Southern Tides November 2023

Southern Tides all about the water

November 2023

Sea Turtles Dig the Dark!

Every year, female loggerhead sea turtles come ashore to lay their eggs in the dark. Then, newly hatched turtles use moonlight reflecting from the ocean waves to find their way home. This is why Coastal Electric promotes shielding or turning off beachfront lights after 10 p.m. during nesting season.

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CONTENTS

Southern T Ides Crew

Vol. 9, Issue 3 November 2023

PUBLISHER/EDITOR Amy Thurman amy@southerntidesmagazine.com ASSISTANT EDITOR Neva Parsons neva@southerntidesmagazine.com

7 Editor's Note 9 Tales from a Boating Nerd

EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Brandyn Bradford

11 Taste of the Tides

CONSULTING NATURALIST John "Crawfish" Crawford subtropicalnaturalist@gmail.com

13 Sea Turtle Season Recap

THE BITTER END COLUMNIST Captain J. Gary "Gator" Hill theoriginalcaptaingator@gmail.com

15 Clean Marina Certifications 16 Featured Artist: Michael Mills

THE RIVERKEEPER REPORT Meaghan Gerard meaghan@ogeecheeriverkeeper.org

21 Going Native

TALES FROM A BOATING NERD Cynthia Lamb cynthia.l.lamb48@gmail.com

25 The Riverkeeper Report

Contributors

26 Oyster Reefs and Carbon

Nick Riccio, Jr. Wildlife Photographer

28 Right Whale Calving Season

Tyler Jones GADNR Coastal Resources Division

29 Did You Know?

Michael Mills Featured Artist

30 The Bitter End

Jane Wilkinson-Bunch Southern Lovin' in the Oven Recipes

Top: Sea turtle hatchling.

Photo by Mark Dodd, GADNR Center: The Lake Boat.

Painting by Michael Mills Bottom: Wood stork, on Jekyll Island.

Photo by Nick Riccio, Jr. Copyright © 2015-2023 All content herein is copyright protected and may not be reproduced in whole or part without express written permission. Southern Tides is a free magazine, published monthly, and can be found at multiple locations throughout coastal Georgia.

(912) 484-3611 info@southerntidesmagazine.com Read the Digital Version at: www.SouthernTidesMagazine.com Visit us on social media: www.issuu.com/SouthernTidesMagazine.com Facebook.com/southern-tides-magazine Southern Tides Magazine is printed by Walton Press, Monroe, Ga. Letters to the Editor: We love hearing from you!

Questions, comments, ideas, or whatever you'd like to share, please do!

Send your thoughts to any of our email addresses listed above.

About the Cover:

Right whale Spindle (Catalog #1204) and calf sighted in January 2023, east of St. Catherines Island (Whale Alert: GAWS020).

Photo by Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute, taken under NOAA permit 20556

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Editor's Note W

but at the moment the only defense e have a lot going on in this against the woolly adelgid is treating issue! From a recap of this year's sea each individual tree with pesticides. turtle season on page 13, to clean What do dying trees hundreds marina certifications on page 15, plus of miles away have to do with a reminder about right whale calving anything? They paint a picture of season and how you can help protect how interconnected everything is. this species in peril on page 28, and Every plant species, every insect, news about a carbon study on oyster every animal, has a role to play in the reefs on pages 26 and 27. environment surrounding it. When We’re also proud to introduce an entire species is struggling to Michael Mills as our featured artist survive, or is wiped out, it triggers a this month. The article, written by disastrous chain reaction. our own Captain Gator, starts on Which is why I wanted to run the page 16 and includes some lovely “Going Native” feature in this issue examples of Mike’s work. and will continue it with part two Then, starting on page 21, is next month. As much as we all love “Going Native,” a feature on native sea turtles, right whales, dolphins, sea plant species. birds, and other coastal critters, our On a recent camping trip in coast wouldn’t be what it is without northeastern Tennessee I asked a the unsung heroes in the background park ranger to identify a species of – like bats (featured last month), and tree we don’t have here on the coast Blue sage (Salvia azurea) is native to our region. In native plants. I hope you’ll continue and that I was unfamiliar with. It addition to great groundcover, the flower spikes to do all you can to protect sea was eastern hemlock, an evergreen grow about three feet tall and pollinators love it! turtles and right whales, but I also conifer, sometimes called “the Photo by Amy Thurman hope you’ll look at the bigger picture redwoods of the East” because of and how it’s all held together. their massive size – they can reach Please give the article a read and 150 tall and six feet in diameter. check out next month’s as well, where we’ll talk about using Unfortunately, many of these trees are dying as a result native plants in your own landscaping. of an infestation of hemlock woolly adelgid, an insect native We also hope you’ll enjoy all the regular content – to East Asia, most likely transported to North America Captain Gator talks about preventive engine maintenance on an ornamental tree. It survives by sucking sap from with his usual dry humor, Cynthia, our resident boating Hemlock trees, eventually killing the tree, and has no natural nerd encourages beginning boaters to take the helm, you predators to control the population. can check out what the Riverkeepers are up to this month, This is a problem because hemlock trees play critical and we have a great side dish with coastal flare for your roles in Appalachian ecology. In addition to providing Thanksgiving dinner. habitat for countless native insect and animal species, their Read every page. There will be a quiz. deep, strong roots provide stability to steep mountain slopes, they absorb water during times of heavy rainfall See you out there! which helps reduce flooding, and their canopy provides shade over mountain streams, which maintains water temperatures, keeping the water cool enough for wildlife that depend on these streams for habitat. Without hemlocks, there would be more landslides, more flooding, less habitat for wildlife, and fish and salamander species would decline, which would trigger a decline in the wildlife that relies on them for survival. And those are just a few of the problems that are happening as these trees die.

