Ga. DNR hosts annual fish, wildlife conference after Helene delay

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – After being postponed due to Hurricane Helene, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources hosted the 78th annual Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Conference on Wednesday.

The fish and wildlife agencies cover 15 states and two territories with more than 600 hundred people attending the conference.

Georgia DNR has been on the ground assisting with the recovery from Hurricane Helene as well.

“Hurricane Helene was an unprecedented storm for Georgia. DNR was starting and preparing for the storm before it made landfall, following the storm, deploying people in all. We touched about 25 counties in Georgia and deployed 335 personnel that were involved. To this day, we are helping clean debris from roads and offering critical assistance with supplies,” said Trevor Santos, deputy commissioner for Georgia DNR.

During the meeting, they also discussed a new initiative, “Outdoors Beyond Barriers”

It is focused on removing barriers for people looking to get outdoors and dealing with issues including mobility issues, living in more urban areas or those who just have not been able to experience the outdoor areas in Georgia.

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