Georgia Ducks Unlimited working with the DNR
By Jimmy Jacobs
It is an unfortunate circumstance for Georgia waterfowl hunters that the state is not located on one of the major flyways that draw the birds south during the winter. That leaves the Peach State to depend mostly on wood ducks or resident mallards for hunting action. There are, of course, some migratory ducks that show up, but not in the numbers found elsewhere in the nation.
The area where that does not hold true in Georgia is down on our Atlantic Coast. The western fringe of the Atlantic flyway does bring some of that waterfowl to our shore. And the best place to find those birds is the Altamaha Waterfowl Management Area between Darion on the north and Brunswick to the south.
Photo by Jimmy Jacobs.
The waterfowl area covers 3,154 acres of land, marsh and water within the larger 27,000-acre Altamaha Wildlife Management Area. This tract is owned by the state, with the waterfowl area specifically maintained to benefit ducks.
Unfortunately, back in 2017 Hurricane Irma struck the area, followed by Hurricane Michael the following year. Those storms left the area in a mess. Over the following decade, Georgia Ducks Unlimited swung into action to help rehabilitate the area. Funds raised by the groups 20,000 members in the state, along with work of some of their 1,400 volunteers were directed to rebuilding the infrastructure of the Altamaha habitat.
Georgia DU joined the efforts of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources in that project. The DNR obtained funds through the Federal Emergency Management Agency and North American Wetlands Conservation Act to go with DU backing, for a total of $8.7 million.
Beginning with the Champney Island Project, followed by rehabbing Rhett’s Island, those programs were completed by 2020. In 2023 work began on the final phase on Butler Island. Those three islands compose the heart of the Waterfowl Management Area.
On Champney Island, water control structures, embankment and berm enhancement and canal restorations were carried out. Rhett’s Island had a total of 1,845 acres of improvements, including building a new dike that created a 42-acre impoundment.
The work on Butler Island entailed rebuilding 9.5 miles of dikes, 2.7 miles of slope repair, 1.4 miles of berm re-establishment and installation of seven water control structures. That took place on 195 acres of the island.
Photo by Polly Dean.
All told, the decade long project rehabilitated 4,500 acres of the WMA for the use of over-wintering or migrating waterfowl, as well as hunters drawn for the quota hunts on the wildlife management area. It also reinforced the mandate of Georgia Ducks Unlimited to conserve and improve habitat for waterfowl in the state.
immy Jacobs is the editor of Georgia Outdoor Adventures, as well as being editor/publisher of On The Fly South. He also is a member of the Georgia Outdoor Writers Association. He makes his home in Marietta with his English setters, Luke and Lulu. He can be contacted at jimmyjacobs970@gmail.com.