Senator William Ligon named Satilla Riverkeeper Conservationist of the Year

Press Release – August 10,2020. For Immediate Release.
​White Oak, GA

Senator William Ligon was named Satilla Riverkeeper’s 2020 Conservationist of the Year during the organization’s first-ever Virtual Satilla Celebration on Saturday evening, August 8th.
 
Satilla Riverkeeper’s Conservationist of the Year Award recognizes an individual who has made outstanding accomplishments over their career towards protecting the environment in the Satilla River watershed.

This year the Satilla Riverkeeper is proud to honor Senator William Ligon for his many contributions to the well-being of all citizens of the Satilla River watershed.  His actions have helped keep the Satilla River clean and safe for fishing and swimming, our drinking water clean, and habitat for fish and wildlife productive. “His dedication to the environment and the communities of Southeast Georgia is evident, and we sincerely appreciate the strong example he has set as a public servant,” said Laura Early, Satilla Riverkeeper.

This year, Sen. Ligon was successful in passing a bill that makes it less attractive to dump out-of-state coal ash in Georgia.

Sen. Ligon also set the wheels in motion this year for a bill that would prevent any new landfills within 3 miles of blackwater rivers in the coastal plain.

“Although the bill did not pass in the final days of the session, it brought a lot of attention to the importance of siting landfills properly, so they do not impact Georgia’s water resources,” said Laura Early, Satilla Riverkeeper.

Over his tenure in the Georgia General Assembly, Sen. Ligon has made much progress in protecting the environment. His contributions include legislation that reduced fishing pressure on crabs, limited development on Jekyll Island, assured restoration of coastal fish habitat, protected coastal marshes with a buffer zone, encouraged the Coastal Georgia Greenway from St. Marys to Savannah, driven the need for buffers to protect streams and rivers, and assured the tire disposal fee in Georgia is spent properly.
 
“I cannot say enough about Senator Ligon’s effort with the Satilla Riverkeeper, and a group of us: Fred Voigt, Wilton Deloach, and myself, to inspire the State of Georgia to join the US Army Corps of Engineers in an ecosystem restoration in the Satilla River estuary involving the closure of Noyes Cut,” said Dr. Clay Montague, a member of the Board of Directors, who presented the award on Saturday evening.  Satilla Riverkeeper expects to see construction on this marsh restoration project begin next summer. The closure of manmade cuts in the Satilla River Estuary is expected to restore over 5,000 acres of habitat and improve recreational boating.
 
Sen. Ligon joins Dr. Wayne Clough, Don Berryhill, Wade and Rosemary Strickland, Derby Waters, and Clay Montague in being named Satilla Riverkeeper’s Conservationist of the Year.
 
The Satilla Riverkeeper® is a 501c3 nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting, restoring, and educating about the ecologically unique Satilla River. For more information, please visit satillariverkeeper.org.
 
Photo: Senator Ligon accepts the Conservationist of the Year award from a sandbar on the banks of the Satilla River.

The entire video of the Virtual Satilla Celebration is available here: https://youtu.be/Gj5mRm11cYE
(Presentation of award starts at 32:20)

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