RABUN HABERSHAM STEPHENS TALIAFERRO CHANGING RICHMOND SPALDING BUTTS HANCOCK WASHINGTON UPSON LANDSCAPE: JENKINS HARRIS TALBOT WILKINSON JOHNSON

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1 DADE CATOOSA FANNIN TOWNS MURRAY UNION WALKER GILMER WHITE CHATTOOGA LUMPKIN GORDON PICKENS WHITFIELD DAWSON HALL BANKS FRANKLIN HART FLOYD CHEROKEE BARTOW FORSYTH RABUN HABERSHAM OCONEE STEPHENS TALIAFERRO McDUFFIE GLASCOCK GEORGIA JACKSON MADISON ELBERT POLK GEORGIA BARROW COBB GWINNETT GIA S CLARKE OGLETHORPE PAULDING HARALSON WALTON DEKALB WILKES LINCOLN DOUGLAS FULTON CARROLL MORGAN GREENE NEWTON COLUMBIA HENRY COWETA WARREN HEARD CHANGING JASPER PUTNAM RICHMOND SPALDING BUTTS HANCOCK PIKE BALDWIN JEFFERSON TROUP BURKE LAMAR MONROE JONES WASHINGTON UPSON BIBB WILKINSON JENKINS HARRIS TALBOT CRAWFORD JOHNSON LANDSCAPE: SCREVEN TWIGGS MUSCOGEE EMANUEL TAYLOR PEACH LAURENS HOUSTON CHATTA- MARION MACON TREUTLEN BULLOCH HOOCHEE CANDLER EFFINGHAM SCHLEY PULASKI DOOLY DODGE WHEELER EVANS STEWART TOOMBS SUMTER BRYAN TATTNALL CHATHAM WILCOX CRISP APPRECIATING TELFAIR AN TERRELL LIBERTY LEE JEFF RANDOLPH BEN HILL DAVIS APPLING TURNER LONG URBANIZING CLAY CALHOUN IRWIN POPULATION DOUGHERTY WAYNE WORTH COFFEE BACON McINTOSH TIFT EARLY BAKER PIERCE AND LAND BERRIEN ATKINSON USE MITCHELL GLYNN MILLER COLQUITT BRANTLEY COOK WARE QUITMAN SEMINOLE MERIWETHER FAYETTE WEBSTER CLAYTON ROCKDALE BLECKLEY DECATUR GRADY THOMAS LOWNDES BROOKS LANIER MONTGOMERY CLINCH CHARLTON CAMDEN ECHOLS compiled by Dr. Kim D. Coder, Professor of Tree Biology & Health Care Warnell School of Forestry & Natural Resources, University of Georgia

2 GEORGIA S CHANGING LANDSCAPE: Appr pprecia eciating An Urbanizing Popula opulation & Land Use Dr. Kim D. Coder, Professor of Tree Biology & Health Care, Warnell School, UGA Georgia is a great state. It continues to be one of the leaders of our nation in many aspects, including quality of life, community development, natural resource conservation, urban and rural forest sustainability, and intelligently managed change into the future. To better understand community forest resource management now and into the future, examining the current state of Georgia and some of its impending changes, are critical. Community natural resource managers, citizens projecting their community s current and future health, and organizations examining their position and role within a productive future within Georgia all need to appreciate our continuing changes. Here is presented a highly limited and summarized review of a few current aspects, as well as some general expectations into the future, for Georgia. Note that listed here are just a few general concepts of what exists now and what changes are projected to occur, and not detailed depictions covering all social and resource areas. GEORGIA S PEOPLE Georgia s great strength has always been its people. Georgia s population, based upon growth projections from the last census, reached 10,508,057 people in This makes Georgia the 8 th most populated state in the United States, and makes Georgia the 10 th fastest growing state with roughly +1.2% population growth per year. In addition, Georgia is the 18 th largest state in population density (population versus land area). Georgia is projected to reach a population of 14.7 million by 2030, or a 40% increase. Figure 1 provides a projection of population growth in Georgia from 1980 into Looking at Georgia counties, some have strong population growth while other are losing population. Figure 2 shows increasing population (blue circles) and decreasing population (red circles) counties. There is a belt roughly southwest to northeast-central across Georgia where populations by county are declining. Rapidly increasing populations are found in counties concentrated near metropolitan Atlanta and near Savannah. Figure 3 provides a regional view across Georgia of population rate increases and decreases. Figure 4 demonstrates where counties with the smallest populations are located, in this case in numerical order of the 15 smallest counties. All of these counties have populations under 6,900 people. Note how many of these low population counties are in southwest Georgia. Figure 5 shows Georgia counties with populations in numerical order for the largest 15 counties. All of these counties have populations greater than 137,000 people. Note how these top 15 counties are concentrated in the Atlanta, Augusta, Macon, Columbus and Savannah areas. Diversity! Georgia is a diverse state in many ways. Figure 6 provides the racial and ethnic make-up of Georgia s population. Remember these labels are provided by the people themselves, and represent how they identify themselves. White and Black Americans comprise roughly 93% of Georgia s population, with Latino, Asian, and Native Americans making up most of the remaining population. Note the percentages add up to 106.7% because some people identify as multiracial. There is a double counting of people identifying as Latino Americans because Latino ethnicity occurs in various combination within White, Black, Asian and multiracial Americans. Latino Americans 2