A disastrous chain reaction, all from one invasive insect species killing one species of native trees. Park rangers and Editor in Chief wildlife resources staff are working hard to find a solution, amy@southerntidesmagazine.com

Amy Thurman

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Tales from a Boating Nerd

By Cynthia Lamb, Executive Officer

"I

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that didn’t seem fair or fun. It’s also not f I can do it, anyone can!” Don’t safe if only one person onboard knows you hate it when the person teaching you how to drive, dock, use the equipment, something new (usually someone who etc. I knew that I was going to have to already knows how to do it) says that? learn a whole lot of new stuff, but unlike Well, I guess that annoying person is when I first learned to ski, I was 56, not going to be me. six. Was I starting too late?

I grew up snow skiing When you first learn to in New England with my ski, you start with short family, starting at an early skis, and you stay on the age (around six). I fell a lot easy trails. When you first and I often got frustrated, learn to boat, you should but I eventually became also start small. Our a pretty good skier. Why? 19-foot boat was a good Because I kept at it. I loved starter boat. We only went being outdoors, I loved out in really good weather the exercise, and I loved and stayed in well-marked, the sights and sounds of deep channels. skiing.

I made mistakes, put I did not grow up dings in the boat, knocked boating. My parents letters out of the word didn’t have the time, the “Nauticstar” on both sides money, or the desire to of the boat, and even got boat. Up until my midpinned sideways on one 20s, I probably rode Letters knocked off while learning to dock. Not the end of the world! of the docks when trying on a recreational boat Image provided by Cynthia Lamb to undock against a strong once. In Old Saybrook, current and a west wind. I Connecticut, there was a said I would never drive the boat again after that. restaurant called The Dock & Dine that we loved. The food Boating is all about skills. Being able to operate a boat was great, and the views of the Connecticut River were does not happen overnight, but you can learn anything if beautiful. I was so naïve about all things boating that I didn’t you invest in sufficient learning opportunities and commit to realize the name of the restaurant was literal. You could practicing. Taking the helm of a boat may sound daunting, dock your boat there and dine! When I finally understood but not if you break it down into smaller functions. These this, it blew my mind. I couldn’t imagine that people did functions include handling the lines at the dock, driving the this. Where did they come from? How did they know how boat on plane, docking in easy conditions, and so on. to get there? What kind of special people were they? I never I didn’t start boating until I was 56 years old. If I can do thought boating of any kind would be in my future, never it, anyone can. mind owning a boat.

In early 2018, we took a two-hour scenic tour with Stay safe and have fun out there.

Captain Brooks Good of Coastal Outdoor Adventures on Saint Simons Island. And what an adventure it was! I could’ve stayed out there all day. A few weeks later, Jerry Cynthia is a resident of Saint and I saw an advertisement for a boat show at Morningstar Simons Island where she lives with Marina. I suggested that we go to the boat show “just to her husband Jerry. She spends as look” and Jerry agreed. We ended up buying a 19-foot much time on the water as she can Nauticstar with a 150-horsepower outboard. It was my first fit into her schedule and is a selfproclaimed Boating Nerd. boat.

You can reach her at: We now owned a brand-new boat and I had no idea what Cynthia.L.Lamb48@gmail.com I was doing. Thank goodness Jerry had a lot of boating knowledge (he’d owned several sailboats up north), but he’d never owned a powerboat and had never boated in coastal Georgia. I could’ve let my husband handle everything, but

IT'S NEVER TOO LATE

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Taste of the Tides LOBSTER, CRAB & SHRIMP MACARONI & CHEESE SUBMITTED BY JANE WILKINSON-BUNCH

Southern Lovin' in the Oven Recipes & More Daily Want to add a bit of coastal flavor to your Thanksgiving Day spread? Mac and cheese with shrimp, crab and even lobster, is just the ticket!

