The Savannah National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge located in Chatham and Effingham counties in

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

and Jasper County in

South Carolina )'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

. Of the total area, is in Georgia and is in South Carolina. The refuge was established to provide sanctuary for migratory waterfowl and other birds and as a nature and forest preserve for aesthetic and conservation purposes. The refuge is one of seven refuges administered by the Savannah Coastal Refuges Complex in

Hardeeville, South Carolina Hardeeville is a city in Jasper and Beaufort counties in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 7,473 as of the 2020 census, an increase of over 150% since 2010. Hardeeville is included within the Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Beaufor ...

. The complex has a combined staff of 25 with a fiscal year 2018 budget of roughly $3,000,000.

History

The first European visitors to the

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the British colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later t ...

area arrived in 1526.

James Oglethorpe James Edward Oglethorpe (22 December 1696 – 30 June 1785) was a British soldier, Member of Parliament, and philanthropist, as well as the founder of the colony of Georgia in what was then British America. As a social reformer, he hoped to r ...

established the city of Savannah in 1733. By the mid-eighteenth century, rice planters were farming much of the land that is now part of the refuge. The old rice levees, which were built by hand, form the basis for current impoundment dikes. Remnants of the original rice field trunk water control structures and narrow dikes are still visible in some places. Within the impoundment system there are 36 historic and prehistoric archeological sites which have been located and inventoried. On April 6, 1927, Executive Order No. 4626 established the Savannah River Bird Refuge and set aside as a preserve and breeding ground for native birds. On November 12, 1931, Executive Order No. 5748 added to the refuge and renamed the area the Savannah River Wildlife Refuge. An additional were assigned to the refuge on June 17, 1936, by Executive Order No. 7391. On July 25, 1940, Presidential

Proclamation 2416 A proclamation (Lat. ''proclamare'', to make public by announcement) is an official declaration issued by a person of authority to make certain announcements known. Proclamations are currently used within the governing framework of some nations ...

renamed the refuge the Savannah National Wildlife Refuge. These three Executive Orders established the core of the present refuge; subsequent acquisition using

Federal Duck Stamp The Federal Duck Stamp, formally known as the Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp, is an adhesive stamp issued by the United States federal government that must be purchased prior to hunting for migratory waterfowl such as ducks and gee ...

funds and other special funding added . An additional were added when the fee title to Hog Marsh Island and adjacent lands to the north were acquired through an exchange of spoilage rights with Chatham County, Georgia. In 1964, Savannah Electric and Power Company deeded to the refuge in exchange for a power line

right-of-way Right of way is the legal right, established by grant from a landowner or long usage (i.e. by prescription), to pass along a specific route through property belonging to another. A similar ''right of access'' also exists on land held by a gov ...

. In 1978, the Argent Swamp tract was purchased from

Union Camp Corporation Union Camp Corporation was an American pulp and paper company and a private owner of timberland in the United States. In 1999 it was acquired by International Paper. Company creation Union Camp came about through the merger of the Union Bag and ...

using

Land and Water Conservation Fund The United States' Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) is a federal program that was established by Act of Congress in 1965 to provide funds and matching grants to federal, state and local governments for the acquisition of land and water, and ...

s. Bear Island (687 acres) was purchased in fee title, from a private individual, on October 19, 1993. In order to straighten the east boundary, two tracts totaling were purchased from Union Camp Corporation on August 27, 1996. The Barrows tract (535 acres), which lies adjacent to the southeast boundary, was purchased in fee title during 1998. Another tract of land was added onto the mid-western portion of the refuge; the Solomon tract was purchased in 1999 and is . The total current refuge area is .

Topography

The refuge is located in the heart of the Lowcountry, a band of low land, bordered on the west by sandhill ridges and on the east by the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

, extending from Georgetown, South Carolina to

St. Mary's, Georgia St. Marys is a city in Camden County, Georgia, United States, located on the southern border of Camden County on the St. Marys River. The Florida border is just to the south across the river, Cumberland Island National Seashore is to the northea ...

. There are of river and over of streams and creeks within the refuge boundaries. Refuge habitats include

bottomland Upland and lowland are conditional descriptions of a plain based on elevation above sea level. In studies of the ecology of freshwater rivers, habitats are classified as upland or lowland. Definitions Upland and lowland are portions of p ...

hardwoods,

palustrine Palustrine wetlands include any inland wetland that contains ocean-derived salts in concentrations of less than 0.5 parts per thousand, and is non- tidal. The word ''palustrine'' comes from the Latin word ''palus'' or marsh. Wetlands within this ...

