The most important island issue

When the National Park Service purchased lands from island owners to create Cumberland Island National Seashore in the late 1960s and early 1970s, they also granted retained rights to those people to continue living on the island for a finite period. Each of the retained rights granted by the National Park Service varied according to the contract signed by each family; some rights expire with the death of great grandchildren, while others expire after a specified number of years and some property has not yet been purchased. Most of the retained rights will expire within the next 50 years, and 6 retained rights will expire at the end of this year, and one in 2011. When the retained rights expire, the land becomes property of the National Park Service.

This is a particularly important issue for the future of Cumberland Island as it determines future land use and whether or not the established goals for the Seashore will be met.

It also has the potential for setting precedent if a “Historic Lease” should be negotiated with any owners. Such an agreement would allow the owner to remain and use or rent the pricey land in exchange for maintaining the structure. This is not in keeping with the goals of the Seashore nor the contract with the American people. It would also mean that owners of ALL historic properties on the island must be offered the same option. In that case, what we see today on the island regarding private property and residents would prevail indefinitely, further reducing the status of the island to something more similar to that of a state park.

The Park Service is working on a “Former Reserved Properties Management Plan” the latest Newsletter of which explains that an architectural and engineering firm based in Maryland will summarize the physical condition of the Grange, a retained right property due to expire this year which is also in an Historic District. The firm will “document the essential repairs necessary to allow public occupancy as a vacation home,” which suggests that a historical lease for that property is certainly being considered.
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