Today, a burgeoning wildlife corridor stretches from Atlanta’s western suburbs to the Talladega National Forest in Alabama, a 30-mile stretch of public and private lands where deer, bear, at-risk bats and federally endangered fish have more room to roam, and more chances to survive.
The Dugdown Mountain Corridor is coming together as one of Georgia’s most critical wild animal pathways. The multi-player project—U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, transportation agencies, The Nature Conservancy, the Conservation Fund, county governments and private landowners—would include nearly 100,000 acres of protected and conserved land. About 13% is already in conservation, including wildlife management areas, private easements, longleaf pine and hardwood forests, hatchery-stocked streams, and hike, bike and canoe trails.
More than $4 million raised from a variety of public and nonprofit partners will go to the acquisition of 2,197 acres adjacent to the Treat Mountain Voluntary Public Access area near Cedartown. Another 8,000 acres nearby will be added to the corridor by year’s end…