3 could be listed within each racial group, or in multiple racial groups. Figure 7 provides a simple breakdown of the mixed ethnic Latino American population within different racial groups in Georgia. The ancestry of Georgia s people are derived from many countries and regions around the world. Figure 8 shows most of the population of Georgia derived from colonial Americans, and more recent immigrants from Ireland, England, and Germany. Latino American immigrants are primarily from Mexico, Central / South America, and the Caribbean. All these groups listed above together represent about 46% of Georgia s population ancestry. Figure 9 provides a breakdown of the population by gender. The female / male division is close to even (varies by 2%), with small differences by race and ethnicity. Median gender ages of Georgia s population is 36 years old for females and 34 years old for males. Further demonstrating Georgia s diversity and rich cultural background is the numbers of languages spoken. Figure 10 provides a list of the top 8 languages spoken by Georgia residents. English is spoken by most people with a number speaking a different language at home or among friends. English and Spanish comprise about 97% of all languages spoken. There is a diversity of languages which can be found within enclaves and families in Georgia. Religion also demonstrates Georgia s diversity. The largest five religions of Georgia is dominated by Christian (~79%). Figure 11 shows religious groups in Georgia. Note that 18% of the population declared no religious affiliation. Georgia is a well-educated state. About 85% of the population has a high school education or more. College graduates account for roughly 28% of the population. Money! Figure 12 shows the personal income of Georgians. The median household income is almost $50,000, with per person income at just over $25,000. Poverty afflicts more than 18% of the population, although this value varies by how poverty levels are measured. Georgia also has just under 9% of the population listed as disabled. Average state-wide values for housing can be misleading because the poorest counties are combined with the most affluent counties. Figure 13 provides average home values in the state, and the average monthly mortgage payment ($1,388). The average monthly rent payment for housing is just over $870 per month. These housing values represent an average household occupancy of almost three people. Figure 14 shows regional home values divided between high home values and low home values for Georgia. Cities! Summaries of Georgia s population revolve around its cities. Figure 15 provides a list of the 15 largest cities in population for Georgia. City size can be roughly broken into three groups, greater than 120,000, greater than 70,000, and greater than 55,000 people. Note many of these cities are within the metropolitan area of Atlanta. Figure 16 shows the state s metropolitan census areas, which include urban and suburban areas surrounding major cities. The metropolitan areas of Georgia account for 8.4 million people. Figure 17 provides the named metro areas, population in millions, and number of counties considered a part of the metro area. Georgia s 12 metro areas cover 74 counties, some of which are in neighboring states. Atlanta alone accounts for 5.6 million people across 29 counties. Figure 18 provides a map showing the 12 metro areas and their relative population size. Note Georgia s population is roughly 80% urban / suburban and 20% rural. Of the 80% urban / suburban population, 67% of these people live in the Atlanta metro area. Figure 19 provides a view of county population variations surrounding Atlanta. 3

4 GEORGIA S DECISION MAKERS Georgia s elected legislative officials represent the growing population of Georgia. Figure 20 shows the Georgia State Senate membership by metropolitan area. Note 70% of Georgia State Senators are from urban / suburban districts. Atlanta metro area has 46% of all Georgia Senators. Figure 21 shows the Georgia State House members representing metropolitan areas. In the Georgia House, 68% of members are from urban / suburban districts. Atlanta has 46% of all Georgia House representatives. In the United States House, 6 of 14 Georgia seats are predominantly urban / suburban, with 3 of 14 seats representing suburban edge or urban interface districts. Figure 22. Combined, 9 of 14 (64%) of Georgia s seats in the United States House represent urban / suburban, or emerging suburban districts. In the United Sates Senate, Georgia s two senators represent a state which is 80% urban / suburban. To summarize Georgia s elected legislative officials, Figure 23 provides the Georgia House and Georgia Senate members in each metropolitan area. Note Atlanta has a large proportion of elected legislative officials. GEORGIA S LAND The quality of life for any population rests in the continued productivity of its land and sustainability of its natural resources. For the United States of America, Georgia s land area is in the middle of all the states, ranking 24 th largest in size. Georgia has about 59,483 square miles or 38,068,965 acres of land. Because of river borders and salt marsh / barrier islands changes, these land areas vary slightly over time. Georgia is the largest state East of the Mississippi. Georgia has eight primary physiographic regions which suggests how the state was formed and generates unique plant and animal communities. Figure 24 provides a view of the eight regions which range from the ridge and valley area of the Northwest, to the forested swamp of the Southeast. Each area has representative native trees and forest types. Across these physiographic regions flow Georgia s 14 primary watersheds. Figure 25. Watersheds show the drainage patterns of landscapes into major rivers, and suggest surface water resource availability and limits. Georgia s land has a diversity of ecological cover types and uses. Figure 26 shows a proportional breakdown of dominant land use across all the square miles in Georgia. Forests, developed land, and crops cover most of Georgia. Forest land accounts for 65% of all land cover in the state. Of these forest acres, Georgia has the highest percent of forest land available for commercial production in the nation (98%). Figure 27 provides a relative level of tree cover across the state. Forests! Georgia s forest cover can be divided into five dominant over-arching types of tree combinations or forest types: (Figure 28) oak /hickory; oak / pine; loblolly pine / shortleaf pine; longleaf pine / slash pine; and, bottomland forests in swamps and along river bottoms. Figure 29 provides a different perspective showing tree species mixes within the native forests of Georgia. Note the longleaf / loblolly / slash pine species group occupy roughly the Southern half of the state, with a Northern in-holding along the Alabama border near the city of Rome. If commercial, industrial, and land development disturbance were not present exerting ecological change and stress on landscapes, forest types would be different and more widespread. Figure 30 suggests the potential forest cover of the state without human development and intensive disturbance. 4

5 Figure 31 demonstrates the changes Georgia s dominant land uses are undergoing. The trend is for forests and agricultural land to be declining in acreage, while urban / suburban acres are increasing. These trends are expected to continue, accelerating as Georgia s population grows. Georgia is blessed with large and productive commercial forests. Figure 32 shows a general distribution of commercial forest acres as a percent of county acres across the state. A value of 90% in this figure represents where 90% of all land is composed of potentially commercial forest land. These values do not represent actual commercial forest land percents currently under management for timber products. Figure 33 shows forest land ownership patterns in Georgia. Private industrial ownerships account for 56% of all forest lands, with various corporate owners holding 25% of forest lands, and forest industries holding 10% of Georgia s forest lands. Combining information about ownerships and commercial forest lands, as well as examining forest land use trends, some future forest resource management intensities can be expected. Figure 34 shows the state divided into five distinct zones: forest lands reserved from commercial use and held for development (North mountains and Southeast Coast); quickly developing lands; areas where forest management could be improved and is commercially viable; agriculture dominated areas, although having significant forest acres; and, high intensity forest management land use. GEORGIA S CLIMATE Georgia s climate powers its forest productivity, water availability, energy use, tree health and tree species mix. There is great variability and change in Georgia s long term climate and short term weather. To better appreciate Georgia s climate for people, trees and forests, looking at temperature and precipitation patterns can be helpful. Figure 35 shows places in Georgia with similar temperature patterns assigned to five regions, from Coastal to Northern mountains. Temperature zones run roughly North / South, accounting for the North Georgia mountains. Figure 36 shows places in Georgia which share one of five similar precipitation patterns. Note the large pocket in the middle of the State (zone 4) which can be droughty. Zone 5 circles around the State making precipitation distribution, patterns, and intensities in Columbus similar to Savannah. If these two maps (Figure 35 & 36) are combined, Figure 37 is generated. Places with similar combined temperature and precipitation patterns can be divided into seven zones. These climate zones run roughly North to South, except for the maritime area along the coast. In the last 18 years, hardiness zones (average minimum Winter temperatures) in Georgia have grown significantly warmer and shifted Northward. Figure 38. Some hardiness zones have shifted 100 miles North in just 11 years. Figure 39 shows the current hardiness zones for Georgia. If this level of change continues over the next 20 years, hardiness zones will have changed to a great degree. This type of change will impact tree growth and forest composition (and associated pests), especially in urban / suburban areas. URBANIZING GEORGIA Looking at Georgia from above, urban / suburban land use intensity is clear. Figure 40 shows where moderate and heavy intensity urban / suburban land use is taking place. Note changing land use is not just in already developed areas sprawling out, but can be seen in many Georgia communities 5

