|  | Public Health Safety | Environmental Health

Threatened & Endangered Species of the Lower Savannah River Basin

The Savannah River watershed extends from the Appalachians to the Atlantic, but the lower Savannah River basin begins in Allendale County in South Carolina. Human activity has reduced the size of the watershed and threatened or endangered species that live in it. A May 2010 assessment by the Natural Resource Conservation Service notes there are 38 plants and 26 animals either listed as endangered or threatened or candidates to be listed.

  1. Species in Recovery

    • Congress authorized an Army Corps of Engineer study on the lower Savannah River basin in the early 1990s to find a way to restore the watershed. As a result, there are species that are in recovery, the Arctic peregrine falcon, bald eagle and brown pelican among them. However, there are others that are candidates for listing, including the red knot. The objectives of the Army Corps of Engineer study were to find ways to restore the spawning habitat of important fisheries, restore flow to wetlands and restore the environmental quality of the entire watershed. This was to be accomplished without affecting the river's navigability.

    Aquatic Species

    • Besides the human activity that reduces the size of the lower Savannah River watershed, there are also activities that pollute the area. Mercury advisories were issued for 57 bodies of water in South Carolina in 2005. Mercury is a danger to nearby watersheds and has been monitored in the lower basin since the mid 1990s. The frosted flatwoods salamander, which is threatened, and the shortnose sturgeon, which is endangered, both live in the lower basin. Mercury is a serious threat for sea turtles as well. The hawksbill, Kemp's ridley and leatherback sea turtles are endangered in the lower region while the loggerhead and green sea turtles are threatened.

    Birds and Mammals

    • Birds and mammals in the lower Savannah River basin are being squeezed out of their habitats through human activities that encroach further and further into the watershed. Species become endangered or threatened because of invasive species or poaching, but habitat degradation is the problem in the lower Savannah watershed. Endangered bird species in the lower basin include Kirtland's warbler, red-cockaded woodpecker and wood stork. The red wolf and West Indian manatee are also endangered. The piping plover is listed as threatened.

    Plant Species

    • Species of fish and wildlife in the lower Savannah River basin rely on plant species to complete their habitat. Eighty-six percent of the land in the lower region is too wet to use readily as farmland. Despite this there are species of plants that are endangered: American chaffseed, Canby's dropwort, pondberry and smooth coneflower.

Environmental Health - Related Articles