Annual Report - 10 Year Anniversary Edition

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STAFF

Christopher Jenkins Chief Executive Officer

Heidi Hall

Development Director

Houston Chandler

Longleaf Savannas Initiative Director

Brannon Knight

Longleaf Savannas Initiative Stewardship Coordinator

Ben Stegenga

Longleaf Savannas Initiative Field Technician

Jacob Barrett

3 4 5 6 8 29 31 32 35 36 38

Message From Chris Mission Approach History of Orianne 10 Year Timeline More to Come Initiative Overview Who We Are Financials Thank You How You Can Help

Longleaf Savannas Initiative Field Operations Coordinator

Kiley Briggs

Great Northern Forests Initiative Turtle Conservation Coordinator

Matt Moore

Longleaf Savannas Initiative Field Technician

Jonathon Bolton

Longleaf Savannas Initiative Field Technician

William Rodriguez

Communications Coordinator

Charli Palmer

Program Manager

Patty Li

Accountant

BOARD of Directors

Dr. Bob Beard Mr. Ross Caphton Mrs. Jane Fraser Dr. Thomas Kaplan Mr. William Natbony Dr. Lloyd Newberry Mr. Vance Serchuk Mr. Jack Whalen Dr. Chris Jenkins – CEO Mr. Gary Baldaeus – Treasurer Mrs. Heidi Hall - Secretary The Orianne Society Annual Report is produced, designed, and edited by the staff of The Orianne Society.

The Orianne Society @OrianneSociety 11 Old Fruit Stand Lane, Tiger, GA 30576 706-224-1359 info@oriannesociety.org www.OrianneSociety.org

@OrianneSociety Spring Peeper. Photo: Kevin Stohlgren

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Message from the CEO

Photo: Pete Oxford

Ten years ago I was hiking through the vast sagebrush deserts of the Intermountain West dreaming of running a global snake conservation program. My employer at the time, Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), was open to the idea. I researched snake conservation priorities in all of WCS’s priority landscapes and was also thinking about snakes that were of global conservation priority independent of the landscapes they called home. I had synthesized all of this information into a draft strategic plan that was being reviewed by the head of WCS’s Global Conservation Program. At the same time, I was also thinking about how to fund such a program. The words conservation and snake are not often spoken in the same sentence even by conservation philanthropists. But one of the supporters of WCS, Dr. Thomas Kaplan, had a real interest in snakes, having spent a great deal of time in Florida as a child. In addition, his daughter, Orianne, had recently had the opportunity to visit Florida and hold an Eastern Indigo Snake. This experience gave her the inspiration to ask her father if he would do something to save the Indigo Snake. Soon after, Dr. Kaplan and I partnered to found Project Orianne. We decided it would be best to start with a small, focused nonprofit that could make a big impact in one place with one species before thinking bigger. With Project Orianne founded as a private operating foundation (or a nonprofit that operates as opposed

to giving grants, but is funded primarily by one family), we developed a comprehensive suite of programs to address the decline of Eastern Indigo Snakes. We were purchasing land, restoring habitat, reintroducing snakes into areas they were extinct, studying the snakes ecology, monitoring populations, and conservation planning. These initial efforts provided the base from which Project Orianne would transition into The Orianne Society. We set up a preserve system, including a land restoration and management program that works on restoration across public and private lands. We built a captive breeding facility that breeds and reintroduces Indigo Snakes into places where they are now extinct. We began an effort to increase our knowledge of Indigo Snakes by orders of magnitude, conducting extensive inventory, research, and monitoring programs. From this base we began the process of transitioning to The Orianne Society, a publically funded nonprofit with a mission to conserve the worlds rare reptiles and amphibians and the ecosystems they depend on. We first transitioned our Indigo Snake efforts to include many species in the Longleaf Savannas, such as Gopher Tortoises and Spotted Turtles. We then built new landscape initiatives on the back of sound-science. For example, using the innovative technique of sampling water for Hellbender DNA, we changed how these species are surveyed across their range and formed the Appalachian Highlands Initiative. We launched a Great Northern Forests Initiative that links endangered turtle conservation and working landscapes. Ten years after my time walking the sagebrush deserts with a dream, I look out my office window at the flowering trees in the Southern Appalachians with another dream. A dream to provide a conservation legacy that provides a future for rare reptiles and amphibians. We are in the final years of transitioning to a public charity. We are building out our existing programs and developing strategies for new ones. In ten years, my dream is to look back at The Orianne Society and see a sustainable organization that is making a difference. I want to share this dream with everyone reading this, as a volunteer, a citizen scientist, or a donor, there are so many way you can play a part. Join us for the next 10 years, together we will make a better future for the animals that most have forgotten.

Dr. Chris Jenkins CEO, The Orianne Society ORIANNESOCIETY.ORG CELEBRATION OF 10 YEARS 3


The Orianne Society works to conserve critical ecosystems for imperiled reptiles and amphibians using science, applied conservation and education. Our programs are designed using a customized, science-based approach. Specifically, we work on multiple conservation targets within a series of landscapes. We first examine the threats to each conservation target and then determine the research and applied programs required to achieve conservation for each. There are many themes that are often used across our work. Our primary theme is that we conduct science that informs conservation and we use science to inform on-the-ground conservation actions. However, to maintain our scientific credibility, we do not engage in advocacy or policy, though our work may be used by other organizations to influence policy.

MISSION

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APPROACH

Our efforts are divided into three initiatives that focus on declining landscapes and species. Longleaf Savannas Altamaha River Corridor Sandhill Snakes Freshwater Turtles Great Northern Forests Northeast Kingdom Freshwater Turtles Vernal Pools Appalachian Highlands Greater Smoky Mountains Hellbenders Timber Rattlesnakes

