Dead sea turtles have been washing ashore in Cape Cod in record numbers. Since mid-November, volunteers have found nearly 1,200 stranded turtles, almost all young Kemp’s ridleys, the most endangered of turtle species. That is almost three times as many as in the previous record year, and many more times the number in an average year. The turtles appear to […]
Carol Ruckdeschel was named Wild South’s Conservation of the Year in 2014. Her lifetime of scientific work on Cumberland Island National Seashore distinguished her from an impressive slate of fellow wilderness warriors. She was noted especially for her work to help defend Cumberland Island’s Wilderness and her 44-year effort to protect the island’s nesting sea turtles. “Carol is who we […]
I used to think that all the green spaces on a map were protected. I didn’t understand the differences between national forest and national park, wildlife refuge and wilderness. On the map, the green-shaded areas looked protected, and that seemed good enough to me. Then I learned that hunting is allowed in national wildlife refuges. Clearcutting is permitted in national […]
Georgia’s Cumberland Island National Seashore is part of the largest loggerhead sea turtle nesting site in the world. Over 25,000 endangered turtles nest in the Southeast United States, and Cumberland Island—with 18 miles of unbroken, undeveloped dunes—is the largest barrier island in the loggerhead’s nesting habitat. Just offshore from Cumberland Island are the only endangered right whale calving grounds on […]
A new study reveals that sea turtles around the world are eating plastic at an unprecedented pace, with some species consuming twice as much as they did 25 years ago. The problem has exploded lately due to the surge in plastic pollution globally, which is forming giant oceanic garbage patches that are expected to continue growing for centuries. The new […]
A private space port launch pad has been proposed directly across from Cumberland Island, which would require frequent closures of Cumberland Island National Seashore to the public. It would consume and pollute massive amounts of water. It would also result in innumerable harms to ecology and human health. And it will cost taxpayers billions in promised federal subsidies and tax […]
A private space shuttle launch facility could be built directly across from Cumberland Island as soon as 2018, according to local leaders in Camden County. SpaceX has already begun construction of a private space port in Brownsville, Tex., and it hopes to build a second launch facility along the East Coast in the coming years. Camden County — already home […]
Gary Ingram was named superintendent of Cumberland Island last month after a four-month stint as acting superintendent. Gary was formerly the superintendent of the Jimmy Carter National Historic Site in Plains, Georgia. Prior to moving to Georgia with his wife and three children, Gary served as an assistant Regional Director in Washington, D. C., where he represented Alaska’s parks and […]
Gary Ingram arrived at Cumberland Island National Seashore in January 2014 on a four month assignment as acting superintendent, following the hasty departure of Fred Boyles. Recently, the National Park Service announced that by mid-May, Ingram will begin serving as the permanent superintendent. Before arriving on Cumberland Island, Ingram was the superintendent of the Jimmy Carter National Historic Site in […]
The National Park Service recently announced that they will accept bids for a new ferry service to Cumberland Island. Now officials and local entrepreneurs in both St. Marys and Fernandina Beach are pushing to increase the number of daily visitors to the island hopes that more tourism will stimulate their economies. Wild Cumberland opposes an increase in the number of […]