The information is used by conservation groups and other agencies to set priorities for funding and research.

(Nationally), species such as the bald eagle have made a comeback because of targeted efforts. But unlike the federal program, Georgia does not have an individual recovery plan for each protected species.

I think there’s going to be a lot of changes. We’ve been building a database and we now have a much better picture of species distribution throughout the state.

The Forest Service is not obligated to abide by state rules, but we try to work with them. There’s also nothing in the state law that controls what a private landowner can do.

There are a lot of species that have not been seen in the last 10 or 15 years.