GEORGIA CONSERVANCY INC
230 PEACHTREE STREET NO 1250, ATLANTA, GA 30303 www.georgiaconservancy.org

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Organizations Filed Purposes: TO PROTECT GEORGIA'S NATURAL RESOURCES FOR PRESENT AND FUTURE GENERATIONS BY ADVOCATING SOUND ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES, ADVANCING SUSTAINABLE GROWTH PRACTICES AND FACILITATING COMMON-GROUND SOLUTIONS TO ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGES.

THE GEORGIA CONSERVANCY IS A STATEWIDE, MEMBER-SUPPORTED ENVIRONMENTAL ORGANIZATION. OUR WORK FOR CLEAN AIR AND WATER, LAND CONSERVATION, COASTAL PROTECTION AND SUSTAINABLE GROWTH RECOGNIZES THE CONNECTION BETWEEN THE ENVIRONMENT, THE ECONOMY AND OUR QUALITY OF LIFE.

SUSTAINABLE GROWTHTHE SUSTAINABLE GROWTH PROGRAM REMAINS RESPONSIVE TO THE NEEDS OF COMMUNITIES THAT ARE INTERESTED IN BECOMING MORE ENVIRONMENTALLY AND ECONOMICALLY SUSTAINABLE. DURING FISCAL YEAR 2020, THE GEORGIA CONSERVANCY'S SUSTAINABLE GROWTH PROGRAM CONTINUED A FOCUS IN ASSISTING COMMUNITIES FACED WITH ISSUES CONCERNING HOUSING FLEXIBILITY, AFFORDABILITY AND ATTAINABILITY, FOCUSING ON THESE ISSUES FROM A LAND-USE PERSPECTIVE. THE GEORGIA CONSERVANCY BEGAN OR CONTINUED WORKED IN NEWTON COUNTY, PAULDING COUNTY, CHEROKEE COUNTY, CITY OF DOUGLASVILLE, AND CITY OF NORCROSS, AMONG OTHERS AS PART OF THIS EFFORT. THE PROGRAM ALSO ENGAGED WITH GEORGIA MUNICIPAL ASSOCIATION, CORPORATE ENTITIES SUCH AS GEORGIA POWER, AND THE ATLANTA REGIONAL COMMISSION TO FURTHER DISSEMINATE EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS ON THE IMPORTANCE OF HOUSING STATEWIDE HOUSING CHOICE CONTINUE TO DOMINATE THE INTERACTIONS WE HAVE IN EVERY COMMUNITY, AS A CRISIS PRE-EXISTING THE GLOBAL PANDEMIC AND NO EXACERBATED BY THE RELATED ECONOMIC IMPACT. SUSTAINABLE GROWTH IS LEADING THE CONVERSATION ON HOW HOUSING SOLUTIONS NECESSITATE LAND USE EFFICIENCY. WE ADVOCATE THOUGHTFUL PLANNING, REDEVELOPMENT AND DESIGN TO ADDRESS THIS CHALLENGE. WHILE GEORGIA IS PROJECTED TO GROW BY MILLIONS OVER THE COMING DECADES, OUR STATE IS FACED WITH BOTH THE CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES OF POPULATION GROWTH IN SOME AREAS AND POPULATION CONTRACTION IN OTHERS. FURTHERMORE, 80% OF GEORGIA'S MUNICIPALITIES ARE 5,000 IN POPULATION OR LESS, LEAVING FEW COMMUNITIES WITH STAFF OR BUDGETARY RESOURCES TO ADDRESS THE IMPACTS OF FUTURE POPULATION SHIFTS. OUR EFFORTS THIS PAST YEAR HAVE INVOLVED EDUCATIONAL EFFORTS TO HELP COMMUNITIES FACE CURRENT AND FUTURE CHALLENGES. THESE INCLUDE REDEVELOPMENT WORKSHOPS AND TRAINING TO ADVANCE COMMUNITY AND PRIVATE SECTOR ACCEPTANCE AND CAPACITY FOR REUSE OF SITES AND BUILDINGS, AND PRIORITIZING HOUSING DIVERSITY IN LOCAL PLANNING SUCH THAT PRIVATE, PUBLIC AND NONPROFIT SECTORS ARE ALIGNED TO MUTUALLY ADDRESS THE CRITICAL USE OF LAND ISSUE.

