The Orianne Society
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Letter from the CEO Mission Initiatives Longleaf Savanna Appalachian Highlands Citizen Science Mesoamerica Into the Future Financials Partners Who We Are Take Action
1 ORIANNESOCIETY.ORG 2015 Annual Report
Photo: Pete Oxford
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Photo: Pete Oxford 3 ORIANNESOCIETY.ORG 2015 Annual Report
I was recently sitting at my office watching a Gopher Tortoise feed on grass in the front lawn. It made me reflect on 2015 and where The Orianne Society has come in eight years. As you likely know, we have made the shift from a private operating foundation to a public charity. As part of this transition, we broadened our programs beyond just working on Indigo Snakes to include work on a variety of rare reptiles and amphibians. While I am primarily a snake conservation biologist, watching this tortoise feed reminds me of the dire situation turtle populations face. Turtles are now considered the most endangered group of wildlife in the world. Almost 50 percent of all the world’s turtles are at risk of extinction according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group. There are places in the world such as Southeast Asia that hold some of the world’s greatest diversity of turtles but also face some of the most intense pressures on those populations. For example, 70 percent of the 25 most endangered turtle species in the world occur in Asia. Turtles in Asia and from other corners of the planet face many threats including collection for food and the pet trade, habitat loss and fragmentation, and increased predation rates due to human subsidized predators. It might seem strange that turtles are the most endangered group of all reptiles and amphibians because they are perhaps the most loved of all reptiles and amphibians—often found as family pets and written about in many children’s stories.
However, turtles are facing unmatched declines around the world, and if something is not done soon, there will be many fewer species for the next generation to enjoy. Recognizing the plight of turtles, we incorporated turtle conservation programs into our initiatives in 2015. We have always had a focus on Gopher Tortoises because they are critically important to the survival of Indigo Snakes, and our preserve system in Georgia contains some of the higher-density tortoise populations anywhere. But in 2015 we expanded our work beyond tortoises to include freshwater turtles. We joined a regional partnership to assess the status of the endangered Spotted Turtle. As part of the partnership, we are conducting distribution surveys and field studies on Spotted Turtle populations in Georgia. The results will help guide our future actions as we work to restore and conserve wetland habitats for this rare species. In 2016, we are launching broad scale inventory work on the endangered Wood Turtle in the remote Northeast Kingdom region of Vermont. Again, these results will form the basis for developing conservation programs for freshwater turtle conservation. As I bring the tortoise back into the office, I realize just how important it is for all of us to first recognize the conservation significance of turtles and for groups like The Orianne Society and our partners to fight for their future, instead of watching species go extinct. Join The Orianne Society today, and help us conserve endangered turtles.
Dr. Chris Jenkins CEO, The Orianne Society
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The Orianne Society works to conserve critical ecosystems for imperiled REPTILES and AMPHIBIANS using SCIENCE, APPLIED CONSERVATION and EDUCATION.
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Photo: Pete Oxford
Our programs are designed using a customized, science-based approach. Specifically, we work on multiple conservation targets within a series of priority landscapes. We first examine the threats to each conservation target and then determine the research and applied programs required to achieve conservation for each target. There are many themes that are often used across our work. Our primary theme is that we do 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.
Photo: Pete Oxford
LONGLEAF SAVANNA The Longleaf Savanna Initiative (LSI) promotes the conservation of the Longleaf Pine/Wiregrass community throughout the Coastal Plain of the southeastern United States while helping to protect imperiled and declining amphibian and reptile species that depend on this habitat. The LSI accomplishes this through intensive field research of focal species, active land management programs that include prescribed fire techniques and citizen science programs that foster environmental education. A special focus of the program is the Altamaha River region, a site recognized as one of the last 75 great places in the world by The Nature Conservancy.
The Appalachian Mountains encompass much of the higher elevations of the eastern United States and provide important habitats for many species that are dependent on temperate montane ecosystems. Salamanders are especially important components of Appalachian environments, and portions of the Appalachians house some of the highest diversities of salamanders in the entire world. Furthermore, several threatened reptile species occur in patchy populations among these mountains that are threatened by both habitat loss and human persecution. 7 ORIANNESOCIETY.ORG 2015 Annual Report
Photo: Pete Oxford
Appalachian highlands
Citizen science Photo: Pete Oxford
Involving the public in scientific-based conservation projects is an important initiative for The Orianne Society because it provides a direct link between our projects and citizens who are interested in conserving reptiles and amphibians. Our Citizen Science Initiative allows us to collect important data from a wider area than we would be able to by simply using Orianne staff.
Photo: Pete Oxford
Mesoamerica Our Mesoamerican Project seeks to conserve reptiles and amphibians and their tropical habitats across Central America, with a particular focus on Costa Rica and Panama. This project highlights an area of extraordinary herpetological diversity and provides an opportunity to apply our conservation framework of species research, applied action and community involvement to this region.
