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Unprecedented growth on Georgia's coast has made marsh hammocks a "last resort" for developable waterfront property. Tiny islands within the salt marsh, hammocks provide important habitat for many wildlife species that have been pushed out of developed areas along the coast. Despite legislation meant to guide growth in vulnerable coastal areas and recent attempts to block bridge access to hammocks, these areas remain unprotected.

A long-term protection strategy for hammocks will require a better understanding of their functions and values, both in the biological and economic sense. It will also require thorough analysis of the legal and policy implications of regulatory and non-regulatory approaches to the problem. The Georgia Conservancy is working with others to study these issues and identify appropriate protection measures. In addition, the Georgia Conservancy's coastal programs director Patty McIntosh serves on a committee recently appointed by Georgia's Department of Natural Resources to evaluate regulatory, legislative and educational initiatives to protect hammocks.

The Georgia Conservancy recently appeared before the Coastal Marshlands Protection Committee to oppose the application of Emerald Point, LLC, for a permit to build bridges to three hammocks near Savannah. Watch for more information about the outcome of this application and other work to protect hammocks in the July Panorama. Click here for more information about hammocks.