, estuarine and tidal freshwater

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The p ...

s. Managed freshwater impoundments make up about . Savannah wildlife refuge north aerial

Wildlife and protected species

Known for its rich flora during the humid summer months, the region also supports a diverse wildlife population. The variety of birdlife within the Lowcountry is enhanced by its location on the Atlantic Flyway. During the winter months, thousands of mallards, pintails, teal and as many as ten other species of ducks migrate into the area, joining resident wood ducks on the refuge. In the spring and fall, transient songbirds stop briefly on their journey to and from northern nesting grounds. The refuge is home to a large variety of wildlife including:

duck Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfamilies, they are a form ...

geese A goose ( : geese) is a bird of any of several waterfowl species in the family Anatidae. This group comprises the genera '' Anser'' (the grey geese and white geese) and ''Branta'' (the black geese). Some other birds, mostly related to the she ...

, wading birds, and shorebirds. Several threatened and endangered species are protected on the refuge, including the

American alligator The American alligator (''Alligator mississippiensis''), sometimes referred to colloquially as a gator or common alligator, is a large crocodilian reptile native to the Southeastern United States. It is one of the two extant species in the gen ...

, flatwoods salamander, bald eagle,

wood stork The wood stork (''Mycteria americana'') is a large American wading bird in the family Ciconiidae (storks), the only member of the family to breed in North America. It was formerly called the "wood ibis", though it is not an ibis. It is found ...

shortnose sturgeon The shortnose sturgeon (''Acipenser brevirostrum'') is a small and endangered species of North American sturgeon. The earliest remains of the species are from the Late Cretaceous Period, over 70 million years ago.National Oceanic and Atmospheri ...

, and

Florida manatee The West Indian manatee (''Trichechus manatus''), also known as the North American manatee, is a large, aquatic mammal native to warm coastal areas of the Caribbean, from the eastern US to northern Brazil. Living alone or in herds, it feeds on un ...

. The refuge also provides nesting areas for

wood duck The wood duck or Carolina duck (''Aix sponsa'') is a species of perching duck found in North America. The drake wood duck is one of the most colorful North American waterfowl. Description The wood duck is a medium-sized perching duck. A ty ...

great horned owl The great horned owl (''Bubo virginianus''), also known as the tiger owl (originally derived from early naturalists' description as the "winged tiger" or "tiger of the air"), or the hoot owl, is a large owl native to the Americas. It is an extre ...

osprey The osprey (''Pandion haliaetus''), , also called sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. It is a large raptor reaching more than in length and across the wings. It is brown o ...

and

swallow-tailed kite The swallow-tailed kite (''Elanoides forficatus'') is a pernine raptor which breeds from the southeastern United States to eastern Peru and northern Argentina. It is the only species in the genus ''Elanoides''. Most North and Central American b ...

Facilities

A visitor center on the South Carolina side of the refuge opened in March, 2010, approximately eight miles south of Hardeeville and seven miles from downtown Savannah, GA on US Hwy 17. The Visitor Center features exhibits describing the history and denizens of the refuge, an introductory video, and "The Gator Hole", a nature and book store. The Visitor Center is open from 9AM until 4PM Monday thru Saturday, closed on Sunday and all Federal holidays. There are opportunities for hiking, cycling, photography and wildlife observation. Pets are not allowed in the refuge. All dikes are open to foot travel during daylight hours, unless otherwise posted, and provide excellent wildlife observation points. The Cistern Trail, Tupelo Trail and other walking routes are also available to the visiting public. The Laurel Hill Wildlife Drive is open from dawn until dusk every day. This one-way loop meanders along of earthen dikes through managed freshwater pools and hardwood hammocks. The dikes and pools are remnants of pre-Civil War rice plantations. Fishing is permitted in the freshwater pools from March 1 to November 30 and is governed by South Carolina and refuge regulations. The refuge administers a variety of hunts during the fall and winter. Hunt regulations and schedules are available at the Visitor Center and on the web at http://www.fws.gov/refuge/savannah.

Volunteer Opportunities

Volunteers play an important role in supporting and enhancing refuge operations. Volunteers staff the information desk and "The Gator Hole" at the Visitor Center, help with invasive species eradication, do trash pickup and other routine maintenance, participate in ongoing wildlife management activities, and advocate for the refuges before governmental agencies.

External links