The Nature Conservancy Expands its Protection of the Chattahoochee Fall Line with the Purchase of 792 Acres

Conservation efforts protect critical forest habitat for state threatened gopher tortoise

Columbus, Ga. — As part of a regional effort to protect the natural diversity of Georgia’s Chattahoochee Fall Line region, The Nature Conservancy recently purchased 792 acres in southeastern Talbot County. Dubbed “Blackjack Crossing,” the property is adjacent to Black Creek, a tributary of the Chattahoochee River, and provides significant habitat for the state threatened gopher tortoise.

“The acquisition of the Blackjack Crossing tract is a landmark success in the conservation of the Chattahoochee Fall Line region,” said Tom Greene, the newly appointed conservation director for The Nature Conservancy in Georgia. “The purchase and long-term protection of this property will help to define our on-going conservation efforts throughout the region.” Formerly the manager of the Conservancy’s Fort Benning project, Greene was instrumental in first identifying the ecological value of the property.

Located seven miles east of Fort Benning, Blackjack Crossing is the first acquisition for The Nature Conservancy’s Chattahoochee Fall Line project and represents a significant expansion of the Conservancy’s ongoing conservation work at Fort Benning.

“Fort Benning has been particularly supportive of our Blackjack Crossing project because it represents a promising addition to gopher tortoise conservation, a responsibility the Army takes seriously,” said Wade Harrison, director of The Nature Conservancy’s Chattahoochee Fall Line project. “We expect to collaborate on similar local projects in the future.”

The Nature Conservancy will manage Blackjack Crossing for the benefit of conservation until it can be sold to a buyer willing to place a conservation easement on the land. In a conservation easement, a landowner voluntarily agrees to sell or donate certain rights associated with his or her property – often the right to subdivide or develop. In turn, a private organization or public agency agrees to hold the right to enforce the landowner's promise not to exercise those rights. A conservation easement is legally binding, whether the property is sold or passed on to heirs.

“Our goal is to find a buyer who appreciates the ecological value of the property and wants to partner with the Conservancy to make a lasting contribution to Georgia’s natural heritage,” said Brant Slay, land protection specialist with The Nature Conservancy’s Chattahoochee Fall Line project. “Conservation easements are an invaluable tool created to protect the diversity of our natural resources while providing property owners tax benefits for conserving their land.”

According to Slay, a conservation easement held by The Nature Conservancy on the Blackjack Crossing property would significantly enhance critical forest land for the gopher tortoise, a species that is being considered for federally listing. While a population of about 50 gopher tortoises is known to exist on the property, further land protection measures could lead to increased numbers.

About Blackjack Crossing
"The fall line sandhills, a unique and highly restricted area in west central Georgia, remains largely unprotected. Once restored, Blackjack Crossing has the potential to support a number of sandhill endemic plant and animal species on a long-term basis," said Bill Birkhead, chair and professor of Biology at Columbus State University. Birkhead has conducted extensive research on this property and was instrumental in the relocation of 20 gopher tortoises to the site in the 1990s.

In addition to supporting a healthy population of gopher tortoises, Blackjack Crossing encompasses a unique mixture of habitat types, including a restored longleaf pine forest and an open seepage bog with the state endangered sweet pitcher plant. Ravines flank the Black Creek tributary which is lined with loblolly pine and a variety of herbaceous plants, such as sphagnum moss and galax.

Protecting the Chattahoochee Fall Line Region
With a growing population and increased development in the region, the Chattahoochee Valley’s future is tied to the health and abundance of the region’s natural resources. From the Chattahoochee River to Pine Mountain to the woods and wetlands surrounding Fort Benning, The Nature Conservancy is working with local landowners and communities in the Chattahoochee Fall Line to conserve and showcase the region’s natural heritage.

Guided by a regional conservation plan, The Nature Conservancy opened an office in downtown Columbus, Georgia, in 2006, in addition to its long-time office at Fort Benning. For more than a decade, The Nature Conservancy has worked with the Army to manage and protect the forest lands that dominates Fort Benning, a refuge for plants and animals which are now rare in other parts of the Chattahoochee Valley.

“Our nation’s military bases are not only training grounds for our armed forces, but they shelter an immense amount of biological diversity,” said Harrison, “The Nature Conservancy’s innovative partnership with the Department of Defense has led to the protection of significant lands outside military bases, expanding ecological management and providing a buffer to ranges and training lands.”

The ecological diversity found at Fort Benning has provided The Nature Conservancy with a strong anchor to expand conservation efforts throughout the Chattahoochee Valley. Continuing to work with private and public landowners, the Conservancy is placing special emphasis on restoring and expanding large-scale ecosystems, such as the pine forests, hardwood bottoms and fall line streams.

The Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. To date, the Conservancy and its more than one million members have been responsible for the protection of more than 15 million acres in the United States and have helped preserve more than 102 million acres in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific. Visit The Nature Conservancy on the Web at www.nature.org.