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Photo: Kevin Stohlgren
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The Coastal Plain of the southeastern United States is a herp-lover’s paradise, supporting higher species diversity than any other part of the country. Snakes, freshwater turtles, salamanders and anurans (frogs and toads) are especially diverse in this region and are the dominant vertebrates (by mass, numerically) in many wetland and upland communities. There are a number of highly-specialized, endemic species that are only known from this region; a large percentage of those endemic (e.g., Gopher Tortoise, Flatwoods Salamander, Gopher Frog, Striped Newt, Eastern Indigo Snake, Southern Hognose Snake) are restricted to Longleaf Pine/Wiregrass habitats (i.e., sandhills or pine flatwoods) and are now endangered, imperiled or declining due to habitat loss and habitat fragmentation. To this day the Altamaha River region of southeastern Georgia, a focal area for our field research and habitat/ land management, still contains large expanses of naturallyfunctioning Longleaf Pine ecosystems that support notable
populations of declining species like Bachman’s sparrows, Gopher Tortoises and Eastern Indigo Snakes. Longleaf Pine habitats forested with stout and stately examples of the majestic “yellow pine” (Longleaf Pine, Pinus palustris) have become rare and increasingly fragmented— lost to development, agriculture or intensive commercial forestry practices. Quality, good-condition Longleaf Pine habitats are actually closer to grasslands than forests; a wellmaintained Longleaf stand is invariably open-canopied and savannah-like with widely-scattered Longleaf Pine of multiple age classes towering over an extremely diverse shrub and groundcover flora of numerous fire-dependent species. Gallberry, Saw Palmetto, Running Oaks and Wiregrass all thrive after growing-season fires. In fact, they depend on these burns. These species do the heavy-lifting, they are the ground-level fuels that carry the growing-season fires (in nature, lightning strike ignitions) that sweep through these pinelands.
FOCAL SPECIES Gopher TORTOISE
SPOTTED TURTLE
Photo: Pete Oxford
Photo: Kevin Stohlgren
Eastern Indigo Snake
Photo: Pete Oxford
Photo: Pete Oxford
Eastern DIAMONDBACK RATTLESNAKE
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ACCOMPLISHMENTS
500
Conducted our 5th year of Indigo Snake population monitoring and marked out 500th Indigo in the Altamaha River basin of southeastern Georgia, a recognized population stronghold for the species.
We have now documented 75 species of amphibians and reptiles from the Orianne Indigo Snake Preserve (OISP): 1 crocodilian, 13 turtles, 9 lizards, 24 snakes, 9 salamanders, and 19 frogs. As part of long-term mark-recapture population efforts, we have now marked 66 Spotted Turtles at 2 sites combined in southern Georgia.
Our staff published scientific articles in refereed journals related to the Eastern Indigo Snake, Harlequin Coral Snake and Spotted Turtle; published a popular article in 2 periodicals with international distribution; and published a scientific article on the status and distribution of the Spotted Turtle in Georgia.
OCIC
Along with the Orianne Center for Indigo Conservation and Auburn University, we released 10 Indigo Snakes at a reintroduction site in the Conecuh National Forest of southern Alabama.
We completed a habitat modeling project specific to the distribution of the Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake in Georgia. Spotted Turtle genetics data collected by our efforts were presented at the Turtle Survival Alliance meeting in Tucson, AZ. Our staff spoke to a University of Florida herpetology class and led field trips focused on Coastal Plain herpetology for the University of Georgia and Georgia Southern University herpetology classes.
Hosted 2 Basic Wildland Firefighter Academy courses in coordination with Georgia Department of Natural Resources, The Nature Conservancy and The Longleaf Alliance, successfully training 21 individuals to increase our volunteer base and additional help for the Interagency Burn Team.
71,700
Planted 114 acres of containerized Longleaf Pine seedlings (71,700 seedlings) on the OISP. 11 ORIANNESOCIETY.ORG 2015 Annual Report
4,561
We carried out 43 successful prescribed fire operations, totaling 4,561 acres: 1,937 on private lands, 1,880 on state lands and 744 on the OISP. Our crew also prepped 23.5 miles of fire breaks.
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We have worked with 35 private landowners during our land management activities to date.
We restored 12 acres of understory on degraded OISP habitat and harvested 50 pounds of a variety of bulk seed. In areas where land has been degraded, the only way to restore it is from the ground up beginning with groundcover restoration that will allow us to then apply prescribed fire in the future.
Photo: Pete Oxford
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Goals Co-Chair the Indigo Snake Reintroduction Committee to determine and outline methods for Indigo Snake repatriation to the Apalachicola Bluffs and Ravines in Florida and to continue reintroduction effort at Conecuh National Forest in Alabama.
Increases awareness about the protective status and conservation needs of the Eastern Indigo Snake as well as the importance of Gopher Tortoise populations, particularly among landowners.
