Two scientists, who are part census takers and part detectives, went on mapping the coastal habitats in the six counties of Georgia, USA. Jacob Thompson and Eamonn Leonard with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, mapped the coastal habitats with the main goal to describe the characteristics of the coasts so that the local government can avoid developing on the most rare and most sensitive spots.
According to Thompson, a natural resource biologist, there has been a lot of growth in the coastal habitats, and that they are expecting more development in the coming years, “We want to work with counties to ensure that rare habitats are preserved before everything gets developed.”
With the coast expected to see its population increase in the next 20 years, the Woodruff Foundation granted the project with USD 700,000 grant. The project is part of the Coastal Georgia Land Conservation Initiative, which is a three-year collaboration of the Department of Natural Resources, Georgia Conservancy, and the Association of County Commissioners of Georgia.
A website is also developed and is expected to be launched later this August to enable different parties to interact with the habitat maps that have been developed.
Sources:
GeoSpatial World
Savannahnow.com
http://savannahnow.com/news/2010-08-13/ga-researchers-map-rare-coastal-habitats
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