6 expanding land development. Figure 41 provides a graph of how urban / suburban land use has spread out in Georgia, increasing the number of acres impacted by 2/3s in the last 26 years. Georgia s urban, suburban, and urban-rural interface areas occupy 12.3% of the state s area, and contains 8.4 million people or 80% of the population. Figure 42 consolidates elected representative locations, population centers and associated infrastructure supporting metro populations within the state. Note how potential political power, population, and infrastructure supporting the population are divided into metro centers and transportation corridors. Continued population growth and economic development will continue to occur along, and fill in around these areas. CONCLUSIONS Georgia is a great state with many natural resources and a productive diverse population. The future of Georgia, based upon current trends and resource values, suggests even bigger and better changes in quality of life and sustainable land use. The basic conclusions here can be summarized into four points which will occur in Georgia: 1. rapid growth will continue; 2. growth will cause a number of resource allocation and use problems; 3. ecological resources will need stronger and more careful management and conservation; and, 4. there will continue to be expanding tree and forest health issues. Key to managing these Georgia changes will be a need for an educated appreciation of community viability and surrounding forest ecological health, all within a urban / suburban environment. Sources: (all internet sourced) Dr. L. Kramer, NRSAL-CAES, UGA. Georgia Land Use Trends Georgia Forestry Commission, Georgia Statewide Assessment of Forest Resources, Georgia Forestry Commission, State & Private Forestry Facty Sheet - Georgia Georgia House of Represenative Georgia State Senate Govenors Office of Planning & Budget, Georgia Population Projections. United States Census Bureau, USDC, Georgia

7 Figure 1: Georgia s population MILLION PEOPLE YEAR 7

8 GEORGIA DADE WALKER CATOOSA WHITFIELD FANNIN GILMER GORDON PICKENS UNION LUMPKIN DAWSON FORSYTH HALL WHITE TOWNS RABUN HABERSHAM STEPHENS BANKS FRANKLIN HART ELBERT MADISON JACKSON CLARKE OCONEE OGLETHORPE WILKES LINCOLN COLUMBIA McDUFFIE TALIAFERRO RICHMOND BURKE JEFFERSON GLASCOCK WARREN HANCOCK WASHINGTON SCREVEN JENKINS EMANUEL BULLOCH EFFINGHAM CHATHAM BRYAN EVANS LIBERTY LONG McINTOSH GLYNN WAYNE BRANTLEY PIERCE CAMDEN CHARLTON WARE CLINCH ECHOLS ATKINSON LANIER BERRIEN LOWNDES BROOKS COOK THOMAS GRADY COLQUITT MITCHELL DECATUR SEMINOLE MILLER BAKER EARLY CALHOUN DOUGHERTY WORTH TIFT IRWIN COFFEE BEN HILL BACON APPLING JEFF DAVIS TOOMBS TATTNALL CANDLER TREUTLEN JOHNSON LAURENS BALDWIN WILKINSON TELFAIR WHEELER DODGE WILCOX PULASKI TWIGGS HOUSTON MACON DOOLY CRISP SUMTER LEE TERRELL RANDOLPH CLAY WEBSTER QUITMAN STEWART MARION CHATTA- HOOCHEE BIBB JONES CRAWFORD MONROE LAMAR UPSON PIKE SPALDING BUTTS TAYLOR TALBOT HARRIS TROUP MERIWETHER HEARD COWETA FAYETTE CARROLL DOUGLAS CLAYTON HENRY DEKALB NEWTON COBB PAULDING HARALSON POLK FLOYD GWINNETT BARROW WALTON MORGAN GREENE JASPER PUTNAM MURRAY MONTGOMERY BARTOW PEACH BLECKLEY SCHLEY TURNER CHATTOOGA ROCKDALE CHEROKEE MUSCOGEE FULTON Figure 2: County population growth rates.

9 Figure 3: Population growth rate regions in Georgia. -DADE CATOOSA FANNIN TOWNS UNION RABUN MURRAY WALKER GILMER WHITE + CHATTOOGA LUMPKIN GORDON STEPHENS PICKENS DAWSON HALL BANKS FRANKLIN HART FLOYD CHEROKEE BARTOW JACKSON MADISON ELBERT POLK + BARROW COBB GWINNETT CLARKE OGLETHORPE PAULDING HARALSON WALTON DEKALB WILKES LINCOLN DOUGLAS FULTON CARROLL MORGAN GREENE NEWTON COLUMBIA HENRY COWETA WARREN HEARD JASPER PUTNAM RICHMOND SPALDING BUTTS HANCOCK PIKE JEFFERSON TROUP BALDWIN BURKE LAMAR -MONROE JONES WASHINGTON UPSON BIBB WILKINSON JENKINS HARRIS TALBOT CRAWFORD JOHNSON SCREVEN TWIGGS MUSCOGEE EMANUEL TAYLOR PEACH LAURENS HOUSTON CHATTA- MARION TREUTLEN BULLOCH HOOCHEE MACON CANDLER EFFINGHAM SCHLEY PULASKI DOOLY DODGE WHEELER EVANS STEWART TOOMBS SUMTER BRYAN TATTNALL CHATHAM WILCOX CRISP TELFAIR TERRELL LIBERTY LEE JEFF RANDOLPH BEN HILL DAVIS APPLING TURNER LONG CLAY CALHOUN IRWIN DOUGHERTY WAYNE WORTH COFFEE BACON McINTOSH TIFT +- + EARLY BAKER PIERCE BERRIEN ATKINSON MITCHELL GLYNN MILLER COLQUITT BRANTLEY COOK WARE DECATUR GRADY CLINCH THOMAS LOWNDES CHARLTON CAMDEN BROOKS ECHOLS QUITMAN WHITFIELD SEMINOLE MERIWETHER FAYETTE WEBSTER CLAYTON FORSYTH ROCKDALE HABERSHAM OCONEE BLECKLEY LANIER TALIAFERRO McDUFFIE GLASCOCK MONTGOMERY GEORGIA 9

