Private Lands Stewardship Program

Private Lands Stewardship Program – Wildlife Habitat Technical Assistance

Georgia Wildlife Federation’s wildlife biologist is available for AT-NO-COST forestry and wildlife habitat management assistance to Georgia landowners. Our team will perform One-on-One property visits with landowners to assess conditions and objectives, natural history and then provide management recommendations for:

Establishment of new forest stands
Prescribed fire planning
Identification of plant species valuable for wildlife and methods for promotion
Identification of problematic invasive species and methods for control
General silvicultural suggestions for stand enhancement that will enhance wildlife habitat quality

Additionally, given the range-wide ecological importance of longleaf pine restoration, this program emphasizes establishing, managing, and maintaining longleaf pine where applicable. This effort expresses the importance of wildlife habitat that occurs within longleaf pine systems

For more information on enhancing wildlife habitat on your property or establishing and managing longleaf pine, contact jbowers@gwf.org. To schedule a property visit, please complete the survey below. Know your land and understand the wildlife. See what the GWF Private Lands Program can do for you.

SUBMIT INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR PROPERTY. Afterwards, you'll be contacted by a biologist to receive information on the next steps.

The Georgia Wildlife Federation (GWF) is offering cost-share funds for private landowners. Funding is made possible through the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s Longleaf Landscape Stewardship Fund.

GWF will provide cost-share of up to $4,000 per landowner for establishing new stands of longleaf pine, including site preparation and planting. GWF will provide cost-share at $15 per acre (up to $1,000 per landowner) for management of existing longleaf pine stands, with priority given to prescribed burning projects. All activities have or will take place between October 2025 – December 2026. Applications close July 10, 2026. Site visit confirmation and/or photo evidence of activities must be submitted to receive cost-share payments.

Apply by July 10.

For more information, contact John Bowers, GWF Private Lands Program Manager at jbowers@gwf.org

Our program for restoring wildlife habitat and longleaf pine on Private Lands in Georgia is supported by a grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s Longleaf Stewardship Fund in partnership with Southern Company, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, and USDA Forest Service.

Donate to GWF and support programs like the Wildlife Management Assistance Program.

Not a Landowner? Or just want to get updates on the program? Sign up for notifications here.

Habitat Management Tools of the Trade: Wedge Prism

Apr 16, 2020 | 0 Comments

By: Evan Wheeler Wedge prisms are used to estimate the basal area (total cross-sectional area of tree stems in a forest stand [usually presented in ft2/acre]) of a forest stand and are readily available to private landowners and managers for a cost of about $33-90....

GWF Private Lands Stewardship Program is ON THE GROUND

Jun 2, 2019 | 0 Comments

The GWF Private Lands Biologist is now available to provide AT NO COST land management assistance to landowners in focal counties in central Georgia. Given the importance of active management in developing and maintaining quality wildlife habitat, the GWF Biologist...

GWF Hires Biologist for Private Lands Program

Apr 30, 2019 | 0 Comments

GWF is excited to announce that Evan Wheeler, Private Lands Biologist, has joined our team to provide forestry and wildlife habitat management technical assistance to landowners in central Georgia. Evan earned B.S. and M.S. degrees in Wildlife Sciences at Auburn...