ORIANNESOCIETY.ORG CELEBRATION OF 10 YEARS 5 Red Salamander. Photo: Pete Oxford


History of Orianne The Orianne Society started as a request from a young girl to her father ten years ago. Dr. Thomas Kaplan and his daughter, Orianne, were visiting a zoo, where Orianne had the opportunity to hold an Eastern Indigo Snake. She asked her father if she could have one as a pet but he had to tell her that it was not possible because it was an endangered species. Upon hearing that she made a very selfless request: she asked her father if he could save the Indigo Snake. Dr. Kaplan contacted Dr. Chris Jenkins, then with Wildlife Conservation Society, and together they decided to start an effort to conserve Indigo Snakes. Soon after that decision, a broad group of partners were brought together to develop a strategy and Project Orianne was founded with Dr. Jenkins as Chief Executive Officer and Dr. Kaplan as Chairman of the Board. Project Orianne developed a comprehensive strategy for conserving Eastern Indigo Snakes. First, a series of properties were purchased in South Georgia in a stronghold for the species. These properties

became the Orianne Indigo Snake Preserve and still stand today as a stronghold for rare Longleaf Pine species. Second, Project Orianne built a state-of-the-art breeding center in Florida called the Orianne Center for Indigo Conservation. The facility is still run today as a partnership between The Orianne Society and Central Florida Zoo and is producing Indigo Snakes that are being reintroduced in Alabama and Florida. Finally, Project Orianne launched range-wide research, inventory, and monitoring efforts that increased their knowledge of Indigo Snake ecology and populations status significantly. At the request of Dr. Kaplan, Project Orianne began the transition from a private operating foundation to a public charity and became The Orianne Society. This was a significant move for a nonprofit, moving from receiving the majority of its funding from one donor to receiving its funding more broadly from the “public�. As part of the transition, the now named Orianne Society expanded its board from approximately 3 Hellbender Salamander. Photo: Pete Oxford

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Great Northern Forest. Photo: Kiley Briggs

to 10 people and launched a membership program. But perhaps the most significant changes came from focusing the Indigo Snake programs to specific projects and creating new programs on additional species and in additional areas. The Orianne Society was moving from a single species conservation organization to a rare reptile and amphibian conservation organization. While Orianne staff remained active in multiple areas, this transition focused Orianne Indigo Snake efforts to land conservation and management and monitoring Indigo populations across South Georgia. As part of the transition, Orianne expanded its work on Indigo Snakes into a broader Longleaf Savannas Initiative and launched new efforts, an Appalachian Highlands Initiative and a portfolio of international Conservation Projects. The expanded Longleaf Savannas Initiative included conservation projects focused on other rare snakes, a large Gopher Tortoise conservation effort, and projects to conserve freshwater turtles. The Appalachian Highlands Initiative focused on Timber Rattlesnake conservation in the Southern Appalachians but also included projects to determine the status of and restore habitats for Hellbenders and Bog Turtles. Orianne staff also founded the Viper Specialist Group and worked on efforts for setting global viper conservation priorities and conducting species status assessments. Orianne also has worked on a series of small on-the-ground international projects in places like Costa Rica, Panama, and Bangladesh.

As part of The Orianne Society’s transition to a public charity, Orianne launched an initiative for the conservation of Great Northern Forests. This initiative focused on the region where the boreal forests of the north and the hardwood forests of the south come together. In this region there is an interesting group of reptiles and amphibians adapted to living in cold climates. Orianne’s initial efforts focused on assessing the status of Wood Turtle populations in the Northeast Kingdom region of Vermont. Additional efforts included development of a private landowner network and riparian habitat restoration work. Orianne is currently exploring possibilities for future work with conservation of vernal pools and pond breeding amphibians. Many of the projects and programs The Orianne Society started are still in place today and will continue into the future. Transitioning from a private operating foundation to a public charity is a task some said would be almost impossible, but Orianne is now approaching the end of the transition. With increased and continued support from the public (donations, additional people interested in serving on the board, corporate sponsors, and an increasing membership), The Orianne Society will complete the transition in the next few years and the story of Orianne over the years will continue, building a much longer history of conserving rare reptiles, amphibians, and the ecosystems they depend on.

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Dr. Chris Jenkins with an Eastern Indigo Snake in 2008. Photo: Heidi Hall

The Vision The vision of a young girl, Orianne, inspires her father Dr. Tom Kaplan and Wildlife Conservation Society scientist Dr. Chris Jenkins, to form a nonprofit (Project Orianne) to save the Eastern Indigo Snake. Dr. Thomas Kaplan and his daughter, Orianne. Photo: Dr. Chris Jenkins

Bringing Everyone Together

Eastern Indigo Snake Conservation Representatives, 2008. Photo: Martha Newberry

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Dr. Jenkins brings together multiple stakeholders, including the US Fish and Wildlife Service, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, The Nature Conservancy, and private landowners to discuss the path forward to conserve the Eastern Indigo Snake. This sparks a multi-agency effort to conserve habitat for Indigos and to begin repatriation efforts where the species no longer occurs.


2008 Indigo Snake Recovery Plan

Cover of the first draft of the Eastern Indigo Snake Recovery Plan. Credit: US Fish and Wildlife Service

Orianne staff work with the US Fish and Wildlife Service to update the Eastern Indigo Snake Recovery Plan, which will include land protection, species monitoring, and repatriation efforts.

Location Orianne begins looking for a location to headquarter in Georgia.

Front of the first business cards used by The Orianne Society, then known as “Project Orianne�. Credit: Elane Shiramizu

Making it Official Orianne Society files Articles of Incorporation and officially hires a Chief Executive Officer, a Program Manager, a Captive Breeding Specialist, and a Natural Historian.

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The Preserve

Indigo Snake

Orianne starts Orianne Indigo Snake Preserve with the purchase of 900 acres of critical habitat from Dr. Lloyd Newberry, who later joins Orianne’s Board of Directors.

Monitoring program

Photo: Pete Oxford

Monitoring Program

New sign denoting the entrance to the newly created Orianne Indigo Snake Preserve. Photo: Wayne Taylor

Orianne launches statewide indigo snake monitoring program in Georgia to ensure the remaining populations of Eastern Indigo Snakes remain stable. In addition, Orianne begins a monitoring program for upland snakes in the Altamaha River Corridor, including Florida Pine Snakes, Southern Hognose Snakes, and Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnakes.

Research Orianne hires an Associate Conservation Scientists and begins a multi year study on the population genetics of Eastern Indigo Snakes Eastern Indigo Snake. Photo: Javan Bauder

Push for Land Management Orianne hires its first Director of Land Management. This position was responsible for building the infrastructure of our land management team, including hiring seasonal staff, designing and building a Type 6 Wildland Fire Engine, and working to engage private landowners in a partnership to manage their land for Eastern Indigo Snake and Longleaf Pine ecosystem restoration.

Type 6 Wildland Fire Engine on a prescribed fire. Photo: Jacob Barrett

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2009

Snake Ecology Group Orianne hosts the 3rd Snake Ecology Group Meeting in Idaho. The theme of the meeting is “Twenty Years of Snake Ecology in the Rockies.�

Native groundcover seed collection to restore areas once dominated by plantation pine species. Photo: Jacob Barrett

Habitat Restoration Orianne removes hundreds of acres of Sand Pine from Indigo Snake habitats in Georgia and Florida to begin restoring natural Longleaf ecosystems.

Logo for the 2009 Snake Ecology Group Meeting

Orianne Moves Orianne moves its headquarters from Southern Idaho to North Georgia, with a satellite office on the Orianne Indigo Snake Preserve.