10 Figure 4: The 15 smallest population Georgia counties. (all under 6,900 people) DADE WALKER CHATTOOGA FLOYD POLK CATOOSA HARALSON CARROLL HEARD TROUP QUITMAN WHITFIELD GORDON PAULDING COWETA CHATTA- HOOCHEE SEMINOLE MURRAY BARTOW DOUGLAS MARION WEBSTER DECATUR FANNIN GILMER PICKENS SPALDING PIKE GRADY UNION LUMPKIN DAWSON LAMAR FORSYTH MACON SCHLEY STEWART SUMTER 2 3 TERRELL LEE RANDOLPH CLAY 5 CALHOUN DOUGHERTY 13 EARLY BAKER 6 MITCHELL MILLER 11 BUTTS THOMAS TOWNS WHITE HALL MONROE UPSON BIBB HARRIS TALBOT CRAWFORD 12 MUSCOGEE TAYLOR PEACH 10 MERIWETHER CHEROKEE COBB FULTON FAYETTE CLAYTON 8 DEKALB GWINNETT HENRY ROCKDALE NEWTON DOOLY WORTH COLQUITT RABUN HABERSHAM STEPHENS BANKS FRANKLIN HART JACKSON HOUSTON CRISP BARROW WALTON JASPER JONES TURNER TIFT BROOKS CLARKE OCONEE MORGAN TWIGGS PULASKI WILCOX PUTNAM COOK MADISON BALDWIN BLECKLEY IRWIN BERRIEN LOWNDES OGLETHORPE GREENE WILKINSON DODGE BEN HILL ELBERT HANCOCK LANIER WILKES 1WARREN 9 4 TALIAFERRO WASHINGTON COFFEE ATKINSON CLINCH 15 ECHOLS LINCOLN McDUFFIE GLASCOCK JOHNSON JEFF DAVIS JEFFERSON BACON WARE COLUMBIA TOOMBS APPLING GEORGIA RICHMOND PIERCE CHARLTON BURKE JENKINS EMANUEL LAURENS TREUTLEN CANDLER 14 TELFAIR 7 WHEELER MONTGOMERY TATTNALL EVANS WAYNE BRANTLEY SCREVEN BULLOCH LONG CAMDEN BRYAN LIBERTY EFFINGHAM McINTOSH GLYNN CHATHAM 10

11 Figure 5: The 15 largest population Georgia counties. (all over 137,000 people) DADE WALKER CHATTOOGA FLOYD CATOOSA HEARD TROUP QUITMAN WHITFIELD GORDON COWETA STEWART MURRAY BARTOW WEBSTER FANNIN GILMER PICKENS TERRELL RANDOLPH SUMTER LEE UNION LUMPKIN FORSYTH TOWNS WHITE HALL DOOLY CRISP RABUN HABERSHAM STEPHENS BANKS FRANKLIN HART JACKSON MADISON ELBERT POLK BARROW COBB GWINNETT CLARKE OGLETHORPE PAULDING HARALSON WALTON DEKALB WILKES DOUGLAS FULTON 15 CARROLL MORGAN GREENE NEWTON MERIWETHER FAYETTE PIKE CLAYTON SPALDING UPSON LAMAR BUTTS MONROE JONES OCONEE PULASKI WILCOX BALDWIN DODGE BEN HILL HANCOCK TALIAFERRO WARREN WASHINGTON TELFAIR WHEELER LINCOLN McDUFFIE GLASCOCK JEFF DAVIS JEFFERSON TOOMBS APPLING GEORGIA BIBB WILKINSON JENKINS HARRIS TALBOT CRAWFORD JOHNSON SCREVEN TWIGGS MUSCOGEE EMANUEL TAYLOR PEACH LAURENS HOUSTON CHATTA- MARION MACON 13 TREUTLEN BULLOCH HOOCHEE CANDLER EFFINGHAM 10 DAWSON CHEROKEE HENRY 8 SCHLEY ROCKDALE JASPER 12 TURNER PUTNAM BLECKLEY COLUMBIA 14 RICHMOND 11 MONTGOMERY BURKE TATTNALL EVANS LONG BRYAN LIBERTY 5 CHATHAM CLAY CALHOUN IRWIN DOUGHERTY WORTH COFFEE EARLY BAKER MITCHELL MILLER SEMINOLE COLQUITT COOK TIFT BERRIEN ATKINSON DECATUR GRADY THOMAS LOWNDES BROOKS LANIER CLINCH BACON WAYNE McINTOSH PIERCE GLYNN BRANTLEY WARE CHARLTON CAMDEN ECHOLS 11

12 Figure 6: Georgia population by race / ethnicity. 61.6% WHITE AMERICAN 31.7% BLACK AMERICAN 8.8% LATINO AMERICAN 4.0% ASIAN AMERICAN 0.5% NATIVE AMERICAN 0.1% POLYNESIAN AMERICAN 12

13 Figure 7: Georgia s population of Latino ethnicity. PEOPLE IDENTIFYING AS LATINO AMERICANS 8.8% HISPANIC / LATINO OF ANY RACE 4.0% OTHER RACE 3.8% WHITE AMERICAN 2.1% MULTIRACIAL AMERICAN 13

14 Figure 8: Ancestry of Georgia s non-native American population. 10.8% COLONIAL 9.5% IRISH AMERICANS (primarily British) 8.9% ENGLISH 8.8% LATINO (Mexico, Puerto Rico, Caribbean, Central & South America) 8.2% GERMAN 14

