Turner, and Tony Johnson of the U.S. Forest Service, Forest Inventory and Analysis, for their invaluable assistance and train- ing in the retrieval and analysis of the agency’s forest trend data. We thank the Riverkeepers of the Altamaha, Ogeechee, Satilla, and Savannah Rivers for their important contributions to this project. In addition, we wish to express our apprecia- tion to James Holland, the Altamaha Riverkeeper, for the many hours he spent arranging the Wilkinson County case study site visits and working with us in the field to document site conditions. We are grateful to the landowners of the Wilkinson County site for allowing us to evaluate their property and to Mr. Wyndell Berryhall for his assistance in the field. We also wish to thank all those who provided thoughtful review and comments on drafts of this report: Richard Harper, John Greis, Mark Brown, and Tony Johnson of the U.S. Forest Service; Rhett Jackson, Professor of Hydrology, Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Georgia; Frank Green and James Johnson, Georgia Forestry Commission; James Jeter, Ala- bama Forestry Commission; Hughes Simpson, Texas Forest Service; John Swords, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; and Shaun Blocker, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The Southern Environmental Law Center is a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting the health and environment of the Southeast (Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia). Founded in 1986, SELC’s team of 40 legal experts represent more than 100 partner groups on issues of climate change and energy, air and water quality, forests, the coast and wetlands, transportation, and land use. Authors: Laura Fabrizio, Southern Environmental Law Center, William Conner, Clemson University, Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, Baruch Institute of Coastal Ecology and Forest Science, and Bill Sapp, Southern Environmental Law Center, Se- nior Attorney Contributors: Chris DeScherer, Adam Kron, and Kathleen Sullivan GIS Analysis and Maps: Jovian Sackett and David Lewis Graphic Design: Ami Somers Funded by: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Cover photo by Craig Tanner (www.TMElive.com) For more information about SELC, please visit our web site or contact: Southern Environmental Law Center The Candler Building 127 Peachtree Street, Suite 605 Atlanta, GA 30303-1840 Phone 404-521-9900 Fax 404-521-9909 SouthernEnvironment.org Limited Grant of License: Community organizations, other nonprofit institutions and government agencies may make and distribute reproductions of this report for noncommercial, educational purposes. All such copies must include notice of copy- right and license. All other rights reserved. STATUS OF PRIVATE CYPRESS WETLAND FORESTS IN GEORGIA Alternatives for Conservation and Restoration TABLE OF CONTENTS REPORT SUMMARY 2 CHAPTER 1: THE IMPORTANCE OF CYPRESS FORESTS 6 Georgia’s Coast and Its Cypress Resource 6 Cypress Forests and Their Various Types 6 The Future of Georgia’s Cypress Forests 8 CHAPTER 2: CYPRESS STATUS AND TRENDS 9 Data Analyses 9 Forest Service Timber Product and Output 14 GIS Analysis 15 Local Cypress Trends 17 Case Study Site Investigation 22 CHAPTER 3: THE MULTIPLE CAUSES OF CYPRESS VULNERABILITY 30 Increased Demand for Cypress Mulch 30 Hydrologic Changes 31 Regeneration 32 Coastal Development 32 Conversion to Pine Plantations 33 Other Sources of Loss 34 CHAPTER 4: INSUFFICIENT LEGAL PROTECTION FOR GEORGIA’S CYPRESS FORESTS 35 Federal Clean Water Act Section 404 35 Confusion Over Geographically Isolated Cypress Wetlands 35 Silviculture and Forest Road Exemptions 36 Georgia Forestry Commission and Best Management Practices 36 Georgia’s Floodplain BMPs 36 Protection Under the Floodplain BMPs 37 Current Wetland BMPs 37 Forested Wetlands BMPs Needed 38 Other Georgia Forestry Commission Programs 39 CHAPTER 5: ACTIONS NEEDED TO ENSURE CYPRESS SUSTAINABILITY 40 Monitoring and Research 40 Consumer Awareness and Market Practices 4 1 Technical Training and Certifications 4 1 Best Management Practices 4 1 Regulation and Enforcement 4 1 Cypress Resource Alliance 42 REPORT SUMMARY STUDY GOALS AND APPROACH Scientific Literature Review and Case Study Findings Georgia’s coastal plain is home to a wide array of The existing scientific literature and the case study we cypress-dominated wetland ecosystems. Some cypress conducted reveal that we should be concerned about the long- wetlands are found in broad flood plains along rivers, term health of cypress ecosystems in Georgia. Many of the while others are located in small depressions, scattered