Research First Orianne Society Headquarters in Clayton, Georgia. Photo: Heidi Hall

Orianne begins a multiyear project to develop winter and summer habitat models for Indigo Snakes in Georgia to better understand habitat needs and areas that would be priorities to conserve.

Viper Specialist Group Orianne creates and houses the International Union for Conservation of Nature, Viper Specialist Group - an advisory group of viper experts from around the world.

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Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake. Photo: Matt Moore

Captive Breeding

Orianne hires a Director of Captive Breeding based in Eustis, Florida to oversee the captive breeding program and the construction of a breeding facility. The director will also manage the Indigo Snake Studbook, to determine breeding pairs.

Conservation Planning

Formed a multi-agency, Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake Conservation Action Planning Team to continually assess the current, range-wide status of Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnakes, identify measures that are necessary to ensure their survival, and identify future research and conservation needs. Association of Zoos and Aquariums Eastern Indigo Snake Studbook.

Orianne Center

Construction begins on a state-of-the-art Indigo Snake breeding facility, complete with a herpetarium, quarantine building, and outdoor enclosures to house Eastern Indigo Snakes. The painted green segment on the rattle indicates this particular snake had been captured before during the project. Photo: Heidi Hall

Timber Rattlesnakes

Orianne Center for Indigo Conservation, with outdoor enclosures on the right. Photo: Fred Antonio

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Orianne launches first detailed ecological study on Timber Rattlesnakes in Vermont. In conjunction, Orianne also worked with local partners to implement a rattlesnake re-location program to lower the persecution rates of rattlesnakes in the state.


Bog Turtles

2010

Bog Turtle. Photo: Pete Oxford

Eastern Hognose Snake. Photo: Pete Oxford

Surveyed for Bog Turtles at potential sites in the North Georgia mountains in conjunction with Georgia Department of Natural Resources. Orianne would later go on to restore several mountain bogs, both for habitat and for educational sites for local schools.

Hognose Snakes

Partnered with the Savannah River Ecology Lab on an ecological study of Hognose Snakes.

Detector Dog

Successfully determined the effectiveness of using detector dogs to find Eastern Indigo Snakes as a survey method.

Eastern Indigo Snake. Photo: Pete Oxford

Thermal Ecology Orianne Technician, Dylan Kelly and wildlife detector dog, Charli, with several Eastern Indigo Snakes. Photo: Kevin Stohlgren

Began a thermal ecology study of indigo snakes to determine how Indigos are using the physical environment to regulate their temperature. ORIANNESOCIETY.ORG CELEBRATION OF 10 YEARS 13


Newly acquired acreage in Telfair County, Georgia, 2011. Photo: Heidi Hall

Indigo Snake Reintroduction Orianne partners with universities and agencies to launch reintroduction of indigo snakes in Alabama. Seventeen juvenile snakes are released during this first round of reintroductions. A graduate study begins to study reintroduced snakes.

Expansion

Alabama non-game biologist, Mark Sasser, releases a juvenile Eastern Indigo Snake during the first reintroduction. Photo: Jim Godwin

Orianne purchases an additional 1,600 acres of Indigo Snake habitat, effectively doubling the size of the Orianne Indigo Snake Preserve. This purchase is connected to the original acreage purchased in 2010. Gopher Tortoise image in a burrow taken using a burrow camera. Photo: Heidi Hall

Timber Rattlesnake

Counting Tortoises

Continuing our work in Vermont, Orianne conducted nine, noninvasive double observer surveys at two rattlesnake denning sites and radio telemetry efforts to determine critical summer habitats.

Completed line transect distance sampling for Gopher Tortoises on the Orianne Indigo Snake Preserve. This survey is the first conducted on the preserve and acts as a baseline for our Gopher Tortoise monitoring efforts. Timber Rattlesnake. Photo: Heidi Hall

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2011 Then Director of Longleaf Savannas Initiative, Dirk Stevenson, with several healthy Eastern Indigo Snakes. Photo: Unknown

Midget Faded Rattlesnake and Great Basin Gopher Snake. Photo: Josh Parker

Midget-Faded Orianne launches multiyear study on Midget-faded rattlesnakes in Wyoming and Colorado to determine the impacts of energy development and to guide future development plans.

Indigo Snake in summer habitat. Photo: Pete Oxford

Occupancy Began second year of long-term occupancy surveys for Eastern Indigo Snakes and Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnakes at multiple sites within the Altamaha River Corridor.

Land Management Land Management team has applied prescribed fire to 2,442 acres of private land. Bunkhouses and a shop are built on the preserve to house fire crews, technicians, and equipment.

Indigo Movement Conducted movement study on Indigo Snakes on the Orianne Indigo Snake Preserve, identifying summer habitats snakes use off the Preserve to prioritize restoration and protection areas.

Prescribed fire conducted at night. Prescribed fire is used to mimic natural fire cycles which are now suppressed. Photo: Brannon Knight

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Claxton Rattlesnake and Wildlife Festival Orianne joined forces with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources and the Evans County, Georgia Wildlife Club to change the Claxton Rattlesnake Roundup into a family friendly wildlife festival. This change resulted in venomous snakes no longer being collected from the wild and killed during the event.

Planting Longleaf Pine to restore this ecosystem for critical habitat and for the next generation. Photo: Wayne Taylor Then Director of Captive Breeding, Fred Antonio, shows a group of children a Cribo at the first Claxton Rattlesnake and Wildlife Festival in 2012. Photo: Heidi Hall

Longleaf Planting Orianne begins the process of planting over 500,000 Longleaf Pines on the Preserve.

The First PYNH Orianne launches the Places You’ve Never Herped series, a program aimed at using citizen science to collect data and getting people out in the field to learn more about reptiles and amphibians. The first PYNH is along the Altamaha River at a series of Wildlife Management Areas.

Great Basin Rattlesnake in sage brush. Photo: Chris Jenkins

Patch given to the second PYNH participants. Patches were assigned to each PNYH event with the exception of the first one. Graphic Design: Heidi Hall

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Great Basin Rattlesnake Orianne uses one of the largest rattlesnake datasets in existence to study population ecology of Great Basin Rattlesnakes.


Bangladesh Python Project

2012

Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake. Photo: Matt Moore

With support from the Orianne Society, the Bangladesh Python Project was established with a mission to conduct research and promote conservation of reptiles in Bangladesh, with the Burmese Python as the flagship species.

Graduate Research

Close-up shot of a 14 foot Burmese Python in Bangladesh. Photo: Abir Ahmed

Orianne graduate student studies ecology of Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnakes on barrier islands.