STEWARDSHIP TRIPSOUR STEWARDSHIP TRIPS PROGRAM CONTINUES TO OFFER ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION OPPORTUNITIES THROUGH VIRTUAL OFFERINGS. THIS PROGRAM CANCELLED SEVERAL IN-PERSON TRIPS DURING GEORGIA'S STAY-AT-HOME ORDER AND PIVOTED TO PROVIDING INSIGHTS INTO OUR STATE'S SPECIAL PLACES THROUGH ONLINE PRESENTATIONS AND PANEL DISCUSSIONS. PRIOR TO THE PANDEMIC, WE WERE ON-PACE TO MEET AND PERHAPS EXCEED OUR PREVIOUS FY'S STEWARDSHIP TRIPS PARTICIPANT NUMBERS. WE ARE CURRENTLY EXPERIMENTING WITH A NEW STEWARDSHIP TRIPS FORMAT OF LIMITED NUMBERS FOR PADDLE EVENTS WITH NEW PUBLIC SAFETY PROTOCOLS. SHOULD THESE TWO PILOT EVENTS GO SMOOTHLY, WE WILL RETURN TO A LIMITED NUMBER OF SUCH OUTDOOR EDUCATION OFFERINGS. THE PURPOSE OF OUR OUTDOOR EDUCATION OFFERINGS AND CORPORATE SERVICE OPPORTUNITIES INCLUDE REMOVING BARRIERS THAT HAVE KEPT MANY OF OUR CITIZENS FROM ENJOYING LOCAL GREENSPACES AND GEORGIA'S ABUNDANT WILDLIFE.

LAND CONSERVATIONOUR LAND CONSERVATION INITIATIVE REMAINS FOCUSED ON PERMANENTLY PROTECTING 500,000 ACRES OF HIGHLY FUNCTIONING ECOSYSTEMS AND BIO-DIVERSE LAND BETWEEN 2014 AND 2024. TO ACHIEVE THIS GOAL, WE WILL CONTINUE TO BUILD ON OUR WORK WITH THE GEORGIA'S LAND TRUST COMMUNITY, PRIVATE LANDOWNERS, AND GEORGIA'S GOPHER TORTOISE INITIATIVE. THE GEORGIA CONSERVANCY, PARTNERING WITH GEORGIA TECH'S CENTER FOR SPATIAL ANALYTICS AND VISUALIZATION, HAS COMPLETED AN ANALYSIS OF HISTORICAL LANDCOVER CHANGE IN GEORGIA SINCE THE EARLY 1970S. THE EFFORT IS AN INITIAL PHASE OF A LARGER DATA EVALUATION, DATA-SHARING, AND PUBLIC EDUCATION INITIATIVE WHICH WILL INFORM AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE PAST USE OF GEORGIA'S LAND AND ITS ECOLOGICAL IMPACTS. WE ANTICIPATE THIS UNPRECEDENTED DATA ANALYSIS WILL PROVIDE AN INVALUABLE RESOURCE FOR GEORGIA AND WILL BE A VALUABLE CONTRIBUTION TO NECESSARY DISCUSSIONS ABOUT THE IMPACTS OF GEORGIA'S FUTURE GROWTH ON OUR LAND AND WATER.THE GEORGIA CONSERVANCY CONTINUES TO PROVIDE THE 30+ MEMBERS OF THE ASSOCIATION OF GEORGIA LAND TRUST (AGLT), FORMERLY LAND TRUST ASSOCIATION OF GEORGIA, WITH CURRENT NEWS, ADVOCACY OPPORTUNITIES AND BEST PRACTICE INFORMATION ON BOTH PRIVATE AND PUBLIC CONSERVATION STRATEGIES. AGLT PROVIDES A PLATFORM FOR GEORGIA'S LAND TRUST COMMUNITY TO COLLABORATE ON EFFORTS TO INCREASE THE VELOCITY OF STRATEGICALLY CONSERVED LANDS, ENHANCE COMMUNICATIONS TO THE LAND OWNING PUBLIC, AND FOCUS ON REMOVING STATE OR COUNTY LEVEL BARRIERS TO CONSERVATION EASEMENTS. THE GEORGIA CONSERVANCY REMAINS INVOLVED WITH THE GOPHER TORTOISE CONSERVATION INITIATIVE, SEEKING TO PROTECT AND MANAGE 65 VIABLE GOPHER TORTOISE POPULATIONS IN GEORGIA FOR THIS KEYSTONE SPECIES IN THE SOUTHERN AND COASTAL PLAIN REGIONS. OUR STAFF CONTINUES TO WORK WITH A NUMBER OF PARTNERS FROM FEDERAL AND STATE GOVERNMENT. ALONG WITH KEY CONSERVATION NONPROFIT PARTNERS IN THE INITIATIVE, THE GEORGIA CONSERVANCY IS DEVELOPING AN OUTREACH STRATEGY TO INCREASE AWARENESS OF BOTH THE GOPHER TORTOISE AND THE CONSERVATION EFFORTS OF THE INITIATIVE.

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