Monday, October 6, 2008

In the early morning hours, as the sun began to peak through thousands of trees along Fort Stewart’s forest, the endangered Red-cocaded woodpecker (RCW) also peaked its head through its tiny nest in a tree; then took off into the sky.

Another male RCW tried to follow that one’s lead, yet he found himself tangled in a net that Wildlife Biologists had placed outside his nest as he slept. Yet another RCW also tried to leave his nest and found himself in a net very similar to the RCW just hundreds of yards away from him.

Wildlife biologists trapped these birds not to hurt them, but to learn more about them and tag them with specific colors to follow them as they mature and mate. The bird is extinct and with practices like these, Fort Stewart Wildlife Biologists have been able to more than double their population over the years.

Chief of Fish and Wildlife at Fort Stewart Timothy Beaty said, “In 1994 we had 110. At last count in 2008 we had 302, so we’ve more than doubled their population and are close to our goal of 350. We should be able to reach that in a few years.”

To many, a military installation may seem like an unlikely playground for biologists and the animals they are trying so hard to save. Beaty said, “Military installations are some of the best examples and best habitats. The conditions are nice and open where you can see a long ways, there’s plenty of room to walk between trees. That’s the kind of condition that the military need to train in as well (as the RCW needs to live in) because they need visibility, maneuverability and a number of things. It has been a win/win situation.”

To keep grass growing around the clock the wildlife team, employed by Fort Stewart, burns controlled fires, or prescribed fires, around the forest. New grass and trees are constantly growing.

An extremely cluttered forest is not favorable to the RCW or the military for that matter Beaty said, “Most of our forest management practices for the latter half of the 20th century were moving toward a younger and younger condition. The old trees these birds needed were disappearing, and the birds were disappearing with them.” So with precise burning locations, the biologists and burners can keep the old trees standing tall, yet clear young trees so the forest does not become too cluttered.

The alligator is another Fort Stewart success story. In the 1950’s and 1960’s it was near extinction, but with good management the population has bounced back. Today there is even a hunting season for the gator in Georgia.

Biologists are also keeping a close eye and hand on the Gopher Tortoise, “Just like the woodpecker it’s a keystone species as well, which means it produces a borough that up to 300 other species use as well,” Wildlife Biologist John Macey said.

Harming or killing an endangered species, like the RCW can cost you up to $500,000 and put you behind bars for up to 5 years.

For more information on the animals you can hunt at Fort Stewart and on the endangered animals they are protecting, visit http://www.stewart.army.mil/dpw/wildlife/default.htm

Copyright 2008 by WJCL 22 / ABC and WTGS / FOX28, The Coastal Source.