DIRECTIONS

INGREDIENTS

1 pound penne pasta 3 cups milk 2 cups half & half 1 tbsp butter 2 tbsps extra virgin olive oil ¼ cup onion, diced 1 tbsp fresh thyme, chopped 1 to 2 cloves fresh garlic, finely minced 3 level tbsps all-purpose flour dash of kosher salt dash of black pepper 1 to 2 tbsps Grand Diamond All Purpose Seasoning 2 to 3 teaspoons hot sauce or Tabasco 1 to 2 teaspoons liquid crab boil, (optional) 3 cups (about 12 ounces) gouda cheese or Monterey Jack cheese , grated 3 cups (about 8 ounces) Muenster cheese or mild cheddar cheese, grated 1 cup (a little less than 4 ounces) Gruyere cheese, grated 1 pound shrimp, raw, cleaned and deveined (med to large count) ½ to ¾ pound lobster, raw or pre-steamed, chopped into chunks (3 to 4 small lobster tails will do) ½ to ¾ pound lump crab meat nonstick cooking spray Issue 99

• Preheat oven to 350°. Combine all grated cheese in a large bowl and set aside.

• Cook pasta just to al dente, or about two minutes less than suggested cooking time. Drain but do not rinse, place in a large bowl and stir in a tbsp of olive oil to prevent it from clumping.

• Combine milk and half & half and warm in microwave.

• In a large skillet, saute onion in 1 tbsp butter and 2 tbsps olive oil, over medium heat, just until soft. Add flour and whisk while cooking another two minutes, but do not brown.

• Add garlic and thyme, then cook one more minute.

• Next, add warm milk mixture, a bit at a time, whisking to remove clumps.

• When sauce is well-combined and smooth, reduce heat and add salt, pepper, Grand Diamond seasoning, hot sauce, and optional liquid crab boil to taste. Simmer for about 5 to 8 minutes or until the sauce has thickened. Whisk occasionally to keep it from sticking.

• Add about three cups grated cheese, stirring until melted and well-combined.

• Pour cheese sauce over pasta and stir well.

• Spray a 9x13 (or larger) baking dish, then add half of the mac and cheese.

• Top with half of each of the three seafoods, then half the remaining cheese. Then repeat with remaining ingredients.

• Cover dish with aluminum foil and bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

• Remove foil and bake another 10 minutes until cheese is fully melted and seafood fully cooked, then serve hot.

Dish can be assembled, covered and refrigerated overnight, then baked the next day.

Enjoy!

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Sea Turtle Season Recap Nest Count Blackbeard - 419 Cumberland - 1,082 Egg Island - 0 Jekyll - 217 Little Cumberland - 109 Little St. Simons - 175 Little Tybee - 2 Ossabaw - 466 Raccoon Key - 0 Sapelo - 249 Sea Island - 130 St. Catherines - 317 St. Simons - 13 Tybee Island - 32 Wassaw - 267 Williamson - 0

Another great year for sea turtles with 159,143 emerged hatchlings on the Georgia coast!

Check out this season's stats, and for more information and updates, visit seaturtle.org.

Pho to by

M

443 Unique Females 3,479 Nests 584 DNA Samples Assigned 54.5% Mean Hatch Success

ark Dod d, G A D

NR

First Nest: May 1, Blackbeard (Loggerhead) First Emergence: July 14, St. Catherines (Loggerhead)

Unique Species Nests 3,432 Loggerhead 0 Kemp's Ridley 13 Green Turtle 33 Unknown

Last Nest: Sept. 1, Blackbeard (Species unknown) Last Emergence: October 3 Cumberland (Green) Hatchling making its way to open water in July.

Photo by Skylar Worley, Little Cumberland Island Sea Turtle Project

Loggerhead on Blackbeard Island in July.

Photo by Mark Dodd, GADNR

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Three Clean Marinas Certified

T

hree coastal Georgia marinas were certified in October for meeting the requirements of the Georgia Clean Marina Program, a voluntary program recognizing marinas that reduce or eliminate the pollution of waterways during daily marina operations and the implementation of Clean Marina best management practices.

Delegal Creek Marina of Savannah, Savannah Boathouse Marina of Savannah, and Barbour River Yacht Club of Townsend joined the program, demonstrating their commitment to environmental stewardship.

The recently revised Georgia Clean Marina Program is administered through a partnership between Georgia DNR Coastal Resources Division (CRD), University of Georgia Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant, and the Georgia Marine Business Association (GAMBA).

Kelly Hill, a CRD green growth specialist, credits this unique partnership and the efforts made by each of these marinas for the success in getting the Georgia Clean Marina Program up and running again.

“A main attraction of coastal Georgia for both residents and visitors is the ability to get out and enjoy the water and experience our unique coastal ecosystems,” Hill said. “With our marinas being located within our sensitive marshes and waterways, it is extremely important to encourage the use of environmentally clean practices. The certified marinas have shown a significant commitment to this aim.”

