Georgia a Leader in Collaborative Feral Swine Control Efforts
Collaborative partnerships between organizations, landowners, and agencies is the only effective way to manage the feral swine population in Georgia. Feral swine, an invasive species, cause enormous economic, agriculture, and ecological devastation across Georgia. Realizing the need for increased collaborative control efforts to minimize the destruction from feral swine, several organizations have come together to collaborate in establishing pilot projects for controlling feral swine.
Two of these projects are funded through the USDA Feral Swine Eradication and Control Pilot Program. The Feral Swine Eradication and Control Pilot Program was created as part of the 2018 Farm Bill to address the threat that feral swine pose to agriculture, native ecosystems, and human and animal health and was launched in 20 pilot sites across the country.
Feral Swine Eradication and Control Pilot Program: Albany Area
USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) awarded the Flint River Soil and Water Conservation District a grant to lead control and research efforts that focus in the Albany area. The Albany project area includes parts of Baker, Calhoun, Dougherty, and Terrell Counties and also includes Chickasawhatchee Wildlife Management Area that is managed by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. This project has two components. 1) Working with USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) in on the ground control efforts. Initially, the project will center on 10,000 contiguous acres with cooperating neighboring landowners within the larger program area. These efforts will also include general landowner education and outreach through workshops and development of educational materials. 2) Working in partnership with researchers at the Jones Center and UGA to measure the impact of feral swine control on natural resource concerns. The region for the Feral Swine Eradication and Control Pilot Program was determined based on information including the feral swine populations and concentration, cropland acreage, Georgia Environmental Protection Division Priority watersheds, proximity to Wildlife Management Areas, and existing partnerships. Within the three-year project, the acreage will expand from the core area to incorporate more contiguous acres.
Feral Swine Eradication and Control Pilot Program: Georgia/ Florida Area
Also part of the Feral Swine Eradication and Control Pilot Program in the 2018 Farm Bill, NRCS awarded Tall Timbers Research Station, located in Tallahassee, Florida, a grant to lead control and research efforts in the Florida/Georgia focus area. The largest concentration of undeveloped planation lands in the United States is located between Tallahassee, Florida and Thomasville, Georgia, known as the Red Hills region. Serving as one of the highest recharge areas for the Floridan Aquifer, the region provides critical water supply to Florida, Georgia, and Alabama. The Florida/Georgia Feral Swine Control Pilot Project area was selected with consideration of the exiting APHIS partnership, landowner interest, EPD priority watersheds impaired by fecal coliform, acreage of cropland, and proximity of potential feral swine refuges and feral swine population densities. Additionally, due to the large amount of agricultural land and multitude of protected wildlife species, the area is a prime location for feral swine control to minimize damage caused by the invasive species.
Webster County Feral Swine Control Pilot
The Flint River Soil and Water Conservation District, in collaboration with Lower Chattahoochee River Soil and Water Conservation District, Jager Pro, and local state government leads a partnership effort to bring Georgia’s top experts on feral swine together to conduct the Webster County Feral Swine Control Pilot. The control pilot project began in 2018 and concludes in 2020. The project provides operational expertise free-of-cost to participating landowners for an intensive, integrated feral swine program on 5,000 acres in Webster County, Georgia. The project area centers on private lands along the Kinchafoonee and Lanahassee Creek watersheds that include timber and cropland, as well as, commercial recreational hunting. Many local and state partners contribute to the success of the Webster County Feral Swine Control Pilot project and serve on the Partnership Advisory Council.
The Flint River Soil and Water Conservation District is comprised of farmers, landowners, and community leaders that are dedicated to the conservation, wise use, and protection of natural resources in the Flint River Basin. Learn more about the District at flintriverswcd.org.