Continue our long-term monitoring program for the Eastern Indigo Snake in the Altamaha River Drainage of southern Georgia. We continue to conduct the most ambitious and comprehensive Indigo Snake monitoring efforts to date.
As part of our statewide assessment of the Spotted Turtle population in Georgia, we are continuing our mark-recapture monitoring efforts. In 2016 we will launch a radio-telemetry study to determine home range size and habitat use and to investigate the thermal ecology of this turtle. From existing occurrence data, we will create a habitat model for the species.
Evaluate the Gopher Tortoise population status on the Orianne Indigo Snake Preserve (OISP), and determine specific sites for future translocation of this important keystone species.
120
Enroll 120 landowners in our network partnership, and continue to foster relationships with local landowners that covet assistance with habitat management.
Complete our habitat modeling study for the Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake in Florida.
5,297
Burn a minimum of 5,297 acres in 2016, including 1,297 on OISP, 2,500 on private lands and 1,500 with agency cooperators.
Increase the size of the OISP.
2,000
Increase our groundcover restoration capacity to harvest at least 2,000 pounds of bulk seed annually, which would allow us to restore 200 acres of native groundcover per year. 13 ORIANNESOCIETY.ORG 2015 Annual Report
Treat the groundcover donor site for one more growing season to complete the bermudagrass removal process. This site will serve as a source for native seed that will be used throughout the Altamaha River Corridor and will be an important stepping stone to increasing our groundcover restoration capacity.
Photo: Pete Oxford
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Photo: Amanda Newsom
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The Appalachian Highlands Initiative (AHI) works to protect the species and landscapes of one of the most diverse regions of North America. 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. This region is a global hotspot for salamander species and provides important habitat for other species that live at higher elevations. The hellbender is the largest salamander (by weight) in North America, and it belongs to a line of salamanders so ancient that its closest relatives occur in Asia. They occupy rivers and streams, living underneath large rocks that serve as shelter, ambush sites for crayfish and egg-laying sites. In the past, people could routinely find hundreds of hellbenders in a river; today you can count the number of those sites on one hand. If we lose hellbenders, we not only lose an irreplaceable part of our natural history, but we also lose a predator that may be important in helping to regulate prey populations like crayfish. Not to mention that it likely means we are losing a lot of other native fish and mussel species that need the same habitat as hellbenders. Our goal is to reverse the decline of hellbenders in the southern Appalachians and ensure that populations will be stable for the foreseeable future. To accomplish this goal, we will continue to apply and develop techniques
to monitor hellbender populations, to increase hellbender reproduction with stream habitat management, and to restore stream reaches to increase hellbender habitat. We have identified the Little Tennessee River watershed as a high priority for hellbender conservation and restoration and will focus much of our efforts in this drainage. Timber Rattlesnakes are icons for conservation of the deciduous forests of the southern Appalachian region. Timber Rattlesnakes have declined significantly throughout their range due to human persecution and habitat loss, but despite these declines, they are one of the last remaining carnivores that can still be found in the Appalachians. The overall goal of the AHI is twofold: 1) to survey for focal species to understand where they still occur in the region and 2) to improve and increase habitat for these species through restoration and community partnerships. The Greater Smoky Mountains Ecosystem (GSME) is the feature landscape of the AHI. It includes much of eastern Tennessee, western North Carolina and North Georgia. Within the GSME 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. Therefore, the GSME is an important example of maintaining nature alongside people, and protecting species in this landscape will need to both maintain the current forests that exist but also work with people to make private land more hospitable to wildlife.
FOCAL SPECIES Photo: Pete Oxford
TIMBER RATTLESNAKE
Photo: Pete Oxford
Eastern HELLBENDER
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ACCOMPLISHMENTS
200
We ran over 200 environmental DNA (eDNA) samples for hellbenders. An eDNA sample is when we look for hellbender DNA in one liter of water, which can tell us if hellbenders are in the river without lifting rocks. We are using it to tell us where hellbenders still occur so we can then prioritize those sites for conservation work.
UGA
In partnership with the University of Georgia, we used eDNA, water quality and surrounding land use to predict where hellbenders still occur in the Little Tennessee watershed of North Carolina and Georgia. Our results suggest that hellbender populations often coincide with areas of high human use, so improving river habitat on private lands will be very important for hellbender recovery.
We supported restoration efforts for hellbenders through cattle exclusion at a hellbender site in North Georgia (in partnership with Rabun Gap school) and eDNA monitoring of 3 restoration sites in North Carolina. We hope these efforts will increase the number of hellbenders using these sites.
We conducted no-touch snorkel surveys for hellbender breeding activity in the fall. By not moving rocks we don’t disturb eggs, and fall surveys can tell us if hellbenders are actually reproducing.
