Narrator: It meanders 137 miles through the wild heart of Georgia.
It's a Blackwater beauty that nourishes longleaf pine forest, cypress swamps,
saltwater estuaries, and barrier islands that protects the Atlantic coast and migratory birds alike.
The Altamaha River, also known as "the Amazon of the South"
flows free with few latter-day intrusions like bridges or factories.
It's a biodiverse playground for dozens of at-risk species.
Tim Keyes: You've got on the coast of Georgia a really high tidal range so between six
and nine feet annually which exposes huge amounts of foraging habitat for
seabirds and shorebirds very healthy oyster beds which provide foraging for a
number of different species and so the whole package this is a really
spectacular refuge for wildlife. I work primarily with birds and it's really
critical for migratory shorebirds in spring and fall as they are looking to
pack on the energy to do just insane long-distance flights.
Narrator: The Altamaha is also a recreational oasis for deer and turkey hunters,
fresh and saltwater anglers and increasingly kayakers, birders, and hikers.
Well the river should be protected -- and another thing, because we have kayaks coming through here
a lot of tourists -- they comin' through you know and you go down to that dock underneath
the bridge a lot of boats comes through here and yachts -- it's very important for this city.
[Water running]
Narrator: A paper mill, municipal wastewater,
and agricultural runoff pollute the Altamaha. Development -- anything from a ten acre
subdivision to a 5,000 acre horse farm gobbles up precious buffer land.
Rising seas, warmer temperatures, and killer droughts harm flora and fauna.
The river, though, benefits from one of the nation's most ambitious, successful,
and little-known conservation efforts. Nearly $100 million dollars has been spent the
last dozen years buying a huge swaths of land along the Altamaha.
A 40 mile long corridor from Jesup to Wolf Island National Wildlife Refuge has been
protected along both sides of the river. Saving a river of course requires much
more than nature loving benefactors, nonprofits, and private foundations.
[Music playing]
A lot of times we do consultations with -- like Fort Stewart and Townsend bombing range
[They] have a lot of land, though, and they bomb on a very little bit of it.
The rest of their land they try to do -- wildlife habitat on it and natural resources management.
[Birds chirping]
Narrator: The Altamaha received generous support from an alphabet soups
worth of federal and state agencies. Georgia's Department of Natural
Resources and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service topped the list.
The U.S. Department of Defense, known more for blowing things up than preserving them,
plays a critical financial and environmental role in the Altamaha's survival.
The river is a stellar example of a conservation corridor a lengthy
protected bulwark against the ravages of over development and a warming climate.
Within forty five years the Southeast is projected to lose a South Carolina-sized amount of forest.
The region's population could double.
The South's natural, historical, and cultural worlds are threatened unless something is done.
Something is being done. The Southeast Conservation Adaptation Strategy, or SECAS,
is a coalition of government and nonprofit groups it aims to protect
large swaths of land, myriad at-risk species, and a distinctly southern way of life
heavy on hunting and fishing.
This river, the Altamaha, we call it the "Amazon of the South."
And what it represents to me is the past, the present, and the future.
We're trying to do what we can to keep it a sacred, protected
place in the present, but more so to pass it on into the future.
We have eight grandchildren and I want their grandchildren and their grandchildren
their great-grandchildren to say, "wow, aren't we glad grandpa thought about this."
Narrator: The SECAS plan with a target date of 2060 enlists business, industry, and the military,
entities not typically synonymous with conservation,
to create a network of landscapes that boost fish and wildlife and the quality of life across the South.
Many people live in the watershed.
The watershed is -- covers over a
quarter of the state of Georgia and so many people may not even realize it, but
they live in the Altamaha River watershed. We have to think about our
land and water use practices throughout and how that may have an impact all the
way down to our coastal area and our economies are therefore tied to the
health of the Altamaha River system.
This series of stories and videos highlights the considerable successes achieved along the Altamaha River corridor.
It also underscores the conservation challenges facing the South well into the future.
[Music playing]