PARCAs

Orianne designates the first Priority Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Areas (PARCAs) in the southeast. Modeled after Important Bird Areas (IBAs), this project developed a network of focus areas designed specifically for the conservation of reptiles and amphibians.

Orianne staff member watches over a prescribed burn in Telfair County, Georgia. Photo: Pete Oxford

Land Management The Land Management Team conducts prescribed fire on over 3,250 acres, restoring habitat on the private property of 11 landowners in the Altamaha River Corridor.

Course scale map showing potential Priority Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Areas in the Southeastern United States. Graphic: Dr. Stephen Spear

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Membership and Magazine

Appalachian Highlands Initiative Orianne officially launches its Appalachian Highlands Initiative, with a focus on the Greater Smoky Mountains landscape, Hellbender Salamanders, and Timber Rattlesnakes.

Launch of Orianne’s membership program and release of the very first Indigo Magazine. Hellbender Salamander. Photo: Pete Oxford

Hellbender eDNA Sampling Orianne Society pioneers the use of environmental DNA (eDNA) to determine the presence of Hellbenders in streams. This novel survey method only requires collecting water samples, is less invasive, and uses less manpower than traditional survey methods.

Cover of the first edition of the Indigo Magazine. Graphic Design: Mike Jackson

Year of the Snake Orianne leads the Partners for Amphibian and Reptile Conservation “Year of the Snake” campaign, which includes monthly newsletters, partnership opportunities, and outreach events.

Then Dean of Warnell School of Forestry, Dr. Mike Clutter and Orianne CEO, Dr. Chris Jenkins in front of the Whitehall Mansion in Whitehall Forest. Photo: Kevin Stohlgren

Partnership Orianne and University of Georgia form partnership for research and conservation. Some Orianne staff members become adjunct faculty at the University in Athens. 18 ORIANNESOCIETY.ORG CELEBRATION OF 10 YEARS


More Tortoises In partnership with Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Orianne translocates tortoises from an area slated for development onto the Orianne Indigo Snake Preserve and monitors the tortoises to determine health and survival. Had the translocation not occurred, the tortoises would have been buried by excavating equipment and would not have survived.

2013

Curled Northern Pacific Rattlesnake. Photo: Natalie Claunch

Northern Pacific Rattlesnakes

Gopher Tortoise at the mouth of a burrow. Photo: Steve Winter

Orianne conducts a project to identify movement corridors for Northern Pacific Rattlesnakes in Washington State. Northern Pacific Rattlesnakes have a high sensitivity to development, as a result of both habitat destruction and direct human persecution.

Revising Turtle Laws Orianne staff works with numerous agencies and stakeholders to revise the Georgia turtle harvest laws, saving thousands of turtles from being shipped to China and reducing over-collecting.

Indigo Days Hosted the first Indigo Days, an annual event open to members to join Orianne staff in the field to learn more about and to survey for Eastern Indigo Snakes.

Barbour’s Map Turtle. Photo: Kevin Stohlgren Orianne staff educate members on the ecology and importance of Eastern Indigo Snakes at an Indigo Days event. Photo: Matt Moore

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Becoming a Public Charity Until this time we were operating as a nonprofit, private foundation. In 2014 the organization begins making the transition to a public charity.

Spotted Turtles Orianne completes its 1st year of markrecapture research on Spotted Turtles with 30 turtles caught 53 times. Because of their charming appearance and small size, Spotted Turtles are at risk of overcollection for the pet trade.

Measuring a Bushmaster. Photo: Mike Boston

Bushmasters Orianne conducts the first telemetry studies on Black-headed Bushmasters in Costa Rica.

Spotted Turtle found during a long-term mark-recapture survey. Photo: Houston Chandler

Partnership with Central Florida Zoo Orianne Society forms a partnership with Central Florida Zoo to breed endangered species for reintroductions at the Orianne Center for Indigo Conservation. The Zoo takes over day to day activities at the facility.

Recently hatched Eastern Indigo Snake that will be released under the reintroduction efforts. The Reintroduction Committee decides, as a group how many snakes are released on each site and the priority of release sites. Photo: Jim Godwin

Reintroduction Committee Orianne forms and chairs a new committee of federal and state agencies, nonprofits, and regional stakeholders to oversee Eastern Indigo Snake reintroduction efforts. 20 ORIANNESOCIETY.ORG CELEBRATION OF 10 YEARS


Board of Directors

2014

Orianne expands the Board of Directors from three members to eight individuals who will assist in guiding the strategic direction of the organization.

The Flatwoods Salamander is currently listed as a federally threatened species. Photo: Kevin Stohlgren

Flatwoods Salamanders First year of research conducting Flatwoods Salamander inventory on Ft. Stewart, GA. Presentation slide from the Board of Directors meeting in May of 2014. Graphic Design: Chris Jenkins

Status Assessments Began collecting data for a status assessment for multiple species petitioned for listing under the Endangered Species Act, including Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnakes, Pine Snakes, and Southern Hognose Snakes.

Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake retreating into a Gopher Tortoise Burrow. Photo: Ben Stegenga

Research The Florida Pine Snake is susceptible to many threats, including habitat fragmentation. Photo: Pete Oxford

Orianne supports a graduate student research project focusing on the effects of fire on prey availability for Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnakes. ORIANNESOCIETY.ORG CELEBRATION OF 10 YEARS 21


Strong Partnership Orianne Society officially partners with The Longleaf Alliance, a nonprofit organization focused on saving America’s Longleaf forests. Together, and with additional partners, they focus on conserving and restoring Longleaf habitat through the Fort Stewart/ Altamaha River Longleaf Partnership.

Native grasses blooming on the Orianne Indigo Snake Preserve. Photo: Jacob Barrett

Groundcover Orianne begins the process of restoring native ground cover to critical habitats. Ground cover restoration is perhaps one of the most difficult and time consuming restoration processes. To address this, Orianne dedicated 50 acres of the Preserve to become a “donor site” for native seed in the future.

Timber Rattlesnake Monitoring Monitored 30 Timber Rattlesnake sites in the Nantahala Mountains and Southern Blue Ridge Escarpment under the Appalachian Highlands Initiative. Monitoring takes place at gestation sites and long-term data will allow us to track population status over time. Announcement for PYNH in Costa Rica. Graphic Design: Amanda Newsom

PYNH Goes International Orianne hosts the first international Places You’ve Never Herped on the Osa Peninsula of Costa Rica. Twenty-eight participants stayed at the Piro Research Station and encountered numerous wildlife species and even were able to release captive Olive Ridley Sea Turtles as part of a local reintroduction effort. 22 ORIANNESOCIETY.ORG CELEBRATION OF 10 YEARS

Timber Rattlesnake under gestation rock. Photo: Chris Jenkins


IUCN Orianne staff who also sit on the steering committee of the Viper Specialist Group attend the 3rd International Union for Conservation of Nature Species Survival Commission Leaders Meeting in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

2015

Orianne staff member takes a sample for Snake Fungal Disease from an Eastern Indigo Snake. Photo: Houston Chandler

Emerging Disease Orianne documents first cases of Snake Fungal Disease in Georgia. Little is known about SFD and Orianne will go on to collect data on the prevalence of the disease in the state of Georgia and document which species appear to be affected.