180
We launched an effort to monitor Timber Rattlesnake populations in the North Carolina and Georgia portions of the southern Appalachians. Specifically, we visited 25 gestation/shedding rocks three times throughout the summer to document the presence of shedding snakes, gravid snakes and litters. This monitoring program is the first of its kind in the region and will be an important component of our conservation program for the species by allowing us to track the status of their populations. 17 ORIANNESOCIETY.ORG 2015 Annual Report
Photo: Pete Oxford
We launched an education outreach program focused on educating the public about the true value of rattlesnakes, ultimately lowering direct human persecution. We gave a total of 6 public programs on rattlesnakes reaching approximately 180 people.
Photo: Pete Oxford
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Goals Create a list of the most important sites for restoring hellbender habitat that we will use to plan future work. We will choose the most important sites by combining our current knowledge of where hellbenders are with a model for what areas would best connect the remaining populations.
Restore degraded streams by stabilizing streambanks and increasing forest cover. Priority sites for restoration will be in reaches connecting current hellbender populations. In coordination with partners, we will reach out to landowners to initiate restoration projects by demonstrating the overall value of healthy streams for both people and nature.
Continue with eDNA surveys to monitor hellbender populations in North Carolina and Tennessee. We will especially focus on testing a computer model that predicts hellbender habitat. If the habitat model is accurate, we can use it as a tool to choose where hellbenders currently exist. Continue to develop new applications of eDNA, increasing the ability to monitor population viability. Specific initiatives will include assessing genetic diversity of populations with eDNA and identifying presence of multiple amphibian, fish and invertebrate species in a single sample to test whether species diversity is an indicator of hellbender habitat quality. Create rock and breeding habitat by installing and monitoring hellbender nest boxes at priority sites with current hellbender populations and sufficient water quality but lacking suitable rocks due to habitat degradation. Boxes will be checked regularly for evidence of hellbender use and successful breeding in the fall. Over time, we will build up an extensive network of nest boxes across the southern Appalachians while working with state agencies, schools and citizen scientists to monitor these shelters for use and egg-laying. Monitor water quality, sedimentation and instream habitat at known and potential hellbender sites, which will allow us to track any degradation of current hellbender sites but also to identify priority restoration sites. 19 ORIANNESOCIETY.ORG 2015 Annual Report
Little is known about the ecology of Timber Rattlesnakes in this region, so we plan to use radio-telemetry to track Timber Rattlesnakes back to their overwintering sites. By understanding the winter habitat requirements for Timber Rattlesnakes, we can prioritize conservation activities to incorporate both summer and winter habitats. Continue the monitoring efforts we started in 2015 to determine the status of Timber Rattlesnake populations and to track their reproductive efforts.
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Give at least 6 public programs on rattlesnake biology. These programs are interactive and teach the audience about rattlesnake biology in an interesting and entertaining way. Help organize a bi-annual meeting to bring together Timber Rattlesnake conservation biologists from across the species range.
Develop a better breeding-season snorkel survey protocol so that we can figure out where hellbenders are reproducing.
CIT SCI
Develop an AHI citizen science program that will use citizen scientists to filter water for eDNA analysis and to collect stream habitat information.
Photo: Kevin Stohlgren
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Photo: Noah Fields
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The Citizen Science Initiative aims to promote reptile and amphibian conservation by involving anyone that is interested, regardless of training or background. Some of our projects also allow us to cover a wider area than Orianne Society scientists could on their own. There are two main types of citizen science that we conduct: place-based events where we bring groups to find and document as many reptile and amphibian species in an area, and projects where citizen scientists submit data across a broader area to an online database. Our membes-only place-based events, Places You’ve Never Herped (PYNH) and Indigo Days, brings together 20 to 40 Orianne members for the common goal of getting people excited about herp conservation and documenting as many species as possible. PYNH focuses on areas of high biodiversity value or places that have not been formally surveyed before. Our members join Orianne staff at a designated locale to survey the area for any reptile and amphibian species found, splitting into groups to create some added good-humored competition to see who can find the most species over the course of the event weekend. The locale for each PYNH
event is different each time, providing our members an exciting opportunity to explore various habitats with the same citizen science goals in mind. Indigo Days takes place at the Orianne Indigo Snake Preserve (OISP) and assists The Orianne Society herpetologists in conducting field surveys for the imperiled Eastern Indigo Snake and the declining Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake. Captured snakes are sexed, weighed, measured and then uniquely marked beneath the skin with a microchip-like PIT tag. Surveys are conducted in Longleaf Pine sandhill habitats, focusing efforts near the burrows of Georgia’s state reptile, the Gopher Tortoise. We are also partnering with HerpMapper, a global reptile and amphibian database that currently has over 78,000 records. Working with HerpMapper helps us collect records that we can use for our survey and modeling projects and provides a home for targeted citizen science projects, such as our Snapshots in Time Spotted Salamander and Wood Frog breeding project and Longleaf Pine Snake observations. Furthermore, we will engage members and the general public by developing standardized citizen science programs.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
200
We received over 200 Spotted Salamander and Wood Frog observations from The Orianne Society web form and HerpMapper records.