15 Figure 9: Georgia s population by gender and race / ethnicity. 51% FEMALE 59% WHITE AMERICAN 32% BLACK AMERICAN 8% LATINA AMERICAN 49% MALE 60% WHITE AMERICAN 29% BLACK AMERICAN 10% LATINO AMERICAN 15

16 Figure 10: Major languages spoken as a percent of the population in Georgia. 90.0% ENGLISH 7.4% SPANISH 0.5% KOREAN 0.4% FRENCH 0.3% VIETNAMESE 0.3% CHINESE 0.3% GERMAN 0.2% HINDI 0.6% OTHER 16

17 Figure 11: Largest religions identified in Georgia s population. 79% CHRISTIAN 18% NONE 1% JEWISH 0.7% MUSLIM 0.3% BUDDHISTS 0.2% HINDU 17

18 Figure 12: Income levels of Georgia s population. MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME = $49,342 PER CAPITA INCOME = $25, % IN POVERTY 8.7% DISABLED 18

19 Figure 13: Average state-wide housing values in Georgia. HOME VALUE = $148,000 MONTHLY MORTGAGE = $1,388 MONTHLY RENT = $874 PEOPLE PER HOUSEHOLD =

20 Figure 14: Housing value regions in Georgia. DADE CATOOSA FANNIN TOWNS UNION RABUN MURRAY WHITFIELD WALKER GILMER WHITE CHATTOOGA LUMPKIN GORDON STEPHENS PICKENS DAWSON HALL BANKS FRANKLIN HART FLOYD CHEROKEE BARTOW FORSYTH HABERSHAM JACKSON MADISON ELBERT POLK BARROW COBB GWINNETT CLARKE OGLETHORPE PAULDING QUITMAN STEWART CLAY CHATTA- HOOCHEE EARLY MILLER SEMINOLE MARION WEBSTER CALHOUN BAKER DECATUR SUMTER DOUGHERTY MITCHELL GRADY MACON WORTH THOMAS DOOLY CRISP TERRELL LEE RANDOLPH 89 TURNER COLQUITT BROOKS OCONEE HARALSON WALTON DEKALB DOUGLAS FULTON CARROLL MORGAN GREENE NEWTON COWETA HEARD JASPER PUTNAM SPALDING BUTTS PIKE TROUP BALDWIN LAMAR MONROE JONES MERIWETHER FAYETTE CLAYTON 89 UPSON BIBB WILKINSON HARRIS TALBOT CRAWFORD TWIGGS SCHLEY ROCKDALE HENRY MUSCOGEE TAYLOR PEACH HOUSTON PULASKI WILCOX TIFT 2345 COOK BLECKLEY BEN HILL IRWIN BERRIEN HANCOCK LANIER WILKES TALIAFERRO WARREN WASHINGTON COFFEE ATKINSON ECHOLS CLINCH LINCOLN McDUFFIE GLASCOCK JOHNSON 1 LAURENS DODGE LOWNDES TELFAIR WHEELER JEFF DAVIS JEFFERSON TREUTLEN MONTGOMERY BACON WARE GEORGIA = high COLUMBIA RICHMOND EMANUEL TOOMBS APPLING PIERCE house value 12 CHARLTON BURKE JENKINS CANDLER TATTNALL WAYNE BRANTLEY = low SCREVEN BULLOCH EFFINGHAM EVANS BRYAN CHATHAM LIBERTY LONG 01 McINTOSH GLYNN CAMDEN

21 Figure 15: Largest 15 city populations in Georgia. ATLANTA 472,522 COLUMBUS 197,485 AUGUSTA 197,081 MACON 152,555 SAVANNAH 146,763 ATHENS 123,371 SANDY SPRINGS 105,703 ROSWELL 94,598 JOHNS CREEK 83,873 WARNER ROBINS 74,388 ALBANY 73,801 ALPHARETTA 65,338 MARIETTA 60,941 SMYRNA 56,644 VALDOSTA 56,474 21

22 GEORGIA DADE WALKER CATOOSA WHITFIELD FANNIN GILMER GORDON PICKENS UNION LUMPKIN DAWSON FORSYTH HALL WHITE TOWNS RABUN HABERSHAM STEPHENS BANKS FRANKLIN HART ELBERT MADISON JACKSON CLARKE OCONEE OGLETHORPE WILKES LINCOLN COLUMBIA McDUFFIE TALIAFERRO RICHMOND BURKE JEFFERSON GLASCOCK WARREN HANCOCK WASHINGTON SCREVEN JENKINS EMANUEL BULLOCH EFFINGHAM CHATHAM BRYAN EVANS LIBERTY LONG McINTOSH GLYNN WAYNE BRANTLEY PIERCE CAMDEN CHARLTON WARE CLINCH ECHOLS ATKINSON LANIER BERRIEN LOWNDES BROOKS COOK THOMAS GRADY COLQUITT MITCHELL DECATUR SEMINOLE MILLER BAKER EARLY CALHOUN DOUGHERTY WORTH TIFT IRWIN COFFEE BEN HILL BACON APPLING JEFF DAVIS TOOMBS TATTNALL CANDLER TREUTLEN JOHNSON LAURENS BALDWIN WILKINSON TELFAIR WHEELER DODGE WILCOX PULASKI TWIGGS HOUSTON MACON DOOLY CRISP SUMTER LEE TERRELL RANDOLPH CLAY WEBSTER QUITMAN STEWART MARION CHATTA- HOOCHEE BIBB JONES CRAWFORD MONROE LAMAR UPSON PIKE SPALDING BUTTS TAYLOR TALBOT HARRIS TROUP MERIWETHER HEARD COWETA FAYETTE CARROLL DOUGLAS CLAYTON HENRY DEKALB NEWTON COBB PAULDING HARALSON POLK FLOYD GWINNETT BARROW WALTON MORGAN GREENE JASPER PUTNAM MURRAY MONTGOMERY BARTOW PEACH BLECKLEY SCHLEY TURNER CHATTOOGA ROCKDALE CHEROKEE MUSCOGEE FULTON Figure 16: State metro census areas.

