Listed Species in Brantley County
(updated May 2004)

SpeciesFederal StatusState StatusHabitatThreats
Bird 
Red-cockaded woodpecker

Picoides borealis
EENest in mature pine with low understory vegetation (<1.5m); forage in pine and pine hardwood stands > 30 years of age, preferably > 10" dbhReduction of older age pine stands and   encroachment of hardwood midstory in older age pine stands due to fire suppression
Wood stork 

Mycteria americana
EEPrimarily feed in fresh and brackish wetlands and nest in cypress or other wooded swamps. Active rookeries were located in Brantley county in 2001Decline due primarily to loss of suitable feeding habitat, particularly in south Florida. Other factors include loss of nesting habitat, prolonged drought/flooding, raccoon predation on nests, and human disturbance of rookeries.
Reptile 
Eastern indigo snake

Drymarchon corais couperi
TTDuring winter, den in xeric sandridge habitat preferred by gopher tortoises; during warm months, forage in creek bottoms, upland forests, and agricultural fields Habitat loss due to uses such as farming, construction, forestry, and pasture and to overcollecting for the pet trade
Gopher tortoise

Gopherus polyphemus

No Federal StatusTWell-drained, sandy soils in forest and grassy areas; associated with pine overstory, open understory with grass and forb groundcover, and sunny areas for nestingHabitat loss and conversion to closed canopy forests. Other threats include mortality on highways and the collection of tortoises for pets.
Fish 

Shortnose sturgeon1

Acipenser brevirostrum

EEAtlantic seaboard rivers Construction of dams and pollution, habitat alterations from discharges, dredging or disposal of material into rivers, and related development activities.
Plant 
Dwarf witch-alder

Fothergilla gardenii
No Federal StatusTLow, flat, swampy areas, especially shrub-dominated margins of upland swamps (pocosins), Carolina bays, pitcherplant bogs, wet savannahs, and Atlantic white-cedar swamps  
Hairy rattleweed

Baptisia arachnifera
EESandy soils in open pine flatwoods, intensively managed slash pine plantations, and along road and powerline right-of-ways Clearcutting of pines for timber, followed by intensive site preparation (chopping and bedding with heavy machinery)

1This species is the responsibility of the National Marine Fisheries Service.