We formalized a partnership with HerpMapper that will store data from our citizen scientists.
a
We held PYNH 6 at Huntington Beach State Park in South Carolina. Over 2 days, 30+ participants observed 48 species, 9 of them listed as species of greatest conservation need.
We held PYNH 7 on the Osa Peninsula of Costa Rica, our first PYNH outside the United States. A group of 25 participants and staff observed 59 species over 3 days and 4 nights. We surveyed Osa Conservation’s Piro Research Station, and all the species we found were reported for the station’s records.
3
rd
We held our third Indigo Days event with 45 participants at 5 different properties in the area of the OISP. Our members found an impressive number of Indigo Snakes—around 20 different snakes in fact—as well as 6 other snake species, including Diamondback Rattlesnakes, Eastern Hognose Snakes and a Florida Pinesnake. ORIANNESOCIETY.ORG 2015 Annual Report 22
Directly incorporate future PYNH events into Orianne Society initiatives, with one event taking place in the Longleaf Pine region and one in the Appalachian Highlands region.
Photo: Noah Fields
Goals
1 b2
Increase the number of Indigo Days events from 1 to 2 per year.
Photo: Heather Ahrens
Develop a citizen science program to train people to collect eDNA samples for detecting Eastern Hellbenders in the Little Tennessee watershed, which will be the first Orianne Society citizen science project that will include a handson training component.
Work directly with HerpMapper partners to develop strategies to improve the potential of using citizen science data for our reptile and amphibian conservation efforts. 23 ORIANNESOCIETY.ORG 2015 Annual Report
Photo: Amanda Newsom
Continue collecting observations for the Snapshots in Time and Snakes of the Longleaf Pine projects.
Photo: Chance Feimster
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Photo: Pete Oxford 25 ORIANNESOCIETY.ORG 2015 Annual Report
The rainforests of Central America have long been recognized for their outstanding biodiversity, including reptiles and amphibians. Furthermore, countries such as Costa Rica are well known for their conservation efforts for many species. Despite this interest and effort, conservation is lacking for many species, especially snakes. This holds true for one of the most iconic snakes of the neotropics: the bushmaster. Not only do we know relatively little about the natural history and conservation needs of the world’s largest pit viper, but it is also widely persecuted despite the fact that bites are quite rare. The Orianne Society has been working to develop field methods to better understand the status of bushmasters while building local connections to change attitudes about this symbol of the rainforest.
Our Mesoamerica focal species is the Black-headed Bushmaster, the rarest of the four bushmaster species and only found on or in the vicinity of the Osa Peninsula of Costa Rica. Their habitat is restricted to closed-canopy rainforest, and they are rarely sighted even by locals except when the forest is disturbed and they are discovered. They have a low reproductive output (only laying 10 to 15 eggs at a time), and so killing adults can really hurt the population. As a top predator, we assume they are important for regulating small mammal populations, although we still need to confirm this hypothesis. Because they are so secretive, our efforts have been focused on trying different techniques to locate them, while at the same time building local connections so that any sightings are reported to us. We want people to know they are important, and in turn, to be less likely to kill them.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS We started training a conservation detector dog named Viper to help find bushmasters in the wild. So far, the dog can rapidly find bushmaster sheds that are hiding under cover objects. By building awareness of bushmasters through our field expeditions, we had the first 2 observations of Blackheaded Bushmasters since we began our project in 2012. Both observations were submitted by locals who, by their own admission, would have killed the snakes previously but reported the sightings because they knew the snakes were valued alive.
We radio-tracked 2 bushmasters to gain the first movement and natural history data for this species in the wild environment; 1 individual was tracked for 3 months. We learned that the snake had a very small home range and appeared to be hunting pocket gophers most of the time.
Goals Conclude the conservation detector dog training, and test the ability of the dog to detect bushmasters in the field. The completed training will include training the dog to keep a sufficient distance from the snake so as to avoid snakebite.
Transition the bushmaster conservation program to local partners that will be able to continue to increase local awareness and appreciation for this snake and to lead field surveys with the conservation dog.
