Seasonal wetlands seeing revival in the coastal South

SHELL BLUFF - Bubba Mauldin looks over the pasture on an abandoned Burke County farm and sees much more than an overgrown field crisscrossed by concrete culverts. <br> <br> ``Right now it still looks like overgrown pasture,&#39;&#39; the biologist for the Georgia Wildlife Resources Division said. ``But a year from now, this will be a very different place.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> The pasture is actually a vast, oval-shaped depression that was a seasonal wetland for thousands of years. The formations, which are typically ringed by a low ridge of sand and occur throughout South Carolina and south Georgia, are called Carolina bays. <br> <br> Before American settlers drained them, the bays sheltered a variety plants and animals and provided natural basins where rain seeps into the soil to recharge subterranean aquifers. <br> <br> ``A lot of them, including the ones on this property, were ditched and drained so row crops could be planted,&#39;&#39; Mauldin told The Augusta Chronicle. <br> <br> Georgia&#39;s Department of Natural Resources bought this 200-acre farm several years ago as mitigation land for another project a 110-acre public fishing area planned for the nearby Yuchi Wildlife Management Area. <br> <br> Because the creation of the lake would inundate wetlands at the Yuchi site, the Army Corps of Engineers required DNR to come up with a plan to preserve comparable wetlands elsewhere. <br> <br> The Burke County farm, with three drained Carolina bays, was a convenient answer. <br> <br> A restoration plan already is under way, with $52,000 in dikes and culverts designed to restore the area&#39;s ability to retain stormwater. Ditches excavated long ago are being blocked or filled in. <br> <br> ``We want it to become what it used to be,&#39;&#39; said Jeff Jones, a DNR fisheries technician. <br> <br> The restoration of the three bays includes extensive tree plantings involving Carolina bay-friendly species including bald cypress, black gum, water oak and chestnut oak. <br> <br> ``We&#39;ve studied this area, and even looked at lots of vintage aerial photos, so we can restore it as closely as possible to what it one was,&#39;&#39; Jones said. <br> <br> Once complete, the areas will again become seasonal wetlands, where wading birds such as the endangered wood stork will thrive. <br> <br> The bays also attract alligators and other reptiles and amphibians, waterfowl such as native wood ducks and an array of unusual plants. <br> <br> Once completed and restored, DNR likely will manage the Carolina bay for public uses that could include wildlife viewing and possibly limited waterfowl hunting, Mauldin said.

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