Wildlife Day in Walker County

Wildlife Day was celebrated with the help of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources on Thursday, April 6, in the lobby of the Walker County Tax Commissioner’s Office in Rock Spring.

The county recently placed second in the state — with a 62 percent increase in sales —for competition promoting the sale of wildlife license plates. Of the price paid for such plates, 80 percent goes directly to support wildlife, meaning those sales generated nearly $2,000.

GDNC’s Katie Flowers described the wildlife — including a snake, an owl and a bald eagle — that were on display at the tax office on Thursday.

Thomas Floyd, of the GDNC, detailed the life of a northern pine snake which is commonly found in Northeastern Georgia.

Pete Griffin, also of the GDNC, showed a red tail hawk that had been injured when hit by a moving vehicle and a bald eagle, wounded from being shot in its wing.

Griffin explained the life of bald eagles and how the man who shot this particular bird was prosecuted.

Also on display were a variety of endangered salamanders, including the Pigeon Mountain salamander that is only found on Pigeon Mountain and in Walker County and Floyd counties.

Two of the four designs of the wild life tags are for the bald eagle and the humming bird and go to support nonegame species.

“That is our primary source of funding for those none game species, so there is a direct correlation,” Flowers said. “If we don’t sale humming bird and bald eagle tags, then we literally are deficient on funds to support those species.”

Pete Griffin, of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, with, on left, a red tail hawk injured when it was struck by a vehicel and, on right, a bald eagle wounded when shot by an individual who was prosecuted for that crime. Thomas Floyd, center,...