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Photo: Kevin Stohlgren
As we look to the future of The Orianne Society, we think about the future of rare and endangered reptiles, amphibians and the ecosystems that support them. The two are not mutually exclusive. As The Orianne Society continues to have conservation successes, the future of these species and landscapes becomes brighter. But The Orianne Society cannot work on every species or ecosystem in need—there needs to be an effort to create partnerships that can address an ever-increasing abundance of conservation challenges. Our work in the Longleaf Pine ecosystems of the southeastern Coastal Plain is making a difference in the Altamaha River Corridor landscape and for species such as Eastern Indigo Snakes and Spotted Turtles. But it is through partnerships with state and federal agencies, universities, nonprofits and private citizens that we are able to have a much broader and more effective impact on biodiversity conservation in the region. The lessons we learned in developing partnerships and implementing conservation in the Longleaf Pine ecosystem is serving as a roadmap for the future of Orianne’s programs. We are using the same approach as we develop additional North American initiatives, including the Great Northern Forests and Appalachian Highlands Initiatives. In the Great Northern Forests we are developing partnerships that will help us achieve conservation successes for endangered freshwater turtles, Timber Rattlesnakes and vernal pool breeding amphibians. And in the Appalachian Highlands we are developing innovative tools that are changing the way conservation biologists search for some of the most elusive rare salamander species, such as Eastern Hellbenders. Additionally, we have always recognized the importance of land protection, restoration and stewardship. The Orianne Indigo Snake Preserve in the Altamaha River Corridor is the core from which our teams work on land protection projects and from which we work with private and public land partners to restore and steward critical habitats throughout the region. Again, we are using our work in the Longleaf Pine as a model and are currently developing plans to expand our land-focused work into the Great Northern Forests and the Appalachian Highlands. Land conservation for rare and endangered reptiles and amphibians is one of the areas that The Orianne Society will continue to focus on into the future, as it is critically important to the survival of these species. Once we have successfully achieved effective, sustainable initiatives in North America, we plan to expand our programs internationally building on our existing projects in Asia and Latin America to begin the process of conserving some of the world’s most endangered species and ecosystems. Overall, the futures of reptiles, amphibians, critical ecosystems and The Orianne Society are intertwined. We have just completed our strategic plan, and as we implement the plan, we will ensure a future for many of the world’s rare and endangered reptiles and amphibians. As a final note, we cannot do it alone—we need to continue developing partnerships, and we need the continued support of people like you.
Photo: Pete Oxford
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We are fully dedicated to maximizing financial resources for our conservation efforts within each of our initiatives and projects. Keeping our overhead costs low while striving to gain continued and new funding sources for our projects
remains a priority within financial planning. Support from foundations, grants, our partners, and our generous donors and members allows us to focus on fulfilling our mission.
Expenses
Revenue
Longleaf Savanna Appalachian Highlands Citizen Science International Communication and Outreach Administration Fundraising
$500,941.00 $90,207.00 $64,059.00 $17,535.00 $105,255.00 $184,496.00 $210,361.00
Unrestricted Donations Restricted Donations Expended Grants Other
$742,760.00 $17,556.00 $173,463.00 $3,664.00
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Photo: Pete Oxford
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The Orianne Society works with a vast array of partners, and we believe this is one of the keys to our success.
Thank you! Alabama Wildlife & Freshwater Fisheries Appalachian State University Archbold Biological Station Association of Zoos & Aquariums Auburn University Audubon Nature Institute Center for North American Amphibians and Reptiles Central Florida Zoo Columbus Zoo Fund for Conservation Corcovado Foundation Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory Department of the Navy Ecoturistica La Tarde Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Fort Stewart Fort Worth Zoo Fresno Chaffee Zoo Wildlife Conservation Fund Georgia Department of Natural Resources Georgia Sea Turtle Center Gopher Tortoise Council Herpetological Associates, Inc. Idaho State University International Union for Conservation of Nature Jones Ecological Research Center Las Brisas Nature Reserve Lee University Little St. Simons Island Los Angeles Zoo Conservation Grant Program Fund Mainspring Conservation Trust Mohamed bin Zayed Conservation Fund Naples Zoo Nashville Zoo National Fish and Wildlife Fund Nokuse Plantation
North Branch Nature Center North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission North Carolina Zoological Park Osa Conservation PackLeader Dog Training Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School Riverbanks Conservation Support Fund San Diego Zoo Sanibel Captiva Conservation Foundation Santuario GambaGam Southeast Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles Southern Company Team Snake Panama Teaming with Wildlife Tennessee State University Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency The Longleaf Alliance The Nature Conservancy Turner Endangered Species Fund United States Fish and Wildlife Services United States Forest Service United States Geological Survey University of Georgia University of Florida University of Idaho University of Massachusetts Amherst Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife Vermont River Conservancy Warren Wilson College Wild South Wyoming Game & Fish Department Zoo Atlanta ORIANNESOCIETY.ORG 2015 Annual Report 32
Photo: Pete Oxford
Photo: Pete Oxford
Dr. Chris Jenkins Chief Executive Officer
Dr. Chris Jenkins is Chief Executive Officer of The Orianne Society. As CEO, Chris is responsible for providing strategic direction and overseeing day-to-day operations of the organization. Chris’ primary interests are in nonprofit management, land protection and stewardship, and biodiversity conservation. He received a B.S. and M.S. from the University of Massachusetts in wildlife biology and wildlife conservation, respectively. Chris received his Ph.D. in biological sciences from Idaho State University. Chris has also worked with Wildlife Conservation Society, the U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, University of Massachusetts, University of British Columbia and National Geographic. Chris’ current projects include land protection in Longleaf Pine ecosystems, ecology and conservation of Timber Rattlesnakes, and the conservation of wildlife in the Great Northern Forests. Chris founded and chairs the IUCN Viper Specialist Group and has served on many board and committees including the National Committee for Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation. Chris has contributed to multiple scientific papers and has written multiple book chapters, including Modeling Snake Distribution and Habitat in the recently published book titled Snakes: Ecology and Conservation. Chris is currently writing a book titled, The Indigo Snake: A Complete Guide to their Biology, Behavior and Conservation.
