The Nature Conservancy in Georgia

Animals At Risk

Bachman's sparrows
Great horned owls
Screech owls
Flying squirrels
Eastern woodrats
Indigo snakes
Gopher tortoise

Plants at Risk

More than 520 species of native plants
Rare ferns
Green fly orchards
Silky creeping morning glories

Ecosystems at Risk

Longleaf pine-wiregrass communities
Sandstone outcrops

Contact Information

This preserve is open to the public. Regular guided group tours are available through the City of Douglas. Contact Patti Kirkland at (912) 384-4555 or email tourism@cityofdouglas.com

For additional information about visits to Broxton Rocks, please contact Preeya Philipp at (404) 253-7216 or email pphilipp@tnc.org

Situated in Coffee County, near Broxton in southeast Georgia, Broxton Rocks Preserve protects a rugged sandstone outcrop that extends for about 4 miles. Sculpted by Rocky Creek over centuries into a network of fissures and shallow ravines, the rock system is the single largest extrusion of the Altamaha Grit, a band of sandstone that lies under 15,000 square miles of Georgia’s Coastal Plain. The preserve’s 1,650 acres is part of the larger 13,466-acre Broxton Rocks Conservation Area, which is protected and managed by the collective efforts of local landowners, Coffee County, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources and other partners.

The preserve is home to the largest and only protected population of grit portulaca, a Cuban species new to North America, and more than 500 species of plants, including species rarely found so far south. State-threatened Georgia plumes also grow at the site, as do state-endangered silky creeping morning glories, which only occur at 4 sites in 3 Georgia counties. Green-fly orchids, which usually grow on trees, adorn the rock walls, and the area’s deep shaded crevices are home to several rare ferns like the delicate filmy fern and the shoestring fern. Local fauna includes Bachman’s sparrows, turkey vultures, great horned owls, screech owls, flying squirrels, eastern woodrats, indigo snakes, and gopher tortoises.

Originally a longleaf pine-wiregrass community, the area was logged several times by previous owners, who established loblolly pine and slash pine plantations. The Nature Conservancy is working to restore the original ecosystem with prescribed burns and plantings. In 2002, the Conservancy purchased an additional 756 acres, almost doubling the preserve’s size and providing more protected habitat for a variety of rare and imperiled plants and animals.