Thomas McCarthy, managing partner of Savannah Boathouse and owner of Freedom Boat Club Savannah and Richmond Hill, echoed Hill.

“During planning and since opening the Savannah Boathouse, we have looked to maintain the highest standards for marinas and to preserve our beautiful waterways,” McCarthy said. “The Savannah Boathouse is very excited to be certified as a Clean Marina”.

GAMBA Secretary Lucy Bowie said the marinas certified last month stand as examples in the industry and conservation.

“These awards demonstrate the commitment of the marine industry to adopt practices for the benefit of the marine environment, and for the residents and visitors who enjoy our waterways,” she said. “As the program continues to grow, we look forward to working with our industry partners and stakeholders to certify more marina facilities.”

Brian Fluech, associate marine extension director, UGA Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant, said his organization was proud to be a part of the initiative.

“I’m thrilled about having our first certified Georgia Clean Marinas come online since re-establishing the program last year, and look forward to continuing to work with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources and the Georgia Marine Business Association on certifying more marinas in the future,” Fluech said. “It’s a worthy collaboration and the program speaks to our joint Issue 99

commitment to protecting Georgia’s coastal resources for all to enjoy.”

Marinas can apply to the program each fall and work with program partners throughout the year towards meeting their certification goals. Applications are currently open online at www.GeorgiaCleanMarina.org.

Clean Marina Certification recipients with their flags. and Committee staff.

From Top: Barbour River Yacht Club, Delegal Creek Marina, and Savannah Boathouse.

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Featured ARTIST Michael Mills Ars Gratia Artis Some of you may recognize this bit of Latin on the MGM logo, above Leo the Lion, but do you know the translation? It simply means art for art’s sake. In other words the value of the art is in its creation, its unique beauty, regardless of any secondary value or price tag associated to it. This month’s featured artist, Michael Mills, understands this principle well.

By Captain J. Gary "Gator" HIll

H

ere on the coast we get to experience a rich and diverse collection of art, from unique cuisine like Frogmore stew to sweetgrass baskets, and a plethora of traditional arts. Michael Mills contributes to this coastal art community with his paintings. Although his corporeal form resides in Flowery Branch, Ga., his soul is indelibly tied to our coastal islands. He attributes his love for the coast to being raised a Navy brat, with exposure to both coasts, growing up in both Southern California and Northern Florida.

When asked when he first began creating art Michael said, “I was told at age four I made my own coloring books, started drawing and coloring Spiderman. I won my first art award in first grade.”

Later in his youth, he took up skateboarding and turned his art to “board art” creating the graphics that decorate skateboards. As an adult he did sports art, even being the Masters golf tournament featured artist for a CBS TV special.

When asked what his influences are you might want to pack a lunch as he has many. Of course, he draws from the classic masters like Monet, but also from modern painters like Tad Retz, and is totally captivated by the Florida Highwaymen. If you’ve never heard of them, visit floridahighwaymenartwork.com to read about their amazing story. And not just painters, he also cites Frank Lloyd Wright as being a key influence in his creativity.

When asked about his process, Mike said, “I don’t have a cookie cutter process. I never know how it’s going to go. It changes and that’s what makes it fun! I may tint a canvas or not, sketch or just start painting.

Composition, values and contrast are always my priority when painting, followed by color mixing.”

Mike believes that if you can, it’s important to give something back to society. To that end, on Fridays he hosts an art table in a homeless camp. “It started as instruction,” he said, “but it became therapy.” He comes away with a new appreciation for life after each of these experiences. “It gives you a sense of perspective, not only the act of doing, the paint strokes, but just listening to their stores.” He’s planning a Christmas art show featuring the collected works of camp artists to raise both funds and awareness.

In addition, he has donated paintings to many charitable organizations, including one in particular that’s close to both his heart and mine, The Friends of Cockspur Island Lighthouse. He taught a plein air painting course during our Lighthouse Jamboree last year, and plans to again this year on November 11, at Captain Derek’s Dolphin Adventure on Tybee Island.

You can find Michael’s art in the Irritable Pelican Art galleries on Tybee, in Brunswick and Darien, on his website, michaelmillsfineart.com, and can interact with him on Facebook by searching Michael Mills.

Above: Two views of Tybee Light and two styles of painting. Left, Monet's Lady of Tybee, a tribute to Claude Monet and Impressionism, and right, Tybee Light Station.

Below: Into the Mystic.

Above: On the left, painting of the marsh is called Quagmire. Painting on the right is Miami Race.

Below: This painting of a shrimp boat aground is called Beachin'.

Left: Art table at a homeless camp.

Right: The artist, Mike Mills, in front of one of his favorite subjects, Cockspur Light.

www.michaelmillsfineart.com

18 Southern Tides Magazine

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Above: Painting of Cockspur light after the official relighting ceremony in 2022, called Reillumine.

