The Jones Center At Ichauway

Spanning nearly 30,000 acres of woods, water, and wildlife, The Jones Center at Ichauway provides a unique combination of place, people, and processes to better understand, demonstrate, and promote effective management of natural resources through research, conservation, and education.

Our Research Areas

Woods

Water

Wildlife

Open House – Save the Date on March 22, 2025

Join us as we open the doors wide for a day of fun and exploration! Take a wagon tour through the longleaf pine ecosystem, fill your passport as you travel through our research labs, visit a food truck then dine inside our new Crossroads facility, and more! Don’t miss this opportunity to delve into the science and management behind one of the nation’s most diverse ecosystems.

Fall Field Day, October 25 – Register Now

Hosted by Tall Timbers and The Jones Center, this field tour on Ichauway will include discussions on modern quail management and the benefits to other species.

Our Research Areas

Woods

Water

Wildlife

Learn More About Our Mission

We work to

UNDERSTAND

the natural systems of the southeastern Coastal Plain through

Research

DEMONSTRATE

excellence in natural resource management through

Conservation

PROMOTE

our science and management with natural resource

Education And
Outreach Programs

BUILDING UNDERSTANDING THROUGH RESEARCH:

Research programs at the Jones Center focus on understanding the ecology, restoration and management of the longleaf pine ecosystem; and the water resources, wetlands and aquatic ecosystems of the southeastern Coastal Plain. Ichauway is located in the heart of the historic range of longleaf pine. Longleaf pine ecosystems are among the rarest and most biologically diverse in North America and are increasingly a focus of conservation efforts. Southwest Georgia is also a hydrologically unique karst region that serves as the major recharge area for one of the nation’s most prolific and heavily used aquifers, the Upper Floridan aquifer. We balance basic research of these systems with applied work of relevance to the natural resource management and conservation communities and see the Center as a crossroads for research and practice.The Center’s research is integrated under three programmatic areas: Woods, Water, and Wildlife.

DEMONSTRATING KNOWLEDGE THROUGH CONSERVATION:

The Center’s conservation program is responsible for the stewardship and management of the Ichauway land base. It also serves as a technical information resource as well as a demonstration of sound resource management in the region. The Center’s conservation program incorporates a diverse range of activities into a management model that balances multiple values in the context of a deeply-rooted land ethic. Land management activities include an extensive prescribed fire program, conservation-based forest management, and restoration of the longleaf pine ecosystem across the Ichauway landscape. Our wildlife program includes game management for species such as bobwhite quail and white-tailed deer, as well as management and monitoring of nongame and endangered species associated with the longleaf pine ecosystem such as the red-cockaded woodpecker and gopher tortoise.

PROMOTING SOUND MANAGEMENT THROUGH EDUCATION AND OUTREACH:

Information from our research and conservation programs is shared and promoted through our education and outreach programs. The Center’s priority outreach constituents are practicing professionals who are making decisions that influence the management and conservation of natural resources, and scientists who are providing the data to inform these decisions. We also focus outreach on natural resource management agencies, policymakers, private landowners, conservation organizations, and university classes through field tours, short courses, and workshops. We also educate university students in natural resource degree programs to help prepare the next generation for future decisions and challenges. Approximately 125 students have completed advanced degrees through our cooperative graduate education program, and we continue to have many graduate students pursuing degrees at any given time.

BUILDING UNDERSTANDING THROUGH RESEARCH:

DEMONSTRATING KNOWLEDGE THROUGH CONSERVATION:

PROMOTING SOUND MANAGEMENT THROUGH EDUCATION AND OUTREACH:

The Ichauway E-vent, Oct. 18-22

Join us for a week of virtual exploration including new exclusive content, fascinating never-before-seen video, Facebook Live sessions, and more! Understand the science and management behind one of the nation’s most diverse ecosystems.

Graduate Students

Over 170 students have earned advanced degrees at The Jones Center

Becoming a graduate student at Ichauway is an immersive experience.

Students live in the ecosystems they study, share that experience with a small cadre of fellow students, have broad learning experiences about natural history and natural resource management, and join the diverse community of people who live and work at The Jones Center.