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Public input sought for update to Georgia Dept. of Natural Resources wildlife conservation plan

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Public input sought for update to Georgia Dept. of Natural Resources wildlife conservation plan


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  • The Georgia Department of Natural Resources is seeking public input on an updated State Wildlife Action Plan until March 21st.
  • The plan, updated every decade, aims to protect native species and their habitats to prevent them from becoming endangered.
  • The plan highlights Georgia’s rich biodiversity, including being second only to Texas in the Southeast for the number of plant species.

In an effort to protect wildlife, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources is asking for public input on an updated strategy. 

“The things that we need to do to conserve our wildlife are fundamental to the quality of life for all Georgians,” Brett Albanese, state wildlife action plan coordinator at the Georgia Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Resources Division, told The Augusta Chronicle on Wednesday. “Our mission is to conserve natural areas by minimizing the impact of development on species and their habitats. We also want to educate people about the diversity of species that call Georgia home.”

A draft of Georgia’s revised State Wildlife Action Plan can be reviewed until March 21 at georgiawildlife.com/WildGeorgiaSWAP. 

The plan was created 20 years ago and is updated every decade. The plan guide works by protecting native animal and plant species from becoming more rare and costly to conserve, according to a Department of Natural Resources news release. 

The list of species varies from gopher tortoises and bald eagles to tangerine darters and Chapman’s fringed orchids.

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“Georgia is one of the most diverse areas in the country for several groups of species like freshwater aquatic species like fish, mussels and crayfishes,” said Albanese. “We are second in the Southeast, next to Texas, in terms of the number of plant species. We have over 3,000 native plant species in Georgia.”

The plan features a link to a digital version of the plan, a short presentation orienting viewers and a survey for providing comments. After the March 21 deadline, DNR will use the comments to make final revisions.

Key points about plan

  • Now through March 21: Public comment period for the draft 2025 Georgia State Wildlife Action Plan.
  • Submit comments at https://georgiawildlife.com/WildGeorgiaSWAP.
  • The website includes a brief presentation about the plan, a survey for providing comments and a link to a digital version of the draft.
  • Questions? Email WCScomments@dnr.ga.gov.

The plan will be sent to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in June for approval. States update their wildlife action plans every 10 years to remain eligible for federal and state wildlife grants. The plans are crucial to funding targeted, voluntary conservation to prevent wildlife from becoming endangered.

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“One of our purposes in developing and implementing this wildlife action plan is to avoid species from becoming extinct,” said Albanese. “We want to be preventative. If we work hard on proactive measures for conservation, we can keep species from rising to the level of endangerment where they need extreme, costly and regulatory measures to protect them.

“We work cooperatively with the Fish and Wildlife Service, federal partners and the conservation community, to try to recover species off of the US Endangered Species list. So that’s really the purpose of the swap. Once a species is extinct, it’s gone forever.”

This reporting content is supported by a partnership with several funders and Journalism Funding Partners.

Erica Van Buren is the climate change reporter for The Augusta Chronicle, part of the USA TODAY Network. Connect with her at EVanBuren@gannett.com or on X: @EricaVanBuren32.



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Georgia

Viral Georgia sorority girl Lily Stewart flashes smile in new mugshot after second arrest within weeks

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Viral Georgia sorority girl Lily Stewart flashes smile in new mugshot after second arrest within weeks


Take two!

The Georgia sorority sister who went viral for her glamorous mugshot photo landed in legal trouble — and in front of a jail camera — again Sunday when she was booked on a pair of new charges, according to records.

Lily Stewart, 20, was arrested just two weeks after she was initially pulled over and placed in custody on a speeding charge that was later dismissed.

The University of Georgia student, who is a member of the Alpha Chi sorority, was hit with fresh charges of obstruction of a law enforcement officer and loitering/prowling after she was arrested by campus police around 5:30 a.m., according to jail records from the Athens-Clarke County Sheriff’s Office.

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Lily Stewart was all smiles in a second mugshot taken after she was arrested Sunday morning. Athens-Clarke County Jail

Both charges are misdemeanors. More information about the circumstances around her arrest was not immediately known.

Stewart flashed a smile in her Sunday morning booking photo and appeared to wear prison garb, according to the pictures obtained by TMZ, which first reported on the sorority girl’s second arrest.

The coed was cut loose from detention later that morning after posting more than a $4,000 bond, according to jail records.

Her attorney, Stephen Morris, declined comment in an email to The Post Sunday evening about the new charges, but confirmed the speeding charge from March 8 has been dismissed.

Stewart lit up social media when her mugshot from her first arrest quickly went viral last week with the college student leaning into the newfound attention by posting her favorite comments on her TikTok page.

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The first mugshot that sent Stewart to online fame after she was arrested for speeding. Morgan County Sheriff’s Office

“I think it’s hilarious. I don’t know what all the hype is about. I just took a mugshot and went on with my day,” she told The Post last week.

“I love all the comments poking fun at me, saying, ‘She was on her way to Lululemon’ or ‘She must have had to [pee] really bad.’”

The college student was hit with fresh charges of obstruction of a law enforcement officer and loitering/prowling. Instagram / Lily Stewart

Stewart’s pristine jailhouse photo was a result of having her hair and makeup done for the birthday party she was trying to zoom to before she was stopped by a Georgia State Patrol officer.

“I was going to a friend’s birthday in Milledgeville, [Ga.] — and I had just gotten ready not long before, so that’s maybe why my makeup and hair still looked good,” she said.

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Can Colbie Young’s Return Boost the Georgia Bulldogs’ Offensive Production in 2025

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Can Colbie Young’s Return Boost the Georgia Bulldogs’ Offensive Production in 2025


Can the return of Colbie Young to Georgia’s wide receiver room help boost the Dawgs’ offensive production in 2025?