Below: (From Captain Gator) It was shortly after the Covid lockdowns that I met Mike and his wife, Lisa. Mike was recovering from a heart attack and bypass surgery and they visited Tybee to allow Mike to reconnect with the ocean he’d so missed.

This is where two paths crossed and I consider myself lucky to have had them on one of my boat tours. We struck up a conversation and I could feel his passion immediately. That chance meeting has turned into a fast friendship. The joke between Mike and I is that I’m the curator of the Michael Mills Memorial Art Museum as I am lucky to have several pieces of his art gracing my walls, such as the one of a shrimp boat at sunset called The Golden Hour.

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GOING

Native Part I: Groundcover Restoration Article and photos by Amy Thurman

A cloudless sulphur butterfly enjoying pollen from the flowers of blue sage (Salvia azurea).

On the pages of this magazine, you’ve read countless articles over the years about animals native to our coastal empire – fish, birds, mammals, reptiles, and everything in between. We’ve had articles about protecting them from invasive species, about protecting them from extinction, and about their importance in coastal ecosystems, among others. Like us, they’re all part of the animal kingdom and many of us feel an affinity for various species.

But there are other species in our coastal ecosystem that aren’t cute or cuddly but are critical to its continued health: native plants.

In this two-part feature, we’re going to look at the benefits of native plants to the health of our eco-system and what we, as coastal residents, can do to help.

I

n late October, I headed down to Altama Plantation to meet with Eamonn Leonard, wildlife biologist with the GADNR Wildlife Resources Division and coordinator of the Coastal Native Groundcover Restoration/Production project.

The goal of this project is to grow 50 species of native plants, develop seed-collection methods, and propagate plantings to be used in habitat restoration projects throughout the coastal plain.

We drove back through the Wildlife Management Area of the plantation until we reached the 5-acre plot where much of the project’s activity takes place. In one corner sits a small structure with a corrugated plastic roof where seeds are started; outside of that are cold frames (built by Eamonn and his team) and tables of rare plants rescued from various locations (we’ll talk about that in Part II). But the majority of the acreage is dedicated to row after row of native plants that serve as groundcover in longleaf pine savannas and woodland areas in the coastal plain.

Issue 99

Why is native groundcover so important?

These plants, such as sandhills milkweed (Asclepias humistrata) and split beard bluestem (Andropogon ternaris), support hundreds of other species, to include hundreds of birds, over 35 mammal species, 170 species of reptiles and amphibians, and countless insects, including beneficial pollinators. In addition, many plants, such as wiregrass (Aristida stricta) are critical to prescribed fire, or controlled burns. And why is fire so important?

According to the DNR Wildlife Resources website, “For eons, fires sparked by lightning strikes helped shape Georgia’s woodlands. Many habitats, and the plants and animals that depend on them, require regular fires. These areas vary from longleaf pine savannas and herbaceous bogs in south Georgia to oak-hickory forests and high-elevation balds in the mountains. Rare wildlife including pitcher plants, gopher tortoises and red-cockaded woodpeckers need such fireadapted habitats. Quail, wild turkeys and other game animals also benefit.”

But not just any plants will do in prescribed fires.

Wiregrass, for example, has an almost symbiotic relationship with fire. “Wiregrass is one of the keystone species in our upland longleaf pine ecosystems and will not produce viable seed if it is not burned in the growing season. This species and many of the other groundcover species can last a decade or more without fire but will start disappearing if fire is not reintroduced,” said Eamonn.

In addition, wiregrass produces low-intensity fire, unlike cogon grass, an invasive species that crowds out native plants and produces a dangerously hot fire. Other non-native or invasive plants can present problems too.

“Japanese climbing fern can create fire ladders that bring fire into the tree canopy and will also crowd out native groundcover,” Eamonn added. A prescribed burn in a natural setting with native ground cover is a safe and healthy tool for maintaining these ecosystems by removing many nonnative species, such as loblolly pines, spreading seeds, and removing excessive underbrush. But with non-native and invasive species crowding out native plants comes the risk of NovemBER 2023

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21

Rows of native groundcover being cultivated at Altama Plantation.

uncontrolled fires which damage crucial native species plants, destroy habitat, and can harm wildlife and private property.

How does the groundcover restoration project work?

Eamonn and his team are working to gather seed from the focus species, plant them at the appropriate times, provide the growing conditions needed to produce healthy plants, then harvest the seeds and start over. But there are challenges.

One challenge is that some seeds are spread by birds, who eat the seeds and deposit them elsewhere. During this process seed coatings are altered, so how to account for that? The team is running harvested seeds through rock tumblers to wear down the tough seed coats using a combination of grit, pea gravel and water in the tumblers - a process called scarification, that will hopefully impact the seeds similarly to bird digestive processes.

Another challenge is that some plants, like wiregrass, as mentioned earlier, only produce viable seed when burned during the growing season but you can’t easily burn a single row.