Welcome banner at the IUCN Species Survival Commission Leaders Meeting in Abu Dhabi. Photo: Heidi Hall

More Longleaf Pine

“Tangled up in Indigo” article. Photo: Amanda Newsom

Our Land Management Team continues our restoration efforts, planting approximately 72,000 Longleaf Pine seedlings on 114 acres of land. In addition, they applied prescribed fire to over 4,560 acres of land in 2015.

Garden and Gun Garden and Gun publishes an article on Eastern Indigo Snakes and The Orianne Society in their “50 Perfect Southern Things” edition. The article, “Tangled Up in Indigo”, written by Padgett Powell, chronicled his quest to find an Indigo in the wild and how Orianne helped him realize his dreams after 50 years of waiting.

Longleaf Pine seedlings ready for planting. Photo: Wayne Taylor

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Great Northern Forests Initiative Though we had been working in the Northeast since 2010, this year we officially launched our Great Northern Forest Initiative, focused on the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont, Wood Turtles, and Vernal Pools.

Wood Turtle found on a survey in the Northeast Kingdom. Photo: Kiley Briggs

Wood Turtle Orianne conducts its first inventory of Wood Turtles in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom. Orianne will go on to survey all of the Northeast Kingdom to determine where Wood Turtles occur in the region.

Spotted Turtles We have completed the 3rd year of our Spotted Turtle mark-recapture study. We now have enough data to begin looking at survival and population size, sex rations, and numbers in age classes.

Hellbender Salamander. Photo: Pete Oxford

Stream Restoration

Spotted Turtle. Photo: Pete Oxford

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Completed a restoration project to improve Hellbender habitat by fencing cattle out of a significant Hellbender stream and providing them watering stations in the uplands, therefore reducing sediment and pollutants entering the waterways.


Alligator Creek WMA Orianne Society takes a leading role in creating Alligator Creek Wildlife Management Area. This tract of land was critical habitat for Eastern Indigo Snakes and Gopher Tortoises. It was slated to become a carrot farm, which would have been detrimental to these species. Orianne, with partners, stepped in and helped negotiate the purchase of the property to be turned into a Wildlife Management Area, conserving habitat and creating public lands.

2016

Sign at the entrance to the newly designated Alligator Creek Wildlife Management Area. This tract of land is used by Gopher Tortoise and Eastern Indigo Snakes. Photo: Brannon Knight

World Congress Orianne CEO, Dr. Chris Jenkins, is invited to attend the World Congress for Conservation hosted by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Over 10,000 conservation biologists attend this event in Honolulu, HI. Groundcover seed is dried in the shop at the Orianne Indigo Snake Preserve before it is bagged and stored until planted. Photo: Jacob Barrett

Seed Collection Jenkins, right, and colleague at the World Congress meeting. Photo: Jamie Lee

The Land Management team collects over 230 pounds of Wiregrass seed and 25 pounds of Lop-sided Indian grass for our groundcover restoration efforts. ORIANNESOCIETY.ORG CELEBRATION OF 10 YEARS 25


Gopher Tortoise Conservation Initiative Orianne becomes one of the leading partners in the Gopher Tortoise Conservation Initiative, a Georgia-wide effort to save the Gopher Tortoise. This is perhaps one of the largest efforts to save a reptile in the history of the US. Screen shot of the Great Northern Turtle intro. Credit: Folk Hero Films

Great Northern Turtle

The Gopher Tortoise Conservation Initiative aims at conserving 65 viable populations of Gopher Tortoise and over 100,000 acres of Gopher Tortoise habitat. Photo: Pete Oxford

Produced a documentary about the Wood Turtle, its ecology and the need for conservation. The film will be released in the Northeastern US as a tool to get people interested in the Wood Turtle and support our conservation efforts. Online viewing will also be available to expand our audience.

Turtle Coordinator A Turtle Conservation Coordinator is hired under the Great Northern Forests Initiative to conduct research on Wood Turtles in the Northeast Kingdom and to work with private landowners to restore Wood Turtle habitat. Orianne friend, Joe Thompson, wearing the first Conservation Bowtie in our series, focused on Spotted Turtle conservation and holding Orianne’s Spotted Turtle, Penny. Photo: Heidi Hall

Outreach

Orianne participates in its 6th Southeastern Wildlife Exposition where we take over 20 animals and outreach materials and give daily presentations to a crowd of over 50,000 attendees. We also launched the first edition of our conservation bowtie series, featuring the Spotted Turtle.

Turtle Conservation Coordinator, Kiley Briggs. Photo: Heidi Hall

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Snake Fungal Disease The research staff in the Longleaf Savannas Initiative collects over 450 samples to test for SFD from 377 snakes from 31 counties in Georgia.

2017

Brannon Knight, Stewardship Coordinator stands with a driptorch. Photo: Pete Oxford

Land Management Orianne’s Land Management Team has applied prescribed fire to over 20,000 acres of land, planted over 500,000 Longleaf Pine seedlings and restored over 250 acres of native ground cover.

Houston Chandler and Ben Stegenga secure an Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake to be swabbed for snake fungal disease. Photo: Jonathon Bolton

Timber Rattlesnakes Orianne works with state agencies to develop standardized monitoring protocols for Timber Rattlesnakes in New England.