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Photo: Amy Gross
Gary Baldaeus
Chief Financial Officer
Photo: Chris Jenkins
Gary serves as The Orianne Society’s Chief Financial Officer. After completing eight years of military service during the 1960s, he obtained his B.B.A. in accounting from City University of New York-Baruch College. Upon graduation he joined Ernst & Young and retired after 30 years with the firm. While with Ernst & Young he served in numerous capacities as an audit and consulting partner, including, among other things, as a specialist in the healthcare and nonprofit industries. He is a practicing CPA and a member of the AICPA, NYSSCPAs, and other professional and social organizations. He has presented to a broad array of professional organizations on all aspects of accounting and operating matters and has served as an adjunct professor at New York Medical College.
Heidi Hall
Director of Development
Heidi Hall is the Director of Development for The Orianne Society. She is responsible for overseeing the development and implementation of a strategic plan to broaden the reach of and raise funding for the organization. Heidi’s interests include determining and implementing effective ways to communicate the need for reptile and amphibian conservation; educating the public about the importance of these species; building strong partnerships with private, non-profit, and state and federal organizations; developing and implementing strategic fundraising campaigns; and organizing citizens to participate in necessary and useful research on reptile and amphibians that enhance The Orianne Society’s conservation efforts. She studied fisheries and wildlife management at Hocking College in Ohio where she earned a degree in fisheries and wildlife management and continued her education at the University of Idaho, studying wildlife biology, earning a B.S. in biology.
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Photo: Pete Oxford
Dr. Stephen Spear
Director Appalachian Highlands Initiative
Photo: Pete Oxford
Dr. Stephen Spear is the Director of the Appalachian Highlands Initiative (AHI) for The Orianne Society. He is responsible for developing and coordinating both research and on-the-ground management projects for AHI species and landscapes. His current AHI projects include environmental DNA monitoring of hellbenders and mudpuppies, assessment of current habitat quality in Appalachian rivers, and habitat restoration and improvement for hellbenders in the Little Tennessee watershed. Steve received his B.S. in biology at the University of Richmond in 2001, his M.S. in biology at Idaho State University in 2004 and his Ph.D. in zoology at Washington State University in 2009. His previous work has combined field research with genetic and modeling approaches to understand the threats facing populations as well as to identify priority areas for conservation efforts. Steve is using this experience to guide his current focus on improving habitat for amphibians and reptiles in the Appalachians, particularly salamanders, as the region is a global hotspot for this group.
Dirk Stevenson
Director Longleaf Savanna Initiative
Dirk is the Director of the Longleaf Savanna Initiative. This Orianne Society initiative, based in the Coastal Plain, focuses on the conservation of Longleaf Pine ecosystems and the imperiled reptile and amphibian species that require these habitats. Dirk guides the land management and reptile and amphibian research programs embedded within this initiative. He leads long-term population monitoring efforts for the Eastern Indigo Snake and Spotted Turtle in Georgia. Dirk attended Southern Illinois University where he studied zoology (B.S., 1988). He has 25 years of professional experience working as a field biologist in the Coastal Plain of the southeastern United States. Prior to his position with The Orianne Society, Dirk worked for The Nature Conservancy and the Department of Defense at Fort Stewart, Georgia. Dirk has published scientific papers relating to Eastern Indigo Snakes and other reptiles and amphibians. His photographs appeared in Amphibians and Reptiles of Georgia, and his popular articles have appeared in Wildlife Conservation, Alabama Wildlife, South Carolina Wildlife, Herp Nation and Georgia Backroads.
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Photo: Pete Oxford
Brannon Knight
Stewardship Coordinator Longleaf Savanna Initiative
Photo: Ethan Winskey
Brannon is the Stewardship Coordinator of the Longleaf Savanna Initiative and is responsible for Longleaf Pine restoration activities on the Orianne Indigo Snake Preserve and private cooperator lands. Brannon’s day-to-day activities consist mainly of activities associated with fire management and groundcover restoration. Brannon received a B.A.S. in natural resource management with a focus on wildlife from Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College in 2014. Brannon started working for The Orianne Society in 2009 but has previous experience as a procurement forester. He is currently working toward his burn boss status, which is recognized by the National Wildfire Coordinating Group. Brannon was introduced to fire at an early age, where he developed his particular interest in restoring the natural plant communities of the Coastal Plain using fire to mimic a once-occurring natural process that historically shaped fire-dependent plant communities within the Longleaf Pine ecosystem.