concerns described below warrant immediate attention. throughout the coastal plain. Wherever cypress ecosys- • Regeneration. Cypress forests are rarely replanted after tems are found, they perform valuable functions. These they are harvested. Foresters generally believe that cypress ecosystems capture and store floodwaters, buffer storm trees will regrow from stump sprouts. As the scientific surges, provide habitat to fish and wildlife, and facilitate literature and our case study reveal, however, stump groundwater recharge. Additionally, these areas provide sprouts are not a reliable form of cypress regeneration and recreational opportunities for sight-seeing, boating, in many cases cypress needs to be replanted to ensure re- birding, hunting, and fishing. And, if managed correctly, growth. certain cypress ecosystems can be a renewable source of • Hydrologic Modifications.Reservoirs, impoundments, high quality commercial wood products. ditches, canals, water withdrawal structures, and outfall Unfortunately, there are numerous threats to Georgia’s structures have altered how water flows across Georgia’s cypress ecosystems. The U.S. Environmental Protec- coastal plain. The need for water supplies to support grow- tion Agency (EPA) funded this study to assess Georgia’s ing metropolitan areas such as Atlanta, Macon and the cypress ecosystems and identify any needed conservation coastal region means the prospect of continued hydro- measures. Specifically, the goals of this study were to 1) logic changes is likely. When these modifications result evaluate the status of private cypress-dominated wet- in prolonged high water levels, cypress seedlings cannot lands in Georgia using existing data; 2) identify any gaps take root. The Georgia Department of Natural Resources in the information needed to characterize this resource has found upstream dams have already impacted cypress and ensure its long-term health; and 3) develop recom- mendations for the conservation and restoration of these ecosystems. Figure 1 The focus of this study was on whether Georgia is los- ing—in quantity and quality—a valuable and irreplace- able ecosystem. The focus was not on whether Georgia is maximizing harvestable cypress timber, but on the conser- vation of cypress forest ecosystems. For instance, mature cypress trees provide important habitat for wildlife. While harvesting old-growth cypress may increase the ecosys- tem’s initial rate of growth, such actions remove habitat that can be lost if cypress regeneration is unsuccessful. KEY STUDY FINDINGS To achieve the goals of this study, we 1) analyzed data on cypress, evaluated a case study site, and considered anecdotal information; 2) evaluated applicable laws, regu- lations, and policies (including forestry Best Management Practices or BMPs); and 3) prepared recommendations designed to increase the protection of cypress ecosystems. We summarize our findings in the sections below: 2 swamps along the Altamaha, Savannah, and Ogeechee National Wetlands Inventory database. We compared Rivers, and as a result, the agency has identified NWI data, which is based on aerial photographs, to Geor- cypress-gum swamps as the number-one priority con- gia Land Use Trends Land Cover of Georgia Data based servation habitat for Georgia’s southern coastal plain.1 on satellite imagery for the period from 1991 to 2005 (See • Development and Insufficient Legal Protection.As Appendix 3). This analysis reveals the following: the economy recovers and more people move to the • Acreage. The cypress ecosystem acreage indentified coast, pressure will increase to fill in cypress swamps to by NWI in Georgia may have suffered a decline of 16 build residential and commercial developments. percent during the period from 1991-2005. We have found that some developers abuse the Clean • Geographically Isolated Wetlands: The appar- Water Act’s (CWA) silviculture permit exemption ent decline includes the loss of more than half of all when they convert cypress forests into developments. geographically isolated cypress wetlands identified by Others are misusing the silviculture exemption by har- NWI data. vesting cypress ecosystems without forest management or other ongoing forestry practices. The CWA silvicul- FIA Data Analysis tural exemption applies only to sites that are sustain- It is important to note limitations to the use of FIA ably managed. We have found that the forestry BMPs data. For some FIA variables such as acreage, estimated are inadequate to ensure cypress harvest sustainability. sampling error percentages are high due to a low number
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