Georgia
First case of fatal neurological disease found in Georgia White-Tailed Deer
LANIER COUNTY, Ga. (WALB) – Lanier and Berrien Counties are now considered “Chronic Wasting Disease” management areas by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR). This declaration comes after a two-and-a-half-year-old male white-tailed deer, harvested on private property in Lanier County, tested positive for the fatal disease at the USDA’s National Veterinary Services Laboratories. This is the first case of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) detected in Georgia.
What is Chronic Wasting Disease?
According to the Georgia DNR, CWD was first discovered in 1967 in Fort Collins, Colorado. CWD is a neurological disease caused by natural proteins called “prions.” It is not caused by a virus, and has no treatment or vaccine. Georgia DNR reports that CWD is in the same family of diseases as “mad cow disease,” but has never been documented in people.
Can other animals can get CWD?
Georgia DNR says that CWD “doesn’t appear to naturally infect pets, cattle, or other livestock.” However, other types of deer, including elk and moose, are at risk. The disease can spread between deer through saliva, urine, and feces.
What does CWD look like?
According to the USDA, the following symptoms in a deer could indicate CWD:
- Weight loss
- Frequent urination
- Poor coordination
- Drooping ears
- Drooling
- Difficulty swallowing
- Aspiration pneumonia
How did the disease get to Georgia?
Georgia DNR says there are several possibilities, including the illegal importation of live deer. The disease could also have spread from an undiscovered pocket of CWD in another state, or carcass parts from another state were discarded in the area.
What does this mean for hunters/landowners?
To prevent further spread of the disease, Georgia DNR says hunters and landowners should:
- Not move live deer. Moving live deer is the greatest risk for introducing CWD to new areas.
- Dispose of carcasses properly and don’t bring whole carcasses into Georgia from out of state or move whole carcasses outside the CWD Management Area. Any carcass parts you don’t intend to consume should be left on the property where the deer was killed, sent to a landfill, or buried.
- Report sick or abnormal deer to your nearest WRD Game Management Office.
- Avoid consuming a deer that tests positive for CWD. Georgia DNR says if you hunt in the CWD management area, the CDC recommends testing deer before consuming them.
What’s next for GA DNR now that there’s a positive CWD case?
According to Georgia DNR, “The critical next step is to determine the geographic extent and prevalence rate in that Management Area (i.e., how far it has spread and what percent of deer have CWD). The Department will do that with landowner cooperation through ‘cluster sampling’ in the immediate area.”
Georgia DNR plans to hold a press conference Friday, Jan. 24 to answer any lingering questions that landowners and hunters might have about the disease.
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Georgia
Why Southern Living is spotlighting serene coastal escape in Georgia
22 sea turtles released into the ocean at Jekyll Island
Mystic Aquarium, a Connecticut-based aquarium and animal rescue organization, released 22 sea turtles into the Ocean at Jekyll Island.
A quiet stretch of the Georgia coast is back in the national spotlight.
In a recent feature, Southern Living highlighted the Golden Isles as one of the South’s most serene escapes, praising the region’s undeveloped marshes, barrier islands and slower pace compared to other East Coast beach destinations.
Located roughly halfway between Savannah and Jacksonville, the Golden Isles include Brunswick, Sea Island, St. Simons Island, Jekyll Island and Little St. Simons Island.
Here’s what to know.
What makes Georgia’s Golden Isles different?
Unlike more densely developed beach towns in neighboring states, Georgia’s coastline is defined by tidal creeks, salt marshes and wide stretches of protected land.
“The coast of Georgia is quite different than the shores of North Carolina or South Carolina,” Southern Living wrote. “It’s wilder and quieter, and it’s much less populated with beach towns.”
While the islands offer modern resorts and vacation homes, much of the natural character remains intact.
One of the most photographed spots is Driftwood Beach on Jekyll Island, known for its haunting remains of a maritime forest scattered along the shoreline.
Where are visitors staying?
The publication pointed to several well-known properties across the islands:
- The Cloister at Sea Island
- Jekyll Island Club Resort
- St. Simons Island: The Grey Owl Inn and the St. Simons Lighthouse.
Little St. Simons Island, accessible only by boat, was highlighted for its all-inclusive lodge and thousands of acres of protected marshland and upland habitat.
What can you do in the Golden Isles?