23 Figure 17: Population of Georgia metro areas (in millions), and number of counties counted within each area. (* = counties in other states in population count) ATLANTA 5.60 (29) SAVANNAH 0.53 (6) MACON 0.42 (8) AUGUSTA 0.40 (5*) CHATTANOOGA 0.29 (5*) COLUMBUS 0.25 (4*) ATHENS 0.20 (4) GAINESVILLE 0.19 (1) ALBANY 0.15 (5) VALDOSTA 0.14 (4) ROME 0.12 (2) BRUNSWICK 0.11 (3) >8.4 million urban / suburban population 23

24 Figure 18: Largest 12 urban / suburban population centers in descending order with percentage of population. 5 DADE CATOOSA WALKER WHITFIELD FANNIN GILMER UNION WHITE CHATTOOGA LUMPKIN GORDON STEPHENS 11 8 PICKENS DAWSON HALL BANKS GEORGIA HART FLOYD BARTOW 1CHEROKEE JACKSON MADISON ELBERT 7 POLK BARROW COBB GWINNETT CLARKE OGLETHORPE PAULDING HARALSON WALTON DEKALB WILKES LINCOLN DOUGLAS FULTON 4 CARROLL MORGAN GREENE NEWTON COLUMBIA HENRY COWETA WARREN HEARD JASPER PUTNAM RICHMOND SPALDING BUTTS HANCOCK TROUP PIKE BALDWIN JEFFERSON LAMAR MONROE JONES BURKE WASHINGTON UPSON BIBB WILKINSON JENKINS HARRIS TALBOT JOHNSON SCREVEN 6 3 CRAWFORD TWIGGS MUSCOGEE EMANUEL TAYLOR PEACH LAURENS HOUSTON CHATTA- MARION TREUTLEN BULLOCH HOOCHEE MACON CANDLER EFFINGHAM 2 SCHLEY PULASKI DOOLY DODGE WHEELER EVANS STEWART TOOMBS SUMTER BRYAN TATTNALL CHATHAM WILCOX CRISP TELFAIR TERRELL LIBERTY LEE JEFF RANDOLPH BEN HILL DAVIS APPLING TURNER LONG 9 CLAY CALHOUN IRWIN DOUGHERTY WAYNE WORTH COFFEE BACON McINTOSH TIFT EARLY BAKER PIERCE 12 BERRIEN ATKINSON MITCHELL GLYNN MILLER COLQUITT BRANTLEY COOK WARE 10 DECATUR GRADY CLINCH THOMAS LOWNDES CHARLTON CAMDEN BROOKS ECHOLS QUITMAN SEMINOLE MURRAY MERIWETHER FAYETTE WEBSTER CLAYTON FORSYTH ROCKDALE TOWNS RABUN HABERSHAM OCONEE BLECKLEY LANIER TALIAFERRO McDUFFIE GLASCOCK MONTGOMERY Georgia s People 20% rural 80% metro 67% ATL 16% % 5-8 6%

25 GEORGIA DADE WALKER CATOOSA WHITFIELD FANNIN GILMER GORDON PICKENS UNION LUMPKIN DAWSON FORSYTH HALL WHITE TOWNS RABUN HABERSHAM STEPHENS BANKS FRANKLIN HART ELBERT MADISON JACKSON CLARKE OCONEE OGLETHORPE WILKES LINCOLN COLUMBIA McDUFFIE TALIAFERRO RICHMOND BURKE JEFFERSON GLASCOCK WARREN HANCOCK WASHINGTON SCREVEN JENKINS EMANUEL BULLOCH EFFINGHAM CHATHAM BRYAN EVANS LIBERTY LONG McINTOSH GLYNN WAYNE BRANTLEY PIERCE CAMDEN CHARLTON WARE CLINCH ECHOLS ATKINSON LANIER BERRIEN LOWNDES BROOKS COOK THOMAS GRADY COLQUITT MITCHELL DECATUR SEMINOLE MILLER BAKER EARLY CALHOUN DOUGHERTY WORTH TIFT IRWIN COFFEE BEN HILL BACON APPLING JEFF DAVIS TOOMBS TATTNALL CANDLER TREUTLEN JOHNSON LAURENS BALDWIN WILKINSON TELFAIR WHEELER DODGE WILCOX PULASKI TWIGGS HOUSTON MACON DOOLY CRISP SUMTER LEE TERRELL RANDOLPH CLAY WEBSTER QUITMAN STEWART MARION CHATTA- HOOCHEE BIBB JONES CRAWFORD MONROE LAMAR UPSON PIKE SPALDING BUTTS TAYLOR TALBOT HARRIS TROUP MERIWETHER HEARD COWETA FAYETTE CARROLL DOUGLAS CLAYTON HENRY DEKALB NEWTON COBB PAULDING HARALSON POLK FLOYD GWINNETT BARROW WALTON MORGAN GREENE JASPER PUTNAM MURRAY MONTGOMERY BARTOW PEACH BLECKLEY SCHLEY TURNER CHATTOOGA ROCKDALE CHEROKEE MUSCOGEE FULTON >100,000 < 99,000 Figure 19: County populations in metro Atlanta area.

26 Figure 20: Georgia Senate districts from metro areas. 46% ATLANTA 5% SAVANNAH 4% AUGUSTA 4% COLUMBUS 4% MACON 2% ATHENS, DALTON, GAINESVILLE, VALDOSTA ~70% = URBAN / SUBURBAN GEORGIA SENATE SEATS 26

27 Figure 21: Georgia House districts from metro areas. 46% ATLANTA 3% SAVANNAH 3% AUGUSTA 3% MACON 2% ALBANY, ATHENS, COLUMBUS, DALTON, GAINESVILLE, VALDOSTA 68% = URBAN / SUBURBAN GEORGIA HOUSE SEATS 27

28 Figure 22: United States House of Represenatives seats from urban / suburban districts. 6 / 14 SEATS URBAN / SUBURBAN 3 / 14 SEATS INTERFACE 9 / 14 SEATS (64%) URBAN / SUBURBAN OR INTERFACE 28