To overcome that challenge, the old plantation airstrip has been planted in wiregrass so it can be safely burned without damage to nearby rows of other species.

The sheer logistics of the program is also challenging. Fifty different species means 50 different planting schedules, 50 sets of growing conditions, 50 seed harvesting methods and schedules, as well as seed storage needs.

But despite the challenges it’s exciting and beneficial work – especially for those who enjoy gardening, growing things, and learning about how interconnected nature is.

Join us next month when we take a look at rare native plants and the benefits of using native species in your landscaping.

22 Southern Tides Magazine

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Left and above: Rosin weed (Silphium compositium). This plant is also a pollinator attraction.

Below: If you thought this was muhly grass, so did we, but it isn't.

This is purple lovegreass (Eragrostis spectabilis), which provides great cover and nest material for ground-nesting birds.

Issue 99

Right: Split-beard bluestem (Andropogon ternaris), with hints of red and silver, is named for its forked bloom (pictured inset).

Bottom Right: Eamonn discussing wiregrass (inset) the team is growing in the plantation's old airstrip.

Below: This plant with funky, spiky leaves is called rattlesnake master (Eryngium yuccifolium).

Bottom: Pinkish/lavender flowers on this elegant blazingstar (Liatris elegans) is very popular with pollinators.

What can YOU do?

• Volunteer with GADNR at Altama Plantation every third

Friday • Join Coastal Wildscapes and take advantage of their knowledge of native and non-native plants species.

• Join your local chapter of the Georgia Native Plant Society • Remove invasive species from your property to prevent spreading • Donate to the DNR Wildlife Conservation Section: georgiawildlife.com/donations Issue 99

NovemBER 2023

Southern Tides Magazine

23

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THE

Riverkeeper Report

Savannah Riverkeeper has been

receiving complaints of numerous health impacts from the recent explosion/fire at DRT Turpentine Facility in Springfield, Effiingham County. If you have been experiencing negative impacts we would like to hear from you. All information gathered will be shared with those currently responsible for holding DRT responsible for this recent round of issues.

Unfortunately, it seems that our concerns, initially raised in 2017 regarding the permission granted for this facility, have materialized once again, marking at least the third occurrence. Please share with those impacted and lets make sure DRT is held responsible this time for their continual failures to protect those around them from their pollution. Please look for our recent post on Facebook with a link to message us with your information. www.facebook.com/savannahriverkeeper

O

geechee Riverkeeper will host a paddle through Fort Stewart on Saturday, December 2. This is a 6.1 mile trip (4 hour paddle), with a lunch break about half way. Participants *must* provide their own gear and vessels. Personal flotation devices are required. There are no outfitters available to rent gear or vessels. There is no cost to attend but participants should bring their own lunch and water. Pre-registration is required.

Anyone who arrives without pre-registering will not be able to participate. Find registration details at: www.ogeecheeriverkeeper.org/events/ft-stewart-paddle

Compiled by Brandyn Bradford

Editorial Assistant

Reviewed by Meaghan Gerard

Ogeechee Riverkeeper

G

eorgia Gives Day (GAgives) is rolling around once again! GAgives Day is on November 28th this year, however, all donations made to the Satilla Riverkeeper during the entire month of November will be matched up to $10,000!

To contribute, visit: www.satillariverkeeper.org/gagives.html

J

oin St. Marys Riverkeeper on a river boat tour. Saturday, December 2, at Traders Hill Boat Ramp,1388 Tracys Ferry Rd, in Folkston.

A 2-hour informative tour will provide an opportunity for you to experience the beauty of our blackwater river, discover how swamp and river are connected, and learn about the most pressing issues facing our river today!

Boat Tour Times: Sunrise Tour – 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.

Daytime Tour – 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Sunset Tour – 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

For more information, visit www.stmarysriverkeeper.org/event/boat-tourdecember-2/

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Oyster Reefs and Carbon Article and photos by Tyler Jones Public Information Officer GADNR Coastal Resources Division

Oysters are bagged, stacked on pallets and transferred by pontoon boat.

T

he Georgia DNR Coastal Resources Division (CRD) launched its latest oyster restoration project in late September in Liberty County, west of St. Catherines Island.

Approximately 10 tons of bagged oyster shell are being stacked on pallets and placed at two locations on a northern bank of the North Newport River to encourage the growth of new, native Eastern oysters (Crassostrea virginica).

In addition to creating new essential habitat for marine life, the restoration project is a collaboration between CRD, Georgia Southern University (GSU), and Yamaha Rightwaters, a national sustainability program that encompasses Yamaha Marine’s conservation and water quality efforts. Yamaha Rightwaters is providing financial support for GSU to collect data that may help researchers determine the carbon-sequestration potential of oyster reefs in Georgia.