Southern Living emphasized simple, immersive experiences:
- Biking under live oaks
- Kayaking through marsh creeks
- Horseback riding along the beach
- Watching sunsets over the water.
Public beaches like East Beach on St. Simons Island remain open to visitors, while golf courses on Jekyll Island and St. Simons offer year-round play.
The region’s history also plays a major role. Visitors can climb the St. Simons Lighthouse, explore historic districts in Brunswick or learn about Gullah Geechee heritage through local organizations.
For more information, visit southernliving.com/georgias-golden-isles-11906085.
Vanessa Countryman is the Trending Topics Reporter for the Deep South Connect Team Georgia. Email her at Vcountryman@gannett.com.
Georgia
Gov. Kemp signs amended FY 2026 budget, delivering $2B in Georgia tax relief
ATLANTA, Ga. — Georgia Governor Brian P. Kemp on Tuesday signed HB 973, the amended Fiscal Year 2026 budget.
The amended budget includes $2 billion in income and property tax relief, alongside investments in education, public safety, mental health, transportation and rural development.
Lt. Gov. Burt Jones praised Gov. Kemp, saying the budget…
“Makes critical investments in middle-class families, mental health services, healthcare workforce development, transportation and Georgia’s veterans community.”
Key allocations in the amended budget include:
- Education and Workforce Development: $325 million to endow the DREAMS Scholarship, a new needs-based scholarship program; $6 million for a Career Navigator tool; and funding for new and expanded programs at University System of Georgia and Technical College System of Georgia institutions.
- Public Safety: $150 million for Department of Corrections bed space, $9.7 million for additional corrections officers, $15 million for a new K-9 training facility, and $50 million to help communities address homelessness, including among veterans.
- Mental Health: $409 million to design and construct a new Georgia Regional Hospital to expand mental health bed capacity.
- Transportation: More than $1.6 billion to extend and expand I-75 express lanes in Henry County; $185 million for SR 316 interchange conversions; $100 million for rural bridge rehabilitation and replacement; and $250 million for local maintenance and improvement grants.
- Rural Georgia: $15 million for rural site development grants; $35 million for a new natural gas infrastructure program; and $8.9 million for the Georgia Forestry Innovation Initiative.
Governor Kemp says the state’s conservative budgeting approach has allowed Georgia to provide tax relief while making “generational investments.”
Georgia
Middle Georgia DSA condemns U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran, calls escalation ‘illegal’
MACON, Ga. (WGXA) — Middle Georgia Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) has issued a statement regarding the U.S. and Israel’s joint strikes on Iran over the weekend.
According to other WGXA articles, based on reports as of early March 2026, the United States and Israel have launched major, coordinated military operations against Iran, labeled in reports as “Operation Epic Fury” and “Operation Midnight Hammer”. This follows months of failed nuclear negotiations and escalating regional tensions.
RELATED | Hegseth insists US-Israel strikes on Iran are ‘not Iraq, not endless’
WGXA asked Middle Georgia DSA, the largest activist organization in Middle Georgia, for their opinions on the strikes, and they responded with this:
The strikes on Iran, carried out by the United States and Israel, mark a catastrophic escalation in an illegal act of aggression. The Iranian people do not deserve to live in fear of American bombs and of the instability of regime change. Americans do not want our tax dollars and the lives of our people to be wasted on opening up a new war in the Middle East, or on bombing girls’ elementary schools. We want relief from the affordability crisis. We want peace. Middle Georgia DSA unequivocally condemns these attacks and any politicians who cannot do the same. We do not want this, we do not deserve this.
DSA added that they are not currently planning any protests at this time, and that they “remain focused on improving the conditions of people who live within our communities directly, and do not feel a protest is the best strategy to deliver on that.”
Middle Georgia DSA condemns U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran, calls escalation ‘illegal’, March 2, 2026 (Image is meant to say 2026 instead of 2025, Courtesy of GCSU Mutual Aid)
However, GCSU Mutual Aid, a grassroots, community-led initiative focused on collective care and resource sharing within the Milledgeville and broader Middle Georgia area. While not an official department of Georgia College & State University (GCSU), it frequently operates in coordination with student-led groups and local residents to address gaps in traditional social safety nets.
RELATED | GCSU encourages peaceful expression ahead of national ICE walkout
GCSU Mutual Aid is planning a protest for Wednesday, where they will be “Marching for Democracy” in retaliation to recent events in the U.S.
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