Save Cypress: Protect South Georgia

Gordon RogersSatilla Riverkeeper

January 05, 2009 -- The Tifton GazetteGreetings from deep Southeast Georgia, a land of blackwater, hunting and fishing traditions, and lots of cypress and gum trees.... but a LOT less than there used to be, and less every day. It's sad to realize that part of this loss is driven by a market for cypress mulch. To add insult to injury, companies based right here in Georgia are helping kill the region's beautiful swamps by spreading their components all over flowerbeds throughout the country. Satilla Riverkeeper is dedicated to the restoration and protection of the flow and quality of water in the swamps and creeks that feed the Satilla. This includes headwaters wetlands that are the flat cypress ponds and branches that lace the Georgia flatwoods. We are hundreds of members strong, with a conservative tradition of family and economic values including hunting, fishing, baptisms in the creeks and rivers, and quiet paddles on a Saturday afternoon. We are tree huggers: We hug them when we ambush a wood duck, call a mallard, sit in a deer stand or coax a spring gobbler close enough to shoot. To read more of this story, click on the following link. www.tiftongazette.com