Cumberland Island

THE WILDERNESS ACT

“For this purpose there is hereby established a National Wilderness Preservation System to be composed of federally owned areas designated by Congress as "wilderness areas", and these shall be administered for the use and enjoyment of the American people in such manner as will leave them unimpaired for future use as wilderness, and so as to provide for the protection of these areas, the preservation of their wilderness character, and for the gathering and dissemination of information regarding their use and enjoyment as wilderness…”

DEFINITION OF WILDERNESS

“A wilderness, in contrast with those areas where man and his own works dominate the landscape, is hereby recognized as an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain. An area of wilderness is further defined to mean in this Act an area of undeveloped Federal land retaining its primeval character and influence, without permanent improvements or human habitation, which is protected and managed so as to preserve its natural conditions and which (1) generally appears to have been affected primarily by the forces of nature, with the imprint of man's work substantially unnoticeable; (2) has outstanding opportunities for solitude or a primitive and unconfined type of recreation…”

Given the above, the St. Marys EarthKeepers, Inc. strongly protest any efforts to increase the permissible number of visitors to Cumberland Island National Seashore.

 
Background: Local cycling enthusiasts (and others) in Fernandina Beach, FL, are attempting to persuade the National Park Service to divide the contract for ferry service between the existing provider in St. Marys, Ga., and one that would leave from the city marina in Fernandina. (“We want equal access and we want it bike friendly,” said Phil Scanlan of the Friends of the Amelia Island Trail, Inc.)

A new ferry service would result in an increase in the number of visitors to Cumberland Island – currently set at 300 per day. It is being proposed that an additional two ferries per day (departing from Fernandina) carry 150 passengers per trip, effectively doubling the allowable number of daily visitors to the Island. Greater numbers of visitors will directly intensify the human impact on the island’s already delicate ecosystems, and would contradict the very purpose for which Cumberland Island was preserved as a national seashore.

Furthermore, the concept of making the Island, a national wilderness that forbids wheeled vehicles, more “bike friendly” flies in the face of the very essence and intent of the Wilderness Act. The National Park Services does not have the available resources to monitor the activities of increased visitors in order to ensure that the Island’s ecosystems are protected at all times. Cyclists who are able to forge new trails and broach the fragile nesting, breeding and foraging habitats of the Island’s species will, without doubt, disrupt the flora and fauna of Cumberland Island.

In closing, we urge local, state and national legislators to deny the above proposal, thereby safeguarding Cumberland Island National Seashore – a precious and irreplaceable wilderness - for present and future generations.

Alex Kearns

Chair

St. Marys EarthKeepers, Inc.