Houston Chandler
Species Coordinator Longleaf Savanna Initiative
Houston is the Species Coordinator for the Longleaf Savanna Initiative. He works on various research and conservation projects, including monitoring populations of Spotted Turtles and creating habitat models for Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnakes. Previously, Houston completed a B.S. in biology and environmental science at Georgia College and State University. While completing his undergraduate degree, Houston worked as an Aquatic Diversity Intern for the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. He received his M.S. in fish and wildlife conservation from Virginia Tech in 2014 and continued working as a Research Associate at Virginia Tech (VT) after graduating. His research at VT focused on identifying the effects of habitat change on aquatic invertebrate and amphibian communities in ephemeral wetlands in the Florida panhandle, with an emphasis on Reticulated Flatwoods Salamanders. Houston is broadly interested in the conservation and management of reptile and amphibian populations in the southeastern United States.
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Photo: Andrea Fuchs
Amanda Newsom
Communications Specialist
Photo: Amanda Newsom
Amanda Newsom is the Communications Specialist at The Orianne Society. She is responsible for creating and updating Orianne’s social media, website, newsletters, magazines and other publications, as well as managing our membership program and social media campaigns. Amanda is a Georgia native who moved to Athens in 2003 to attend the University of Georgia where she studied journalism (A.B.J.), anthropology (B.A.) and management of nonprofit organizations (M.A.). While working toward her bachelor degrees, Amanda interned with local nonprofit organizations and enjoyed her time in archaeology field school. She also worked with various nonprofits as a graduate assistant and is passionate about utilizing her skills to promote worthy causes. Before coming to The Orianne Society, Amanda worked with animal welfare, childcare and public health organizations to coordinate their outreach efforts. In her spare time, Amanda loves to travel, volunteer to help animals and wildlife, and spend time with her family.
Chandra Vice Program Manager
Chandra Vice is the Program Manager at The Orianne Society. In her capacity as Program Manager, Chandra handles a variety of administrative tasks, including human resources, accounts payable, payroll, fundraising and general clerical duties. She is a California native who moved to Florida in 2002 where she worked in accounting and finance for over 12 years, most recently with a charter high school dedicated to helping at-risk youth earn their diplomas. In her spare time she likes to read everything, volunteer with local animal rescues and other charities, and spend time with her daughter and their cats. They moved to Athens, Georgia, at the beginning of 2016, and she is very excited to be able to put her skills and passion to use for The Orianne Society.
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You can support our land restoration efforts financially by making an online donation, becoming an Orianne member, giving the gift of stock or including us in your planned giving.
Our members are the backbone of our organization, and we cannot accomplish all we do without your support. As a yearly member, you allow us to continue important projects such as our mark-recapture studies for Spotted Turtles in Longleaf Pine sandhills and analyzing environmental DNA samples to monitor Eastern Hellbender populations in the Appalachian Mountains. This year, we are expanding our membership program to offer differing levels of support to encourage members to become sustaining supporters of reptiles, amphibians and their habitats:
Spotted Salamander Membership: $35
Wood Turtle Membership: $100
• Car Decal • Invitations to Exclusive Events • Monthly E-newsletters • Bi-yearly Magazines (electronic) • Annual Report (electronic) • Bragging Rights!
In addition to the $35 member benefits, you’ll have the option to receive one of the following: • Printed Magazines and Reports • Limited Edition Double Dutch Press Print
Indigo Snake Membership: $150 In addition to the $35 member benefits, you’ll receive both the printed magazines and reports as well as the limited edition Double Dutch Press print.
As you plan for your own future, you can include the animals and habitats you care about conserving into your plans. 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 our work. Please contact Heidi Hall at hhall@oriannesociety.org or 706224-1359 to discuss our planned giving options.
In addition to making direct contributions to The Orianne Society, you can donate gifts of stocks, bonds or mutual funds to help our conservation efforts. For detailed instructions on how to make a stock contribution, please contact Heidi Hall at hhall@oriannesociety.org or 706-224-1359. 39 ORIANNESOCIETY.ORG 2015 Annual Report
One of the easiest yet most impactful ways to help our focal species and habitats is to talk about what we’re doing! Let people know about the projects you are most interested in, and like, share and retweet our social media posts to spread the word to more conservation-minded people.
TALK ABOUT US FOLLOW US LIKE, SHARE + RETWEET
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Photo: Pete Oxford
Your time is just as valuable as your giving. Our volunteer opportunities vary throughout the year and locale, but we love to have volunteers out in the field alongside us to assist with surveys, collect groundcover seeds or even prescribed burning. If you are interested in volunteering with us, please email info@oriannesociety.org to let us know your volunteer interests and skills.
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@OrianneSociety
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Photo: Pete Oxford
The Orianne Society 100 Phoenix Rd. Athens, GA 30605 706-224-1359 info@oriannesociety.org www.OrianneSociety.org
Front & Back Cover Photos: Pete Oxford
www.OrianneSociety.org
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