Eastern Indigo Snake. Photo: Kevin Stohlgren

Population Viability Orianne graduate student completes Population Viability Analysis for Indigo Snakes in South Florida Timber Rattlesnake with neonate. Photo: Kevin Stohlgren

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28 ORIANNESOCIETY.ORG CELEBRATION OF 10 YEARS


More to come

The future of The Orianne Society is important for the future of rare and endangered reptiles, amphibians, and the ecosystems that support them. To achieve conservation we have always worked closely with our partners. It is our belief that by working together, we can achieve more than the sum of the accomplishments of each individual working alone. Our recent efforts to reverse the decline of the Gopher Tortoise are a perfect example of this and of how we will increasingly incorporate broad partnerships to achieve lofty conservation goals. Gopher Tortoises are important because they create habitat that is used by hundreds of other wildlife species. As a result of precipitous declines in populations, Gopher Tortoises are listed as threatened in the western portion of their range and are now a candidate for federal listing by the US Fish and Wildlife Service in the eastern portion of their range. Recently, the Gopher Tortoise Conservation Initiative was launched in Georgia to protect over 100,000 acres of habitat that supports the majority of the remaining viable tortoise populations. To achieve conservation at this scale requires an incredible amount of coordination, effort, and resources. The Orianne Society is a part of a broader group of over ten nonprofits, foundations, agencies, and individuals who have come together, all with the same goal of protecting tortoise populations in Georgia indefinitely by protecting and restoring the lands where they occur. Together we defined the distribution of viable tortoise populations across the state and

The Coastal Plain. Photo: Chris Jenkins

identified how many of them were currently protected. For the remaining viable populations that are not on conserved land, the partnership identified hundreds of priority parcels for protection. In the past year, the partnership has created two new Wildlife Management Areas, which protect two of the larger populations of tortoises and associated species, such as the Eastern Indigo Snake and Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake. Orianne has played a critical role in the Gopher Tortoise Conservation Initiative. First, we work closely with partners and landowners to negotiate land protection projects in certain regions of Georgia. Second, our land management team places a focused effort on restoration and management of Gopher Tortoise tracts through implementation of prescribed fire and native understory restoration. Finally, we are launching a campaign to raise awareness in local communities on the importance of conserving the Gopher Tortoise and how individuals can help in ensuring this species’ persistence. It is big scale projects with big conservation goals, such as the Gopher Tortoise Conservation Initiative, that are the future of The Orianne Society. We are dedicated to working with partners to implement on-the-ground conservation projects that save rare and endangered species. The future of Orianne is an ambitious one, but the fate of the animals we care about is on the line. We encourage you to become one of our partners, so that together, we can help shape the future of The Orianne Society and the rare species that depend on us.

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Appalachian Highlands Initiative

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Photo: Kevin Stohlgren Photo: Kiley Briggs

Great Northern Forests Initiative

Photo: Pete Oxford

Longleaf Savannas Initiative


Our Longleaf Savannas Initiative (LSI) works to conserve Longleaf Pine ecosystems and the diverse amphibian and reptile fauna these habitats support. Due to a long history of fire suppression and the conversion of native forests for agriculture and commercial timberland, the Longleaf Pine ecosystem is one of the most endangered habitats in the United States. Today, less than three percent of what was originally Longleaf Pine habitat is considered intact and naturally-functioning. We selected the Altamaha River Corridor (ARC) as a focal landscape for our conservation efforts. The largest free-flowing river on the east coast, the Altamaha River flows 137 miles through the Coastal Plain of southeastern Georgia. The Altamaha watershed is widely recognized for its wild character, uniqueness and biodiversity—120 rare or endangered plant and animal species are known from this region. Habitats here range from austere “sugar sand” ridges to bald cypress-tupelo swamps. Underscoring the Altamaha’s conservation value, within the last several decades, more than 98,000 acres along the Altamaha River have been protected in conservations lands, including our Orianne Indigo Snake Preserve, which lies on the banks of the beautiful Ocmulgee River. The Eastern Indigo Snake and Gopher Tortoise are the flagship species of this initiative. To conserve these species, we work to conduct Longleaf Pine–Wiregrass habitat management and restoration on both public and private lands, Longleaf Pine planting, and land protection and species monitoring through the Gopher Tortoise Conservation Initiative. We also conduct inventory and monitoring for these species and reintroduce Eastern Indigo Snakes into areas where they are locally extinct.

The Great Northern Forests Initiative (GNFI) is an effort to conserve rare reptiles and amphibians in the regions of northeastern North America. While diversity is low through much of the region, you can find rare species that depend on this transitional habitat between the boreal forest to the north and the hardwood forests to the south. Much of this land is vast wilderness and is controlled by commercial timber operations and the valleys are dominated by agriculture. Our initial focal region in the Great Northern Forest is the Northeast Kingdom (NEK) of Vermont. In the remote NEK, we will work to conserve a suite of focal species and conserve important habitats. The Great Northern Forests are home to an abundance of freshwater turtle species, many of which are some of the rarest turtles in North America, including Wood Turtles, Bog Turtles, Blandings Turtles, and Spotted Turtles. All of these species have “slow” life histories and it can take some of them living over a 100 years to replace a single individual removed or lost from the wild. The charismatic Wood Turtle serves as our flagship species for the GNFI. One objective of this initiative is to reverse the ongoing decline of this imperiled species. Wood Turtles are a riparian and river dwelling turtle that have experienced significant declines due to the loss of riparian habitats and being killed on roads and in agricultural fields. To achieve our objective, we have launched an inventory and monitoring program to understand the Wood Turtle’s status in the region; we are also developing habitat models that will help prioritize where to focus land conservation efforts. Finally, we are developing a private network to link landowners to cost-share programs for restoring Wood Turtle habitat.

The Appalachian Highlands Initiative (AHI) works to protect the species and landscapes of one of the most diverse regions of North America, the Appalachians. Much of the high mountain area is protected as national park or national forests and are places where many people hike, camp, fish, and hunt. In the valleys, human development is increasing, which not only changes the habitat for many species, but also divides and fragments the high mountain areas so that species become isolated. The Greater Smoky Mountains are the featured landscape of the AHI. The Appalachian Mountain ecosystem is the predominant ecosystem in this region which includes areas throughout eastern Tennessee, western North Carolina and north Georgia. Within this region are some of the highest mountains in the eastern United States, extensive forests broken up by high mountain balds and river valleys that have traditionally supported farming. People have lived in this landscape for the past 12,000 years. Because of this, the Appalachian Mountain ecosystem serves as a reminder of the importance of maintaining the balance between nature and people. In order to achieve this balance, there must be an effort to both protect the remaining forests while also working with community members to make private land more hospitable for wildlife. This region is a global hotspot for salamander species and provides important habitat for other species that live at higher elevations, including our focal species, the Eastern Hellbender. Our goal is to reverse the decline of Hellbenders in the southern Appalachian Mountain ecosystem and ensure that populations will be stable for the foreseeable future. To accomplish this goal, we will continue to develop and apply techniques to monitor Hellbender populations, to increase Hellbender reproduction with stream habitat management, and to restore stream reaches to increase Hellbender habitat. ORIANNESOCIETY.ORG CELEBRATION OF 10 YEARS 31


Who We Are

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Heidi Hall

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Chris Jenkins, PhD

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Matt Moore

Field Technician

Charli Palmer

Program Manager

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Communication Coordinator

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Director of Longleaf Savannas Initiative

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Turtle Conservation Coordinator

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ORIANNESOCIETY.ORG CELEBRATION OF 10 YEARS 33


34 ORIANNESOCIETY.ORG CELEBRATION OF 10 YEARS


2017 Financials Our goal is conservation and we are fully dedicated to maximizing our financial resources to achieve our mission. We work diligently to attract and employ a professional staff with diverse skill sets while keeping our overhead costs low. Continuing and identifying new funding sources to fulfill our conservation goals, pay our dedicated staff, and grow the organization and our reach remains a priority within our long-term financial planning. Support from foundations, grants, state and federal agencies, partners, and our generous donors, and members allows us to keep moving forward, to strengthen our initiatives, and, ultimately, conserve reptiles, amphibians, and the landscapes they need to persist.

