Southern Forests (Savannah, Pulaski: home, subdivisions, to live)

[almonj]

Hello, I will be relocating to the south (Athens, Ga) area from the Coastal Range of Oregon. I work primarily in the forests measuring trees, and am wondering if anyone has any feedback on what the forests are like there. (Steep terrain, rock cliffs, snakes, bugs, and the like.) Any info. is appreciated. Thanks!

[Iconographer]

This area is thickly forested...loblolly pines, hardwoods, and so on. The terrain can at times be steep, but generally is rolling hills. I don't think it will disappoint.

[almonj]

Thanks, looking forward to it!

[cittic10]

Youll also love our forest pests.

beetles, adelgids, borers, weevils, Oh my.

You could also have a field day with all the pathogens, invasive exotics, subdivisions. Enjoy it while it lasts.

Personally I prefer the plant communities starting around 3000' and youll have to drive a bit to see the steep terrain and less common stuff.

[Newsboy]

I think you'll love the diversity of our treescape compared to the Pacific NW.

[TehOmni]

Keep a lookout for copperhead snakes; they can be stealthy around old fallen trees and brambles.

[almonj]

Thanks All,
Interview went well, maybe on my way to new territory! So stoked to live the lively community of Athens!
Glad I like snakes!

[Southern man]

If you see a pile of what looks like sand, about 1 ft high, don't step in it. Probe it with a stick and you will understand.

[ncguy444]

Hi,
I own timberland in the Carolinas. Two sites that may be of interest to you would be the "Forestry Forums" and the "Georgia Hunting Forum" I was just on the Georgia hunting forum a few minutes ago and they had a thread under the deer hunting section titled "snake bites". The one guy that cruised timber all throughout the Southeast claimed he had at least 75 snake strikes in his years in the woods. Not a big deal if you invest in some good snake boots or gaiters. I personally never go in the woods without my snake boots when I have work to do or if I am in thick brush. The northern area of georgia has the copperhead, water moccasin ,canebrake and pygmy rattlesnake and coral snake as far as venomous species. The southern half of the state has the eastern diamondback rattler that can mess up your day.
I also like snakes and never go out of my way to hurt them. I had a cottonmouth once come out of some reeds while crossing an overgrown ditch in Eastern North Carolina while lost, without my phone and wearing shorts in the middle of the summer. I swear he came up to my waist over the vegetation and was within one foot of my body. I looked at him and he looked at me and he went back down under the weeds as quickly as he appeared. To this day I still thank God for that thing not biting me. It took me another 6 hours to get my bearings to get out of the woods. That was probably because after that situation I was probing all the vegetation in front of me with a stick like it was booby trapped. Did I mention I was in shorts? Well when I got back home I literally had thousands of chigger bites on my legs and body with about 50 ticks I had to pull off.
I know that one property I own was partially logged 20 years ago one of the crew members was bit by a rattlesnake while working there. I had hired the same crew to do some thinning that was there years ago and the owner of the company told me what happened. On the same property three years ago I had a survey done due to a timber trespass and even the surveyor had a close call. When I called him to see how the job went he started rattling something on the phone. Said it was the rattle of a snake that almost tagged him. I was kind of pissed he killed one of my critters but what are you to do. I do know that after running across the rattle-bug he wanted to charge me 1200 dollars to find pins in a 2000 foot section of clearcut. Good Luck to Ya..

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by Southern man

If you see a pile of what looks like sand, about 1 ft high, don't step in it. Probe it with a stick and you will understand.

Fire ants? I've only seen them once ... inside Fort Pulaski of all places down by Savannah. No sand, tho.