The Georgia Bulldogs, like many college football teams, are heading into their 2025 season with a lot of questions. But more of the more pressing questions coming from its fanbase surrounds the team’s offensive production. For many reasons, the Dawgs’ 2024 season was apart from the norm as far as offense goes, and the team is looking to get back on track in 2025. One player who could help the Dawgs this season is wide receiver Colbie Young.

Young appeared in five games during the Dawgs’ 2024 season before a suspension cut his first year with the team short. When available, he played primarily the “X” position and was an extremely reliable asset in catching “50/50” balls.

Following his suspension, Young’s absence was in a significant way during the back half of the 2024 season as numerous pass catchers were forced to play unfamiliar roles, contributing to the handful of woes the Dawgs’ offense experienced. His return to the Bulldogs’ roster in 2025 could have a massive effect on not just the production but the continuity of Georgia’s offense as a whole.

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Early spring reports indicate that Young has emerged as a leader in the Bulldogs’ wide receiver room and suggest that the college football veteran is extremely focused. While Young alone will not be the driving factor of Georgia’s offensive success in 2025, the return of his skillset and leadership indicates that the Bulldogs’ offense is trending in the right direction.

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You can follow us for future coverage by clicking “Follow” on the top right-hand corner of the page. Also, be sure to like us on Facebook @BulldogMaven & follow us on Twitter at @DawgsDaily

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Georgia cracks down on pro-EU protests with crippling fines

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Georgia cracks down on pro-EU protests with crippling fines


Nadim Khmaladze has been joining thousands of fellow Georgians on the streets every evening since November, when Tbilisi’s increasingly repressive government shelved EU membership talks.

The 60-year-old rights activist said he was “ready to face police violence” when he first joined the anti-government rallies in Tbilisi, but he never imagined that standing on the street for a few hours could cost him more than 22 months’ salary.

Three months into the protests, he received a summons: a total of 45,000 lari (around $16,000) in fines for briefly blocking traffic along Tbilisi’s central avenue.

“The government is using Russian-style methods to abolish freedom of assembly in Georgia,” he told AFP.

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Khmaladze is one of thousands of Georgian protesters facing crippling fines for taking to the streets.

Prominent writer Mikheil Tsikhelashvili, who returned to Georgia last year from emigration in Portugal to fight against the ruling Georgian Dream party’s “pro-Russian policies,” has been attending protests daily.

He says he and his girlfriend were each fined the equivalent of $1,850, in what he called a “financial terror aimed at extinguishing popular anger.”

“I took the case to court,” he said, adding however that he had “little hope in Georgia’s justice system, which is fully controlled by the ruling party.”

– Unprecedented protests –

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Braving bitter frost, protesters continue to rally daily in Tbilisi and cities across the Black Sea nation, in what has become an unprecedented protest movement against Georgian Dream’s perceived democratic backsliding and growing rapprochement with Moscow.

The mass protests first erupted following disputed parliamentary elections in October, which the opposition rejected as rigged in favour of Georgian Dream.

The movement intensified after Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze’s November 28 announcement that his cabinet would not seek to open EU membership talks with Brussels until 2028 — a move that shocked many.

Georgia is an official candidate for membership in the 27-nation bloc, a bid supported by more than 80 percent of the population, according to opinion polls, and enshrined in the country’s constitution.

During the protests’ initial phase, security forces used tear gas and water cannons to disperse demonstrators and made hundreds of arrests.

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Georgia’s top human rights official, ombudsman Levan Ioseliani, and Amnesty International have accused police of “torturing” detainees — a charge the government denies.

Authorities have since resorted to harsh financial penalties and increased surveillance, deploying facial recognition technology to identify protesters and issue hefty fines.

– ‘Slowly strangling’ –

“After the bare violence proved ineffective, the government turned to intimidation — televised police raids on activists’ homes and anonymous threats over the phone,” Salome Khvadagiani, the director of Liberty Institute rights group, told AFP.

“When that too failed to suppress the protest, the government moved to slowly strangling them — financially,” she added.

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In December, fines for blocking roads were increased tenfold, to 5,000 laris ($1,850), leaving thousands facing “absolutely disproportionate financial sanctions” or, alternatively, 15 days in prison.

In January alone, the total amount of fines surpassed $6.5 million in the country of four million people, where the average monthly salary is some $740, according to the For Georgia opposition party.

The interior ministry said it only issues fines “when the number of demonstrators doesn’t justify blocking the road” and a rally can be held without disrupting traffic.

To enforce these measures, authorities have expanded surveillance capabilities, including the deployment of facial recognition technology.

Rights groups said the government has drastically increased the number of high-resolution surveillance cameras in the streets of Tbilisi.

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The widespread use of “facial recognition and remote biometric recognition technologies facilitates discriminatory targeted surveillance,” said GYLA rights watchdog. “These practices undermine fundamental rights.”

– ‘We will never back down’ –

In 2021, Amnesty International, along with several other international rights groups, called for “an outright ban on uses of facial recognition and remote biometric recognition technologies that enable mass surveillance and discriminatory targeted surveillance.”

Khvadagiani of the Liberty Institute said the “campaign of mass and disproportional financial sanction has caused protests turnout to dwindle significantly over the last month.”

But demonstrators are now “adapting to the situation” she said, filing court complaints that have overwhelmed the judicial system, “significantly delaying the enforcement of financial sanctions or even making them unenforceable.”

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“The government can’t scare us,” said Khmaladze, who fought for nearly two years on Ukraine’s frontlines against invading Russian troops.

“We are taking to the streets for Georgia’s democracy and will never back down,” he said.

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