Cumberland Island Former Reserved Properties Management Plan

Cumberland Island is a place of legend. Its tidal marshes, undeveloped beaches and dunes, and lush, maritime forests make it one of Georgia's most spectacular and memorable barrier islands.

Its undisturbed, preserved habitats create a home for hundreds of imperiled species, including sea turtles, wood storks, and migratory piping plovers and oystercatchers. America's elite, including the Rockefellers, Carnegies and Kennedys, have visited the island for vacations and even marriages.

In 1972, the fate of Cumberland changed forever when the island became a National Seashore, the largest wilderness island in the United States. As part of the seashore's creation, about 21 homes that had been built on the island were purchased by the federal government. Many of the families struck agreements with the National Park Service that allowed them to retain a right of use and occupancy for either a set amount of years or until they or specified heirs died.

Read more about our history of involvement with Cumberland Island including our annual service trip.

Now, some 40 years later, the first of those agreements has expired. Now, some families are finding it hard to let go. One family, which formerly had a retained right to use a historic property called the Grange, has asked to lease that property -- plus the Beach Creek Dock House -- back from the park service in return for a commitment to pay for their upkeep. The request has raised questions about the future of all the homes that remain on the island.

"The Cumberland Island National Seashore belongs to the people of the United States of America," said Pierre Howard, president of the Georgia Conservancy. "Allowing a family to obtain an historic lease for the Grange and dock house, and to keep those buildings in private use, would set a dangerous precedent for other buildings on the island and for other National Parks across the country."

In keeping with the original agreements, the National Park Service released a draft plan in July that will transition almost two dozen properties into park ownership and, for a limited few, park operation and maintenance.

Read more about the draft management plan.

Click here to read Charles Seabrook's article from the fall issue of Panorama about Cumberland Island.