Atlanta Group and Georgia Chapter Position on Savannah Harbor Deepening Project

by Larry Winslett

The Atlanta Group of the Georgia Chapter of the Sierra Club is opposed to the Georgia Ports Authority's plan to dredge the Savannah Harbor to accommodate larger ships.  This action would severely damage the coastal ecosystem, destroying over half the tidal freshwater marsh at the core of the Savannah National Wildlife Refuge in South Carolina, and severely harm the striped bass, the endangered shortnose sturgeon, and other fisheries.  Further, any action that is not consistent with the findings, recommendations, and goals of the December 1998 National Marine Fisheries Service "Final Recovery Plan for the Shortnose Sturgeon - Acipenser brevirostrum" is unacceptable.

The Georgia Chapter of the Sierra Club supports the complete restoration of the Savannah National Wildlife Refuge.  Previous deepenings of the Savannah Harbor have already damaged this important natural resource.  Until there is sound, scientific proof, we cannot support any further action relating to the development or deepening of the Savannah Harbor that will destroy or degrade the Savannah National Wildlife Refuge, lead to the possible extinction of the Shortnose Sturgeon, or lead to the further decline of already dwindling coastal ecosystems and fisheries.