ATLANTA, July 14, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Demonstrating
its historic commitment to wildlife conservation, Southern Company,
along with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) and
other public and private partners, today announced new grants under
the Gulf Coast Conservation Grants Program (GCCGP).
The NFWF program will support a wide variety of conservation
projects – three of which are supported by Southern Company –
focusing on enhancing coastal habitats and bolstering priority fish
and wildlife populations along the Gulf
of Mexico. Southern Company-sponsored grants will focus on
restoring and maintaining the ecology of coastal bird species
spanning Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida panhandle.
GCCGP's 2016 national grants are being awarded through a
public-private partnership with NFWF, Southern Company's Power of
Flight program, the Shell Marine Habitat Program, the U.S.
Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service
and other sources.
"By supporting the Gulf Coast Conservation Grants Program,
Southern Company is continuing our tradition of making communities
better because we are there," said Southern Company Chief
Environmental Officer Dr. Larry S.
Monroe. "Our Power of Flight program has worked to conserve
critical bird species in the Southeast since 2003, and these new
grants will provide data, tools, strategies and community-based
stewardship actions that are essential to protecting coastal birds
that make up the fabric of the Gulf Coast ecosystems."
Since 2003, Southern Company and NFWF have worked through the
Power of Flight program to restore and enhance more than 476,000
acres of high-priority habitat for bird species, including the
red-cockaded woodpecker, northern bobwhite quail, coastal birds and
others. To date, 88 Power of Flight-supported projects have been
implemented across the region served by the Southern Company
system's electric-utility subsidiaries.
"We are excited to build on the successes achieved through the
Power of Flight program with this latest round of grants from the
Gulf Coast Conservation Grants Program," said Jeff Trandahl, executive director and CEO at
NFWF. "Southern Company's commitment to conservation continues to
benefit both wildlife and local communities."
The following organizations have been awarded GCCGP grants
supported by Southern Company to enhance coastal watersheds and
bolster wildlife populations of the Gulf Coast:
Operation Migration will conduct monitoring and outreach
efforts in support of conserving the critically endangered whooping
crane and building a self-sustaining population in the Southeast.
Activities include tracking and monitoring young-of-year cranes
following their release, as well as adult cranes in the population
during north-south migration flights and spring nesting activities,
and conducting web outreach to increase general awareness and
provide migration progress updates.
The Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute will map
the distribution, abundance, timing and habitat affiliations of
birds during the spring and fall migrations around the Gulf Coast
using weather radar and citizen-collected (eBird) data. Resulting
maps will be used by conservation planners and policymakers as
decision support tools to develop Gulf-wide conservation priorities
for North America's migratory
birds.
Manomet Inc. will work with federal and state agencies
and nongovernmental organizations to develop a framework to achieve
long-term conservation and recovery goals for targeted species of
coastal waterbirds across the Gulf Coast. The work will build on
the Atlantic Flyway Shorebird Conservation Initiative Business
Plan, American Oystercatcher Recovery Business Plan and the
recently completed Florida Beach-Nesting
Bird Plan. The framework will create strategies with
associated actions and costs to guide coastal shorebird and
waterbird conservation projects throughout the Gulf Coast region
over the next decade.
About Southern Company
Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is America's premier energy company,
with 44,000 megawatts of generating capacity and 1,500 billion
cubic feet of combined natural gas consumption and throughput
volume serving 9 million electric and gas utility customers through
its subsidiaries. The company provides clean, safe, reliable and
affordable energy through electric utilities in four states,
natural gas distribution utilities in seven states, a competitive
generation company serving wholesale customers across America and a
nationally recognized provider of customized energy solutions, as
well as fiber optics and wireless communications. Southern Company
brands are known for excellent customer service, high reliability
and affordable prices that are below the national average. Through
an industry-leading commitment to innovation, Southern Company and
its subsidiaries are inventing America's energy future by
developing the full portfolio of energy resources, including
carbon-free nuclear, 21st century coal, natural gas,
renewables and energy efficiency, and creating new products and
services for the benefit of customers. Southern Company has
been named by the U.S. Department of Defense and G.I. Jobs magazine as a top military employer,
recognized among the Top 50 Companies for Diversity by
DiversityInc, listed by Black Enterprise magazine as one of the 40
Best Companies for Diversity and designated a Top Employer for
Hispanics by Hispanic Network. The company has earned a National
Award of Nuclear Science and History from the National Atomic
Museum Foundation for its leadership and commitment to nuclear
development and is continually ranked among the top utilities in
Fortune's annual World's Most Admired Electric and Gas
Utility rankings. Visit our website at
www.southerncompany.com.
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SOURCE Southern Company