“Not only do established reefs provide important habitat for several kinds of sea life, they also reduce carbon dioxide and, in turn, reduce ocean acidification,” said John Carroll, associate professor of biology at Georgia Southern University. “The research from this Yamaha Rightwaterssupported project will provide us with Georgia-specific data that will ultimately help us determine the carbon burial potential of newly formed oyster reefs in Georgia.”

Oyster reefs are already known to provide a number of important ecological benefits, including filtering water, improving habitat for other marine life, and protecting 26 Southern Tides Magazine

NovemBER 2023

shorelines from erosion. Now, GSU and Yahama Rightwaters want to learn if they can also offer carbon capture solutions.

“In 2022, we teamed up with Texas A&M University’s Harte Research Institute and the Coastal Conservation Association to initiate a similar conservation project designed to evaluate the role of oyster reefs in capturing and storing carbon in St. Charles Bay in the Gulf of Mexico.

This new project in coastal Georgia allows us to do the same thing in the Atlantic,” said Martin Peters, director of External Affairs for Yamaha U.S. Marine Business Unit.

“It’s our hope that the data collected through the two initiatives will give us more information about the carbon sequestration value of oyster reefs. The data will allow us to evaluate the possibility of increasing the scale of these programs to achieve a measurable result.”

The North Newport River and encompassing St. Catherines Sound is a popular destination for fishing, boating, and other recreational activities, with nearby access from the CRD-funded Demere Creek and Sunbury boat ramps. The St. Catherines Sound system is also an important habitat for a variety of marine life, including oysters, crabs, and fish.

“Oyster restoration is a critical component of protecting and restoring Georgia’s coastal ecosystems,” said Paul Medders, CRD’s Habitat Enhancement and Restoration Unit lead. “This project will help to reestablish oyster reefs Issue 99

in the North Newport River, which will benefit both wildlife and people.”

Once the project is complete, CRD will monitor the sites to assess the long-term success of the restoration effort, alongside GSU’s collection of data on carbon sequestration.

CRD encourages the public to get involved in oyster restoration efforts. There are a number of ways to get involved, including volunteering to help with restoration projects, donating oyster shell from backyard oyster roasts, and encouraging restaurants to become a shell donor to CRD.

Benefits of Oyster Reefs Oyster reefs provide many important ecological and economic benefits, including: • Water filtration: Oysters are filter feeders, meaning they eat algae and other small particles in the water. This helps to improve water quality and clarity.

• Habitat enhancement: Oyster reefs provide important habitat for a variety of marine life, including finfish, crabs, and shrimp.

• Shoreline protection: Oyster reefs act as a natural buffer against erosion and storm damage.

• Economic benefits: Oyster reefs support a variety of commercial and recreational activities, including fishing, boating, and tourism.

The pallets are hoisted off the boat and guided into place. It's a ditry job, but somebody's gotta do it.

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Right Whale Calving Season HOW YOU CAN HELP Right whales will be arriving in our coastal waters soon and hopefully with a new crop of calves. There are currently fewer than 350 of these whales remaining and efforts to save them are more critical than ever.

Approximately a third of all known right whale mortalities are a result of vessel collisions or entanglement in fishing gear.

Seven Ways You Can Help

1. Stay at least 500 yards away from right whales! It’s the law!

2. Operate your vessel at a slow, safe speed of 10 knots or less in areas right whales are known to frequent.

3. Move away slowly if a right whale approaches you.

4. Wear polarized sunglasses and stay alert.

5. Avoid boating during times of poor visibility (fog, night, etc.)

6. Know how to properly identify right whales and immediately report dead, injured, or entangled whales to the U.S. Coast Guard via marine radio VHF or phone (see right).

7. Download the Whale Alert app and report sightings so other boaters in the area with the app are aware (see below).

Remember, you are prohibited by law from approaching within 500 yards of right whales. Observe from a distance.

Report a Right Whale Sighting

You can help collect vital information. Reporting sightings helps save this endangered species by alerting mariners to their presence.

To report, hail the U.S. Coast Guard on VHF Channel 16, or call 877-WHALE-HELP (877-942-5343) in waters from Florida to North Carolina.

What Information Should You Report?

• Your name and contact information • Date and time of sighting • Where you were (vessel, land) • Number of whales sighted • Any behavior observed • Are you sure it was a right whale?

• Describe what you saw, in detal

If Possible, Take Photos or Video and Report This Information as Well: • Did you see a visible spout during exhale?

• Do the flukes (tail) come out of the water on a deep dive?

• Does it have bumps on it's head and what color are they?

• How long is the whale (how many feet? Compared to boat?)

• If entangled, is the whale free-swimming or anchored?

• Give specific info on key body parts (both flippers, tail and mouth) and any gear observed (buoys and line colors, buoy numbers, etc.)

Is the Whale Dead, Injured or Entangled?

If possible, keep dead or injured whales in sight and report immediately. Do not attempt to remove fishing gear! There is a team of experts who disentangle whales.

