| Fast Facts |
location
near Lumber City to Darien; 45 minutes south of Savannah
ecoregion
South Atlantic Coastal Plain
project size
1.2 million acres
preserves
Carr’s Island, Cathead Creek, Moody Forest Natural Area
public lands
Moody Forest Natural Area, Hofwyl-Broadfield Plantation State Park; Savannah Ridge, Bullard, Big Hammock, Griffin Ridge, Sansavilla and Paulk’s Pasture wildlife management areas
partners
Georgia Department of Natural Resources, McIntosh Sustainable Environment and Economic Development Initiative, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, International Paper, Plum Creek, Georgia Power Company
conservancy initiatives
Freshwater, Invasive Species
natural events
swallow-tailed kite migration, late July; Radford dicerandra blooms, fall | |
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A local coalition of fishermen, farmers and citizens works to balance economic and environmental needs along what is often called “Georgia’s mightiest river.” |
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Spanish moss at the mouth of the Altamaha.
© Raymond Gehman |
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It would be hard to imagine a more Southern river than the Altamaha, its slow-moving waters creeping through cypress swamps, tidal marshes and abandoned rice fields. Just as it has for more than 20 million years, the Altamaha flows undammed across Georgia to the Atlantic, its watershed covering one-quarter of the state.
Humans first appeared in the basin some 11,000 years ago, and they since have navigated the river in a range of vessels that marks the ages—from dugout cypress canoes, to Spanish galleons in search of gold, to rafts of lumber and tobacco bound for coastal ports. Today fishing boats are more common than cars along some parts of the river, which is crossed only five times by roads and twice by railroads. Alligators still prowl the muddy waters and bald eagles circle overhead, just as they did centuries ago when the Guale people hunted and fished these shores. |
The meandering lower river.
© Peter Essick/Aurora |
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The Altamaha’s wild character makes it a haven for some of the world’s rarest species. Among the longleaf pine forests that flourish above the floodplain is the Moody Forest, the world’s only remaining stand of longleaf pine mixed with blackjack oak. The dry, sandy ridges on the river banks shelter a cinnamon-scented plant called the Radford dicerandra that grows only in |
| two places along the Altamaha, and its waters harbor seven pearly mussel species found nowhere else. | |
The Nature Conservancy has been working to protect the Altamaha River for more than 30 years, combating threats like development, fire suppression and unsustainable fishing and forestry practices. In 1997, we helped organize a community coalition, now a non-profit organization of its own focused on compatible development issues and encouraging a viable economy in the watershed without jeopardizing the health of the river system. With the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, we will comanage the Moody Forest, conducting prescribed burns and longleaf pine restoration and providing educational and recreational opportunities to the public. The Moody Forest partnership is the first public/private land-management agreement in the state of Georgia.
Learn more about The Nature Conservancy's work in Georgia. |
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| Conservation Profile |
targets
red-cockaded woodpecker, gopher tortoise, swallow-tailed kite, eastern indigo snake, longleaf pine wiregrass system
stresses
excessive groundwater/surface water withdrawal, incompatible development practices, invasive species, fire suppression, land conversion for agriculture and silviculture
strategies
promote ecologically compatible land-use practices, protect water supply, engage community, restore ecosystems through fire management, acquire land, secure conservation easements
results
more than 33,000 acres protected; McIntosh Sustainable Environment and Economic Development Initiative created | | | | |
