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Cumberland Island page:
- 02 Sep 06
Threatened
again!
Please pass this around, there is not
alot of time.....
Cumberland Island is again threatened by
legislatively mandated tours to the northern Historical District –
take action to protect Cumberland Island today!
Cumberland Island National Seashore off the Georgia coast is one of
the largest undeveloped barrier islands in the world. It offers a
wilderness experience within 300 miles of several metropolitan areas
including Atlanta, GA, and Orlando and Jacksonville, FL. More than
50,000 people visit Cumberland every year. Recent legislation
threatens the very qualities that make Cumberland Island so
valuable.
Public Law 108-447 was implemented December 2004 and removed
portions of the island out of protective status to benefit private
and commercial interests, setting a terrible precedent for
wilderness everywhere and for our National Park system. In July of
2004, the 11th Circuit courts put an end to motorized vehicle
traffic in Cumberland Island wilderness, but this legislation
overturned that decision by changing boundaries and removing roads
and beaches from Wilderness. This unfortunately opened the
Wilderness to allow more traffic through the sensitive island.
The National Park Service is now in the process of developing a
Transportation Management Plan to meet the legislatively mandated
minimum of five and a maximum of eight tours per day to the northern
end of the island to the historic district. While these tours are
required by law, their details have not yet been decided upon. We
still have the opportunity to determine the types of tours which
should be offered, where they go, where they start from, types of
vehicles used, extent and types of facilities to be used or possibly
built, etc. so that we can minimize their most certain impact.
Your input on the scope of this Transportation Management Plan is
needed by September 1, 2006. PLEASE submit your own comments online
at the NPS Planning, Environment, and Public Comment website:
http://Parkplanning.nps.gov
A sample message appears below, which you may
edit before sending.
Dear Mr. Fry
As the National Park Service develops the scope of the
Cumberland Island Transportation Management Plan to permit
reasonable access to historical sites on the northern end of
the island, as required by Public Law 108-447, please
carefully consider the following recommendations in order to
minimize impact on the environment, flora and fauna, in
particular within the Wilderness areas and those areas
immediately adjacent to Wilderness, so that the island’s
character, spirit and primitive nature can be preserved to
the fullest extent possible for future generations.
The guidelines below for the Transportation Management Plan
are necessary to prevent abuse and to ensure minimal impact
on the natural and historical resources of Cumberland
Island.
1) Route
a) Origin/return: Sea Camp or Dungeness. There are already
sufficient existing facilities.
b) Route: Travel on Main Road to wharf ruins, turn right,
stop at historic sites, ending at hotel at High Point.
Return by same. No traveling across the dunes or along the
beach.
c) Prohibited areas: dunes, wilderness, beach, areas north
of wharf ruins.
2) Visitor access
a) Guided tours only to Historic Districts.
b) Stops: No unsupervised or extended stops that would allow
tour participants to wander into prohibited areas. [See 1c)
above]
c) No one-way drop-off trips; round-trip guided tours only.
d) All tours by all concessionaires must abide by same
guidelines.
e) No motorized side trips to Plum Orchard. Existing tours
via ferry and foot are sufficient. Legislation mandates
tours to the Historic District, not to Plum Orchard.
3) Mode
a) Electric or hybrid motorized vehicles only (electric
preferred).
b) Smallest and quietest vehicle available. Recommend that
the Park Service lease vehicles until tour demand is
established to avoid unnecessary monetary outlays.
c) Speed limit recommended at 10-15 mph, compatible with
current condition of road, to reduce noise, protect the road
and avoid dangerous encounters with pedestrians and
wildlife.
4) Support facilities
a) No additional facilities should be constructed. Maintain,
upgrade or equip existing structures as needed to ensure
health, safety and sanitation. Existing structures may be
used for tours and for vehicle maintenance and storage.
b) No new visitor center anywhere on the Island. Additions
at St. Mary’s visitor center only.
c) Interpretive signs and structures are really unnecessary
with guided tours, but if considered, must be limited to
within the boundaries of the historic districts. Please
consider carefully the impact that additional structures may
have, and minimize such. This should be one of the lowest
priorities, if considered.
d) Create tour brochure to hand out, with multiple language
inserts as necessary. A basic edition can be produced for no
charge, a more expansive, glossy edition for sale.
5) Tour operations
a) Tours offered by Greyfield Inn to the northern Historic
District shall be included in the count of the legally
required trips to be offered daily.
b) The National Park Service should be the only
concessionaire to offer these tours, with the exception of
Greyfield Inn, who may continue to offer tours, in
accordance with permit issued by the National Park Service,
following all guidelines as other tours, including no beach
driving.
c) Tour fees should cover the complete cost of the tours,
including personnel, structures, vehicles, etc. If a
“reasonable fee” does not cover total costs, the remainder
must be covered by additional, separate funding from the
Federal Government designated for this purpose, so as to not
take funds away from other Park Service functions.
d) Tour costs must also include funding designated to enable
the National Park Service to provide proper oversight of the
tours and ensure compliance with all rules and regulations.
Fines from violations may be applied to these funds.
I urge you to carefully consider any deviation from the
above recommendations and the impact which the choices in
the Transportation Management Plan will have for hundreds of
years to come. The best action alternative is really No
Action. However, since Public Law 108-447 does not appear to
permit this alternative, please implement the above
guidelines to preserve the natural heritage that Cumberland
Island provides to all her visitors, present and future.
Please Keep Cumberland Island Wild!
Your name and address here
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Click on the NPS site below and
register your comments, or cut and paste the letter above in the site
comment box.
NPS PEPC - External Scoping - Cumberland Island National
Seashore Transportation Management Plan - Submit Comments
__________**__________
- 21 Feb 06 Across the River at
Cumberland Harbour
Cumberland Harbor
permit denial
A very hopeful and rare environmental victory for the region. Few may be
aware of this "sleeping giant" (largest proposed marinas in GA
history) just north of Fernandina, but this ruling is a major victory
and a firm break on that development.
We won!
Judge Malihi issued a strong ruling in our favor this morning. His
decision focused on two of the (many) issues we presented – the fact
that the Permit’s conservation measures were incomplete and the
Committee’s failure to consider the impact of the development’s upland.
The opinion contains some very good language, particularly on the upland
development issue, and will be useful to us in future case.
This
ruling means that the developer can’t build any of the structures
described in the permit. If the developer wishes to build their docks
and marinas, they will have to once again apply for a permit from the
Committee. In considering this new application, the Committee must
follow the court’s order both to consider the upland development and to
”consider, review and include” the finalized conservation measure in the
new permit. If the developer appeals the legal ruling to a higher court
(as we expect they will), nothing will happen until that appeal is
resolved. I have attached a copy of the decision if you would like to
read it. Please contact me if you have any questions and I will keep you
posted as this case continues to unfold.
This was
an important case and an important win for many reasons. Cumberland
Harbour is a very large development and a high profile case, a case
that presented many of the problems systematic in the permitting
process. We hope this decision will force the Committee to seriously
consider these issues not only with respect to the Cumberland Harbour
permit, but in every permit they issue in the future. I cannot thank
both of you enough from your help. Without your effort, time and
expertise in preparing for the hearing and your willingness to testify,
this decision simply would not have been possible. I hope that we will
have the opportunity to work together again in the future.
________**__________
-
31
Dec 04
Congress votes to destroy the Cumberland Island Wilderness.
-
National Park Service can operate
tour jitney trains up and down the island.
Archives Click:
(A) Cumberland Island
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