Last week, I called Shannon Gregory (the SatillaRiverkeeper) and asked her what was the latest on the chicken houses on the banks of the Satilla River in Douglas.
She told me Judge Kelly Brooks informed her he was going to make a ruling by Tuesday, October 7. I sent her a text the following day to see what his ruling was.
Apparently, he still had not made one because she was still waiting to find out herself.
Later in the evening, she sent me a text back and said we had won.
The 60 chicken houses will NOT be allowed to be built on the 1,000 acres of land on the banks of the Satilla River.
This would have raised about three million chickens at a time and would have been twice as large as Georgia's current biggest poultry farm, which operates 32 houses.
This would have been an environmental hazard for sure. I don’t even see how it made it this far with the judge having to look at the case.
From what I have been able to find out, David Varnedore sold the 1,000 acres of land to several different companies — all of them from out-of-state.
I am sure there are some not-so-happy people who had bought the land thinking they were going to make a lot of money with their chicken business and allowing the waste just go straight into the Satilla River.
I want to thank Shannon Gregory (SatillaRiverkeeper) for not giving up the fight for our beautiful Satilla River. Douglas is not that far upriver.
Just think of what we could and would be getting here in Brantley County from all of that waste of three million chickens.
It would be more than we could handle.
NOTE: Sales of Wayne Morgan’s two 2026 calendars are going fast. He is considering a 2026 Satilla River calendar.
• Wayne Morgan is freelance wildlife photographer and author.
