(Download) "Georgia Landowners’ Guide to Wild Pig Management" by Michael T. Mengak " Book PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: Georgia Landowners’ Guide to Wild Pig Management
- Author : Michael T. Mengak
- Release Date : January 28, 2020
- Genre: Education,Books,Professional & Technical,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 11527 KB
Description
In Georgia’s top industry-- agriculture-- feral swine lead to crop depredation, replanting costs, and reduction in quality or yields, damage to young tree stands and irrigation systems, and disease risks to livestock. Feral swine impact all sectors of Georgia agriculture, from row crops, forestry, pecan production, to livestock production. According to a study from UGA Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resource, feral swine cause an estimated $150 million worth of damage each year in Georgia.
Feral swine are also extremely detrimental to natural resources, disrupting local ecosystems and native habitat. Feral swine damage waterways and riparian zones, contributing fecal coliform directly and sedimentation indirectly through erosion.
Feral swine also negatively impact terrestrial wildlife habitat and native plant communities, including some threatened species such as gopher tortoises. They dig up plants in search of food, and their rooting increases disturbance and destroys food sources for native wildlife. Native wildlife species, such as deer, turkey, and bobwhite quail, suffer from habitat degradation and disease risk in areas of surging feral swine populations, tangentially also impacting the contribution of hunting preserves to the local economy.
An integrated partnership effort on a landscape scale with the proper resources and coordination is the only sustainable approach to reducing feral swine populations to a manageable level. Thus, the Georgia Feral Swine partnership was formed, a coalition of federal and state agencies, researchers, Universities, and other stakeholders aiming to effectively control feral swine populations and provide outreach to landowners across Georgia.