Charles Harrold Preserve

Why You Should Visit    
This preserve protects two unique habitats: a sandhill community dominated by wiregrass, scrub oaks and longleaf pines, and a mixed flatwoods / alluvial swamp habitat.  To early travelers in the southeastern coastal plain, the vast expanse of wiregrass interspersed with tall, straight pines resembled "barrens."  Rooted amid the clumps of wiregrass are many rare and endemic plants, including the state-threatened Georgia plume.

Location
Chandler County, near Metter

Size
73 acres

Conditions
Sandhill community / swamp habitat

How to Prepare for Your Visit
The Nature Conservancy welcomes visits to the preserve, however, visitors must contact the Georgia Field Office in advance to inform them of the trip. There is one permanent trail about 200 yards long, which runs next to the Georgia plume site. Contact Michelle Cable at (404) 253-7213 or email mcable@tnc.org for further details and directions.

What to See: Plants
The Georgia plume, a primitive member of the heath family, is thought to have existed for around 70 million years. Approximately 50 populations of the plant exist, all of them in Georgia, and the Charles Harrold Preserve was the first place where the Georgia plume was protected. Georgia plume is a deciduous shrub that grows to the size of a small tree. It puts out clustered white flowers in late June and July and exhibits bright orange-red foliage in autumn. An unusual aspect of this plant is that around 80 percent of its population are sterile, although the plant is able to reproduce asexually from the roots. There are no documented sightings of seedlings in the wild. Several other beautiful plants, including the silky camellia, also occur on the preserve.

© Keith Lazelle

What to See: Animals
The sandhill community is home to a small population of the rare gopher tortoise, a species listed as threatened in Georgia.  A 1989 census of the gopher tortoise population on the preserve revealed 60 burrows, of which 25 showed evidence of recent activity.   Seven species of fish are found in Stockinghead Creek, which runs along the property line, and turtles, snakes, lizards, salamanders, and frogs all contribute to the diversity of the area. Thirty-seven species of birds have been observed on the preserve.

Why the Conservancy Selected This Site  
Established in the 1930s, Charles Harrold Preserve was the first ecological preserve in Georgia, and one of the first in the country.  Its importance within the Fifteenmile Creek and Canoochee River watershed continues to this day.

What the Conservancy Has Done/Is Doing
The Nature Conservancy periodically monitors the large population of endemic Georgia plume shrubs and the small population of gopher tortoises that occupy this preserve.

Additional protection within the Fifteenmile Creek watershed was accomplished in 1990, when a 250-acre conservation easement was donated downstream.  This easement is known as the R.G. Daniell Preserve.