29 Figure 23: Metro area elected decision makers. GA House / GA Senate DADE CATOOSA FANNIN MURRAY 3/1 WALKER GILMER CHATTOOGA FLOYD WHITFIELD GORDON FORSYTH UNION TOWNS RABUN WHITE LUMPKIN STEPHENS PICKENS DAWSON HALL BANKS 3/1 FRANKLIN HART CHEROKEE HABERSHAM JACKSON MADISON ELBERT POLK BARROW COBB GWINNETT CLARKE OGLETHORPE 83/26 3/1 PAULDING HARALSON WALTON DEKALB WILKES DOUGLAS FULTON CARROLL MORGAN GREENE NEWTON HEARD TROUP TERRELL LEE RANDOLPH TURNER CLAY CALHOUN DOUGHERTY WORTH 3/1 TIFT EARLY BAKER QUITMAN HARRIS MILLER SEMINOLE BARTOW COWETA MUSCOGEE CHATTA- MARION HOOCHEE STEWART WEBSTER DECATUR SPALDING SUMTER MITCHELL GRADY BUTTS MACON THOMAS DOOLY COLQUITT HOUSTON CRISP BROOKS OCONEE PULASKI WILCOX COOK BEN HILL IRWIN DODGE BERRIEN HANCOCK LANIER TALIAFERRO LAURENS TELFAIR COFFEE ATKINSON ECHOLS WARREN WHEELER CLINCH LINCOLN McDUFFIE GLASCOCK PIKE BALDWIN JEFFERSON LAMAR MONROE JONES WASHINGTON UPSON BIBB WILKINSON TALBOT 5/2 CRAWFORD JOHNSON TWIGGS MERIWETHER 3/2 FAYETTE CLAYTON TAYLOR SCHLEY HENRY ROCKDALE PEACH JASPER PUTNAM BLECKLEY LOWNDES 3/1 TREUTLEN JEFF DAVIS U.S. House 9 of 14 districts (64%) Georgia House 122 of 180 seats (68%) MONTGOMERY BACON WARE GEORGIA Georgia Senate 39 of 56 seats (70%) COLUMBIA 6/2 RICHMOND EMANUEL TOOMBS APPLING PIERCE CHARLTON BURKE JENKINS CANDLER TATTNALL EVANS WAYNE BRANTLEY SCREVEN BULLOCH LONG BRYAN LIBERTY EFFINGHAM McINTOSH GLYNN 2/1 CAMDEN CHATHAM 6/3 29

30 Figure 24: Physiographic regions of Georgia KEY 1. ridge & valley 2. mountain 3. Piedmont 4. sand hills 5. loam hills 6. upper Coastal Plains 7. fla latw twoods 8. for orest swamp

31 Figure 25: Major watersheds of Georgia. 1) Tennessee 2) Coosa 3) Tallapoosa 4) Chattahoochee 5) Flint 1 6) Ocmulgee 7) Oconee 8) Savannah 9) Ogeechee 10) Altamaha 11) Satilla 12) Suwannee 13) St. Mary 14) Ochlockonee

32 Figure 26: Dominant land use and cover in Georgia FOREST DEVELOPED CROPS PASTURE FEDERAL OTHER RURAL WATER 32

33 Figure 27: Tree canopy cover levels across Georgia. DADE CATOOSA FANNIN H TOWNS MURRAY UNION WALKER GILMER WHITE CHATTOOGA LUMPKIN GORDON PICKENS FLOYD WHITFIELD GRADY DAWSON FORSYTH THOMAS HALL BROOKS RABUN HABERSHAM STEPHENS BANKS FRANKLIN HART OCONEE TERRELL LEE RANDOLPH BEN HILL VL TURNER CLAY CALHOUN IRWIN DOUGHERTY WORTH TIFT EARLY BAKER BERRIEN MITCHELL MILLER COLQUITT COOK QUITMAN HARRIS CHATTA- HOOCHEE STEWART SEMINOLE BARTOW JACKSON MADISON ELBERT POLK BARROW COBB GWINNETT CLARKE OGLETHORPE PAULDING HARALSON L WALTON DEKALB WILKES LINCOLN DOUGLAS FULTON CARROLL MORGAN GREENE NEWTON COLUMBIA HENRY M COWETA WARREN HEARD JASPER PUTNAM RICHMOND SPALDING BUTTS HANCOCK PIKE BALDWIN JEFFERSON TROUP BURKE LAMAR MONROE JONES WASHINGTON UPSON MUSCOGEE MERIWETHER FAYETTE TALBOT MARION WEBSTER DECATUR CHEROKEE CLAYTON TAYLOR SCHLEY SUMTER ROCKDALE CRAWFORD MACON PEACH DOOLY HOUSTON CRISP BIBB TWIGGS PULASKI WILCOX BLECKLEY WILKINSON LOWNDES LANIER TALIAFERRO COFFEE ATKINSON ECHOLS CLINCH McDUFFIE GLASCOCK JOHNSON JEFF DAVIS BACON EMANUEL APPLING PIERCE GEORGIA JENKINS WAYNE SCREVEN LAURENS TREUTLEN L BULLOCH CANDLER EFFINGHAM DODGE WHEELER EVANS TOOMBS BRYAN TATTNALL CHATHAM TELFAIR MONTGOMERY H = HEAVY M = MEDIUM L = LIGHT VL = VERY LIGHT LONG LIBERTY McINTOSH GLYNN BRANTLEY WARE HCHARLTON CAMDEN 33

34 Figure 28: Major forest types in Georgia. 2 1 KEY: 1. oak - hickor ory 2. oak - pine 3. lobloll lolly - shortleaf 4. longleaf leaf - slash 5. oak - gum - cypr ypress = 5 34

35 Figure 29: Native forests of Georgia. birch / beech / maple / hemlock chestn hestnut / chestn hestnut oak /yello ellow poplar oak / pine longleaf leaf / lobloll lolly / slash marsh grass cypr ypress / tupelo / gum also along Coastal Plain river bottoms 35

36 Figure 30: Potential natural forest without human development or disturbance. 1 KEY: 1. Appalac ppalachian oaks 2. Piedmont mixed (oak, hickor ory, pine) 3. Southern mixed ed (beech, sweetgum, magnolia, pine, oak) 4. Southern floodplain (oak, gum, cypr ypress) = 36

