Nicknamed Georgia’s “Little Amazon,” the winding 137-mile Altamaha River is a treasured waterway. Largely undammed and free flowing, the Altamaha River’s vast watershed is the second largest in volume of freshwater inflow to the Atlantic Ocean in the country, at a rate of over 100,000 gallons per second.

A critical ecosystem, the Altamaha River watershed is home to more than 100 rare and endangered species including the gopher tortoise, a keystone species whose large burrow systems benefit and support around 350 other species. Proceeds from The Conservation Fund’s first-ever green bonds will enable us to protect thousands of acres of working forests along the river, while supporting the local timber economy and restoring important wildlife habitats.

Our Role

Over the past three decades we’ve protected nearly 40,000 acres and 68 miles of rivers and streams within the Altamaha River watershed. In May 2021, we purchased 6,154 acres of riverfront land, known as Beards Creek Forest, from Rayonier Inc. to ensure these lands remain working timberlands forever. Through our sustainable management and restoration efforts to improve surface hydrology and restore longleaf pine, we are committed to also improving the ecology and quality of wildlife habitat — a win-win for nature and local communities.

Our purchase and interim ownership of Beards Creek Forest has provided time for permanent conservation strategies to be put in place that will preserve this working forestland, safeguard jobs and help mitigate climate change. It will also protect water quality and wildlife habitat, contribute to local economies and allow traditional recreational access.

Roughly half of the forest (3,800 acres) fell within Fort Stewart’s Army Compatible Use Buffer and has been protected with a working forest conservation easement held by the Georgia Alabama Land Trust and funded by the Department of Defense’s Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration program. This will ensure that the property will remain protected from any development that could hinder training operations.

This project is part of our Working Forests, an innovative program dedicated to mitigating climate change, strengthening rural economies and protecting natural ecosystems through the permanent conservation of at-risk working forests across America.

Why This Project Matters

Beards Creek Forest features nearly six miles of riverfront land, and its permanent protection will support aquatic species native to the Altamaha River and several endangered mussels and fishes, like the Atlantic sturgeon. Roughly half of the property is comprised of wetlands, which play an important role in protecting coastal communities from the impacts of more frequent and intense storms, such as storm surges, flooding and erosion. Protecting and restoring the longleaf pine forest also ensures it will continue to absorb carbon dioxide, a critical tool in addressing climate change. In addition, the protection of this land will help support the military training mission of nearby Fort Stewart Army Base, ensuring a connected corridor of undeveloped land that will buffer the fort from incompatible development. Beards Creek Forest is also of special interest to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources which is considering the overall potential for the property to become a recipient site for orphaned gopher tortoises that have been displaced from the wild.