WHALE ALERT To download the app, visit your app store and search Whale Alert.

To learn more, visit: www.whalealert.org

Right whale Medusa (catalog #1208) and her calf – the first documented calf of last year's 2022-23 calving season, near Ossabaw Island, December 2022.

Photo by Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute, taken under NOAA permit 20556

Did You Know?

Wood storks keep their nestlings cool in the heat by swallowing water and reguritating it over them in the nest.

WOOD STORKS Mycteria americana

Compiled by Brandyn Bradford Photos by Nick Riccio, Jr.

Wood storks are the only true species of stork native to North America.

You'll often see wood storks gliding on thermals on warm afternoons.

General Information ◆ 38 - 50 inches tall with wingspans of 60 - 65 inches. ◆ Feed by moving bill around in water until prey is felt, then snaps bill shut quickly. ◆ Forages in wetlands and feeds mostly on fish ◆ Social birds, foraging and nesting in rookeries with other storks and other bird species.

Parenting & Offspring ◆ Both birds build the nest, 3 - 5 feet in diameter, constructed of sticks and lined with greenery. ◆ Both parents incubate eggs and provide food for hatchllings. ◆ Both parents guard hatchlings for 4 - 5 weeks. ◆ Young leave nest permanently after about 11 weeks.

Just for Fun ◆ Children in the lowcountry are delivered to loving homes by storks. Ha! Gotcha! ◆ Hans Christian Anderson's 19th century fable "The Storks" sparked the story of storks delivering babies, though his story featured a white stork (Ciconia ciconia) found mostly in Europe and Asia.

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THE

Bitter End

EARLY WARNING TOOL

By Captain J. Gary "Gator" Hill

Y

ou’re up at 0200, breakfast is eaten, snacks and lunches for the day are prepared, thermoses filled, and the cooler is iced. You meet your buddies at the dock and everyone is on time for a change. Lines are cast off and you settle in for a four-hour ride to the fishing grounds.

There, the anchor is dropped and set perfectly, and you have your first fish on line as the sun just begins to peak above the horizon. What a glorious day, one for the record books!

When the fish bite slows, it’s time to haul anchor and make a move. As your trusty (insert engine of preference here) fires up, you notice it seems a bit reluctant, but there are still fish to catch.

By the end you the day, you’ve started and shut down the engine several times, and each time that reluctance has progressively gotten worse, and now it’s making a sickly, metalon-metal sound, which you know isn’t good, and probably won’t be cheap to fix. With fingers crossed you try to fire her up one last time for that forty-mile run back home. But this time there’s a slow grind followed by a clang and resounding clatter. Which tells you it’s going to be a long, long day.

Sometime later (if you’re smart and have a towing membership, or get lucky and a friend is fishing nearby) when towlines are attached, you settle in for a long tow back to land and already your mind is planning how you’ll get get your baby back on the water.

The following day your ace mechanic arrives. The reason he’s your ace is because he’s your brother-in-law, and he works for beer and boat rides – at least for you. After he’s performed the magic that only practitioners of the arcane arts (also known as diesel mechanics) can perform, he gives you the bad news: you’ve lost a couple of pistons and he’s not sure how much more damage he’ll find when he gets it pulled apart.

How did this happen? The boat had always run so well.

Well, other than that occasional noise it started making a couple of years ago. But that’s nothing to worry about, right?

“Wrong, he says. “That should have been a wakeup call that something was going on.” Then he asks why you hadn’t mentioned it so he could have maybe headed off this problem.

“It was just a noise. What could you have done?” you ask.

“For one thing, we could have done an OSA.” “OSA? What’s that, Occupational Safety?”

He rolls his eyes at you and says, “Oil Sample Analysis, you doofus.”

He goes on to explain that this is a process for examining engine oil on a regular basis to keep an eye on any irregularities, which can be an early warning sign of bigger problems ahead.

30 Southern Tides Magazine

NovemBER 2023

Example of an Oil Sample Analysis report.

This is typically done at least twice a year, maybe early to midsummer and again towards the end of the year before you shut down for the season.

I’m not going to bore you with the how-to of doing an OSA. BoatUS has an article that describes the process much better than I can try and paint with words at bit.ly/boatus_osa.

Or you can YouTube University it. Or just ask your service guy to do it. Regardless, I can’t stress enough, do it. Especially if you run a commercial boat. There’s nothing worse than having customers aboard when a critical failure occurs, especially one you could have avoided.

'Til our wakes cross again, peace and love, and shrimp and grits. I'll see you on the water!

Captain Gator has spent the past several decades truly living the salt life, from living on and racing sailboats, to being a paddle guide, to becoming a 100-ton master and working in the tour boat industry. A strong love of history and the water has shaped him into becoming one part educator, one part entertainer, and one part storyteller.

When asked if he is a native, his reply is yes, by osmosis.

TheOriginalCaptainGator@gmail.com Issue 99

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