37 Figure 31: Changes in land use and cover types. MILLION ACRES FOREST YEAR AG. URBAN 37

38 Figure 32: Potential commercial forest land in Georgia by percent of total land use or cover

39 Figure 33: Forest land ownership in Georgia % PRIVATE INDUSTRIAL 25% CORPORATE 10% FOREST IND. 9% PUBLIC 39

40 Figure 34: Forest management intensity zones in Georgia. 1 KEY: 1. RESERVED / DEVELOPMENT 2. DEVELOPMENT 3. IMPROVEMENT 4. AGRICUL GRICULTURE 5. HIGH INTENSITY 6. RESERVED / DEVELOPMENT

41 Figure 35: Similar temperature zones in Georgia. (30 years data -- cluster analysis)

42 Figure 36: Similar precipitation zones in Georgia. (30 years data -- cluster analysis)

43 Figure 37: Combined temperature and precipitation zones in Georgia. (30 years data -- cluster analysis)

44 Figure 38: Tree hardiness zone changes in Georgia from a 7b 7a 6b Hardiness Zone average annual zone minimum number temperature o F 6b -5 7a 0 7b 5 8a 10 8b 15 9a 20 8a 8b 9a 2012 map lines 2001 map lines 44

45 Figure 39: Tree hardiness zones of Georgia a 7b 6 b 7a Hardiness Zones average annual zone minimum number temperature o F 6b -5 7a 0 7b 5 8a 10 8b 15 9a 20 8a 8b 9a 45

46 Figure 40: Areas of concentrated urban / suburban land surfaces in Georgia. DADE WALKER CHATTOOGA FLOYD POLK CATOOSA HARALSON CARROLL HEARD TROUP QUITMAN WHITFIELD GORDON PAULDING HARRIS COWETA CHATTA- HOOCHEE STEWART MURRAY BARTOW DOUGLAS MUSCOGEE MERIWETHER WEBSTER FANNIN GILMER PICKENS CHEROKEE COBB FULTON FAYETTE TALBOT MARION PIKE TERRELL RANDOLPH CLAYTON SPALDING UPSON TAYLOR SCHLEY UNION LUMPKIN DAWSON DEKALB SUMTER LEE FORSYTH GWINNETT HENRY LAMAR ROCKDALE BUTTS MACON TOWNS WHITE HALL NEWTON MONROE CRAWFORD PEACH DOOLY RABUN HABERSHAM STEPHENS BANKS FRANKLIN HART JACKSON HOUSTON CRISP BARROW WALTON JASPER BIBB JONES TURNER CLARKE OCONEE MORGAN TWIGGS PULASKI WILCOX PUTNAM MADISON BALDWIN BLECKLEY OGLETHORPE GREENE WILKINSON DODGE BEN HILL ELBERT HANCOCK WILKES TALIAFERRO WARREN WASHINGTON LAURENS TELFAIR LINCOLN McDUFFIE GLASCOCK JOHNSON WHEELER JEFF DAVIS JEFFERSON TREUTLEN MONTGOMERY COLUMBIA EMANUEL TOOMBS APPLING GEORGIA RICHMOND BURKE JENKINS CANDLER TATTNALL heavy moderate EVANS SCREVEN BULLOCH LONG BRYAN LIBERTY EFFINGHAM CHATHAM CLAY CALHOUN IRWIN DOUGHERTY WORTH COFFEE EARLY BAKER MITCHELL MILLER SEMINOLE COLQUITT COOK TIFT BERRIEN ATKINSON DECATUR GRADY THOMAS LOWNDES BROOKS LANIER CLINCH BACON WAYNE McINTOSH PIERCE GLYNN BRANTLEY WARE CHARLTON CAMDEN ECHOLS 46

47 Figure 41: Changes in urban / suburban land surface area in Georgia over last 26 years. MILLION ACRES YEAR 47

48 Figure 42: Centers and corridors of development within the State. (concentrated voters and elected represenatives) DADE WALKER CHATTOOGA FLOYD POLK CATOOSA HARALSON CARROLL HEARD TROUP QUITMAN WHITFIELD GORDON PAULDING HARRIS COWETA CHATTA- HOOCHEE STEWART MURRAY BARTOW DOUGLAS MUSCOGEE MERIWETHER WEBSTER FANNIN GILMER PICKENS CHEROKEE COBB FULTON FAYETTE TALBOT MARION PIKE TERRELL RANDOLPH CLAYTON SPALDING UPSON TAYLOR SCHLEY UNION LUMPKIN DAWSON DEKALB SUMTER LEE FORSYTH GWINNETT HENRY LAMAR ROCKDALE BUTTS MACON TOWNS WHITE HALL NEWTON MONROE CRAWFORD PEACH DOOLY RABUN HABERSHAM STEPHENS BANKS FRANKLIN HART JACKSON HOUSTON CRISP BARROW WALTON JASPER BIBB JONES TURNER CLARKE OCONEE MORGAN TWIGGS PULASKI WILCOX PUTNAM MADISON BALDWIN BLECKLEY OGLETHORPE GREENE WILKINSON DODGE BEN HILL ELBERT HANCOCK WILKES TALIAFERRO WARREN WASHINGTON LAURENS TELFAIR LINCOLN McDUFFIE GLASCOCK JOHNSON WHEELER JEFF DAVIS JEFFERSON TREUTLEN Atlanta metro = 53% of Georgia s MONTGOMERY GEORGIA population COLUMBIA EMANUEL TOOMBS APPLING RICHMOND BURKE JENKINS CANDLER TATTNALL EVANS SCREVEN BULLOCH LONG BRYAN LIBERTY EFFINGHAM CHATHAM CLAY CALHOUN IRWIN DOUGHERTY WORTH COFFEE EARLY BAKER MITCHELL MILLER SEMINOLE COLQUITT COOK TIFT BERRIEN ATKINSON DECATUR GRADY THOMAS LOWNDES BROOKS LANIER CLINCH BACON WAYNE McINTOSH PIERCE GLYNN BRANTLEY WARE CHARLTON CAMDEN ECHOLS 48

49 Citation: Coder, Kim D Georgia s changing landscape: Appreciating an urbanizing population & land use. Warnell School of Forestry & Natural Resources, University of Georgia, Outreach Publication WSFNR Pp.49. Publication WSFNR September 2018 The University of Georgia Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources offers educational programs, assistance and materials to all people without regard to race, color, national origin, age, gender or disability. The University of Georgia is committed to principles of equal opportunity and affirmative action.