EXPENSES

Longleaf Savannas Initiative 539,210.00 Great Northern Forest Initiative 134,703.00 Communication and Outreach 94,126.00 Administration 177,012.00 Fundraising 208,571.00

Over the last few years, Orianne has had a relatively high ratio of fundraising and administration relative to program expenses. This is attributed to our transition from a private operating foundation to a public charity and our corresponding efforts to build our development program. Our strategic plan is designed to lower this ratio over the next three years to our desired 0.10 to 0.15. We thank you for your continued support through this transition.

Hellbender Salamander. Photo: Pete Oxford

ORIANNESOCIETY.ORG CELEBRATION OF 10 YEARS 35


THANK YOU! 100 Mile Foundation Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College Elizabeth Adams Teresa Adams Heather Ahrens Alabama Wildlife & Freshwater Fisheries Brett Albanese Don Alford Gail Allinson Cameron Alvis Zachary Ambrose Erin Amerman Bob Anderson Todd Angel James Angley Appalachian State University Edith Arangies Archbold Biological Station Arthur and Elaine Johnson Foundation Association of Zoos & Aquariums Auburn University Audubon Nature Institute Audrey Schneiderman Trust Jared Bailey Gary Baldaeus Stephen Barten Florence Bauder Rudy Bauder Teri and Bob Beard Giff Beaton Marc Behrendt Angilyn Bell Patricia Bell John Beller Richard Berling Brian Bielema Bird and Moon Comics Emily Bishop Robert Bishop James Blodgett Chris Bolick Mike Bolick Scott Bolick Bowties for a Cause Robert Bradbury Anthony Brais Garth Bray Kiley Briggs Elizabeth Brooks Chris Brookshire Tim Brophy Bernard Brown Michael Brown William Brown Baudouin Bruno Sharon Buck John Buckman David Buege Linda Buege Buffalo Zoological Society Anne Burch Tim and Cassondra Bushey Central Florida Zoo Center for North American Amphibians and Reptiles Illa Caira Xochitl Calderon John Callaway Alan Cameron Canaday Family Charitable Trust

Andrew Cannon Ross Caphton Martin Capron Alexander Carratala Geoffrey Carson Lauren Casey Lewis Cassidey Central Florida Area Combined Federal Campaign Bailey Chandler Charles Chandler Houston Chandler Michelle Chandler Ray Chandler Cynthia Chaplin Alexander Chester Christopher Smith City Of Little Rock Julie Civitts Heyward Clamp David Clive Peggy Clouser Conn Cole Jenna Cole Rob and Olga Cole Andrew Coleman Kortnie Coles David Collins Columbus Zoo Fund for Conservation Combined Federal Campaign Overseas Conservation Fund Sarah Cooke Jonathan Cooley Christopher Coppola Corcovado Foundation Raymond Corey Michael Corn Ellen Corrie Travis Cossette Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory Becca Cozad Christopher Culpepper Joel Curzon Andy Dahl Christopher Daniel Chris Daughtry Suzanne Degrasse Department of the Navy Lauren Diaz Anne Dillon Michael Donahoe Saunders Drukker Marc Dubois Amanda Duffus Kaitlyn Dunagan Robert Dunham Kim Dutton Andrew Edelman J. Wiley Ellis Michele Elmore Justin Else Paula Elsey Tucker Ennis Michael Evans Jonathan Eyrich Stephen Falick Chance Feimster Penny Felski Fidelity Charitable Gifts Noah Fields

36 ORIANNESOCIETY.ORG CELEBRATION OF 10 YEARS

Joe Figel Curtis Flather Dylan Flather Debbie Fordham Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Folk Hero Films Jan Forker Fort Stewart Fort Worth Zoo Meg Francoeur Jane Fraser Frazier and Deeter Foundation Joseph Freeman Fresno Chaffee Zoo Steve Friedman Curt Fuhrmann Connie Fuller Ben Fusaro Emily Fyfe Matthew Gale Ian Garrison Noah Garwood Georgia Conservancy Georgia Department of Natural Resources Georgia Sea Turtle Center Georgia Southern University Linda Gette Laine Giovanetto Brent Glamann Danielle Glover Teresa Godts Joe Goldufsky Gopher Tortoise Council Joseph Gordon Tag Graham Arthur Greenberg Jim Greenway Susan Gue Miranda Gulsby Ian Hahus Heather Hall Richard Hall Vickie Hall Hambidge Center Constance Hamilton Robert Hamlin Kirsten Hardwick Virginia Harman Wm Harrington Elizabeth Harvey Corey Hawkins Josh Hawkins Douglas Hay Valerie Hepburn John Hewlett Melanie Hitchcock Larry Hodges Andrew Hogan Vince Howard Grace Howell Andrea Howlett Steven Hromada Charlotte Hubler Steven Hudson Michael Huggins Ryne Huggins Austin Hulbert Kelly Hunt Eliza Huskey

Bruce Hutcheson David Hutto Idaho State University Jane Smith Turner Foundation Cathy Jefferson Felton Jenkins Jo-Ann Jennier Clifford Johnson Dudley Johnson Mandy Johnson Jolly Foundation Alan Jones Kelly Jones Jones Ecological Research Center James Jordan Lindsay Keener-Eck Robert Keiser Dennis Kelly Jane Kelly Paul Kepp Wasil Khan Doug Kimball Simon King John Kirinovic Knobloch Family Foundation Marianne Kramer Abe Kruger Lisa Kruse Stan Lake Christi Lambert Dave Landis Vanessa Lane Amanda Laurent Paul Laurent Thomas LaVine William Laws Amber Lawson Michael Leahy Justin Lee Brandon Levesque Drew Leviton Louise Leviton Sarah Linn Catherine Lisi Dallas Little Raymond Little Little St. Simons Island Richard Lockwood Rosalind Lord Michael Lovecchio Mary Ann Lueckel Doug Lundin David Magdon Charlotte Magruder Kathleen Mahoney Dean Mair Marissa Maki Malcolm Fraser Foundation Steve Marks Eugene Martin Robert Maslow Stacey Matrazzo Kevin and Amy Matto William Maynard Kerri McCabe Mike McClure Raymond McConnell Kathryn McCormack Caitlin McDargh Heath McGuire


