Superintendent Ingram Departs CUIS

Media reports indicate that Cumberland Island National Seashore (CUIS) Superintendent Gary Ingram has accepted the superintendent position at Rocky Mountain National Park effective July 30, 2023. 

Gary Ingram became CUIS’ interim superintendent in 2014. (This 2014 article is worth revisiting if you’re following issues at the Seashore.)

During his nine-year tenure, CUIS was plagued by criticisms and legal actions that garnered media attention, including:

• Lumar, LLC: In 2020 Ingram faced the allegation that he failed to object to a proposal by Lumar, LLC, owners of an 87.5-acre parcel adjacent to Sea Camp, to construct a private dock within the boundary of Cumberland Island National Seashore (2020). This private dock remains in place, and County rezoning of privately-owned lands within the Seashore remains undecided.
• Bicycle and e-bikes: Ingram was heavily criticized for the introduction of on-island bicycle rentals and promoting e-bike use without public input and/or appropriate environmental review. The NPS is currently due to respond to a court order for promoting e-bike use without requiring an environmental review. SEE BELOW FOR MORE DETAILS. 
• Spaceport Camden: Members of the public (and organizations like ours!) were making BIG NOISE about the threats that Spaceport Camden posed to Cumberland Island – not to mention the dangerous precedent it set for all public lands. The NPS only issued a response upon receiving hundreds of petitions and letters of objection, and even indicated the agency would be “willing to reconsider its position if it received more information on potential risks.”
• Wilderness trammeling: Management refused to evaluate the intentional human degradation of federally-protected Wilderness (and state-protected sand dunes) for ecological restoration, despite interest and support from outside partners. 
• Visitor Use Management Plan: Ingram proposed drastic commercial changes to Cumberland Island (2022), drawing outrage from groups including the Southern Environmental Law Center, Center for Biological Diversity, Center for a Sustainable Coast, Wilderness Watch, and numerous others. 
• Feral horse management: Multiple plaintiffs, including equine groups and the feral horses themselves, filed suit against Ingram (2023) in an attempt to end decades of inhumane treatment and irreversible damage to the island’s native ecosystems. Ingram is the second defendant named in the suit who is no longer in their position.

Other changes within the Seashore during Ingram’s tenure as superintendent include:

• Sea Camp restroom upgrades (started January 2023), have not yet been completed.
• Moving to a fully cashless fee system (July 2022).
• Entrance and permit fee increases (2016, 2018, 2022, 2023), as well as concessionaire fee increases (2017, 2019, 2022, 2023). 
• Closure of the South End Trail (2022).
• Extension of the Parallel Trail from Dungeness Historic District to Sea Camp (2022). 
• The acquisition of 173 acres from The Nature Conservancy for $8.7 million (2022). As many of you have pointed out, TNC frequently donates land for conservation.

Current Deputy Superintendent Steve Theus will serve as superintendent until an interim is assigned and/or a permanent superintendent is hired. 

Wild Cumberland is eager to work with the professional that NPS Southeast Regional Director Mark Foust determines is capable of protecting one of the most stunning, valuable, and complex Wilderness areas in the United States. 

Note: CUIS remains one of only two National Seashores without an official “Friends” group, which are typically established to assist parks with raising funds, mobilizing volunteers, and providing other support.