Savannah McGuire Tom McKee James McLaughlin Paul McLemore Molly McMullen Helen Meadors Cara Meadow Marc Merlin Jed Merrow Richard Meyer Jennafer Miller Pat Miller Eddi Minche Ricky Mitchell Moody Airforce Base Jeffrey Moorbeck Marylou Moore Tim Moore Sunni Moore Morgan Stanley CyberGrants Rosemary Mosco Jennifer Mothershed Dennis Mountain Kim Mross Jerome Murphy Jennifer Myers Margaret Nall Bill Natbony National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Natural Resource Conservation Service Elizabeth Neace Matt Neff Christopher Neill Network For Good Lloyd Newberry Matt Nicholson North Branch Nature Center North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission North Michigan Combined Federal Campaign Ben O'Connor Justin Oguni Douglas Olson One Percent for the Planet Zach Orr Osa Conservation Lance Paden Jon Palmisciano Thomas Pardue Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Lizzie Paulus Dave Pearson Benjamin Perkins Michael Perry Charles Peterson Tom Peterson Charles Pfeifer Kim Pilarski-Hall Ann Pisani Cailtin Plooy Kenn Pott William Pound Christopher Powell Pamela Powell Laura Predny Kitty Pupedis Michael Quinlan Rabun Gap Nacoochee School

Kara Ravenscroft Recanati-Kaplan Foundation Thomas Reed Nora Rhome Bronc Rice Cheri Rice Connie Rice Robert Richie Pamela Roberts Paul Roberts John Romfh Stephanie Rose Tasman Rosenfeld Greg Ross Ryann Rossi Alan Rothschild Daniel Ryan Amanda Sahlmann Michael Saldarriaga Bryn Sannerud Carol Schikel Jake Schikel Samantha Schmidt Eric Schwartz Sal Scibetta Nick Scobel Allison Scott Travis Scott Jennifer Seeley Max Seldes Sheri Seldes Wayne Sentman Vance Serchuk Charles Seyle James Seymour Jenna Sharp Lee Shearer Lilian Shen Richard Shields Paul Silvagni Bob Simcoe Ann Singer Barry Smith Christina Smith Ethan Smith Isaac Smith Luke Smith Pam Smith Johanna Snijder Dawn Snow Leslie Sokolow Gary Solanick Timothy Songer Cindy Sprague Michael Starkey Gail Stavitsky Dena Steele David Steen Patrick Sterling Sterling College Catherine Stevens Cecil Stevenson James Stewart Karen Stohlgren Casey Struecker Andrew Sullivan Madison Szathmary Teresa Talucci Juan Taquechel Jeremy Taylor

Tennessee River Gorge Trust Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency The Bobolink Foundation The Fink Family Foundation Trust The Longleaf Alliance Inc The Nature Conservancy The RSW Foundation Inc. The Turner Foundation Frank Thompson Reese Thompson Susan Thompson Prestin Tomborello Eugene Trescott Clay Turner University of Georgia University of Massachusetts US Fish and Wildlife Service SamuelVan Valkenburgh Gail Vanderpoel Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife Vermont Reptile and Amphibian Atlas Vermont River Conservancy Dan Vickers Daniel Wakefield Marc Walch Henry Walker Christopher Walls Susan Walls Kimberly Walter John Warthen James Waters Marcel Weigand William Weng Paul West John Whalen Steve Whiting Alexandra Wickson Scott Wietecha Wildlife Epidemiology Laboratory at University of Illinois Wildlife Management Institute James Williams Paul Williams Rose Williams Gary Williamson Ronald Willson Dale Wilson Susan Wilson Tori Wingerter William Witherspoon David Wojnowski Anna Yellin Sharon Yomtob Erin Zaballa David Zabriskie Juliana Zajicek Merilyn Zak Zoo Atlanta

ORIANNESOCIETY.ORG CELEBRATION OF 10 YEARS 37


9

TAKE action BECOME A DONOR From pledging a reoccurring donation, to becoming a member, to making a one time donation, our supporters are the backbone of the organization. Donations can be made through our secure website or by contacting us directly at 706-224-1359

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SPREAD THE WORD

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PLAN YOUR GIVING

We don’t underestimate the power of word of mouth when it comes to letting people know about our work and the ways they can contribute! Please consider sharing this magazine with others who have an interest in conservation, and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Don’t just plan for your future—plan for the future of reptiles, amphibians and the great places they inhabit. Whether you prefer to set up an annual donation or a deferred gift, we can work with you to determine what you want your gift to support and how it will benefit these amazing animals and landscapes. Please contact us at info@oriannesociety.org or 706-224-1359 for more information about our planned giving opportunities.

38 ORIANNESOCIETY.ORG CELEBRATION OF 10 YEARS


Become a

Corporate Sponsor The Orianne Society’s corporate sponsorship program allows business entities to assist in furthering conservation efforts for reptiles, amphibians, and critically important landscapes. We invite potential sponsors to learn more about our work and how your organization can get involved through one of our three annual sponsorship levels. Please note that not all gifts must be monetary. The Orianne Society is often in need of in-kind donations, such as assistance in specific skill sets, maintenance, field vehicles, etc. To learn more, contact Heidi Hall at hhall@oriannesociety.org.

Fresh Water Partner ($1,000)

• • • •

Acknowledgement in Social Media Logo on Orianne Website Listed in Annual Report Electronic Version of Magazines/Annual Report

Healthy Forest Partner ($5,000)

• • • • • • •

Acknowledgement in Social Media Logo on Orianne Website Logo in Annual Report Electronic Version of Magazines/Annual Report Hardcopies of Magazines/Annual Report ¼ Page Ad in Magazines One Employee Volunteer Day

Endangered species Partner ($10,000)

• • • • • • • • •

Acknowledgement in Social Media Logo on Orianne Website Logo in Annual Report Electronic Version of Magazines/Annual Report Hardcopies of Magazines/Annual Report ½ Page Ad in Magazines Two Employee Volunteer Days Company Logo at Events Press Release on Partnership

Smooth Green Snake. Credit: Mario Ramos

ORIANNESOCIETY.ORG CELEBRATION OF 10 YEARS 39


40 ORIANNESOCIETY.ORG CELEBRATION OF 10 YEARS

Front Photo: Pete Oxford. Back Photo: Pete Oxford

The Orianne Society is a proud, nonprofit partner of 1% for the Planet


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