Aborted Sapelo Vote Appealed

– Oct. 16, 2024 –

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Good morning! While early voting gets underway for the general election, we have a story of Sapelo residents trying to regain their opportunity to vote on a controversial zoning ordinance. We also highlight a brewing debate about land use and ownership on Cumberland Island. Finally, with temperatures finally dropping, we have a look back at summer with a wrap up of this year’s sea turtle nesting season.

Questions, tips or concerns? Send me a note at mary.landers@thecurrentga.org

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NEWS: VOTING

Sapelo heads to high court

McIntosh County voters recently had the chance to weigh in on a year-old zoning ordinance that allows larger homes on Sapelo Island than were previously permitted. The opportunity proved fleeting. After more than 800 residents cast ballots in early voting, a judge ordered a halt to the single-issue referendum. Now citizens who petitioned for the referendum are now appealing the stop-the-vote order to the Georgia Supreme Court, as The Current’s Mary Landers reports.

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NEWS: ENVIRONMENT

Cumberland land swaps

The National Park Service has proposed a series of deals with private landowners on Cumberland Island, the largest of Georgia’s barrier islands. The national seashore would add about 400 acres in the swaps, but it’s unclear how much it would give up and what private developments could result. That has Cumberland watchers on edge, as Capitol Beat’s Dave Williams reports. “We find the proposal the park service has put out to be completely incongruent with the intent of the park,” said Jessica Howell-Edwards, executive director of the nonprofit group Wild Cumberland.

The year-long exchange process is just getting started. The park will accept public comment until Oct. 20 on the information released so far. Click on the story for learn how to comment.

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NEWS: ENVIRONMENT

Sea turtle nesting wraps up

Loggerhead sea turtles laid 2,490 nests on Georgia beaches this year. That’s right on track, said Mark Dodd, sea turtle program coordinator with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. Over the last 15 years or so loggerheads have been nesting in three-year cycles of low, medium and high nest numbers. “This was predicted to be low year in the cycle, and that turned out to be true,” Dodd said. “We’re still looking at somewhere between 3.5 and 4% annual increase (in nesting) over the last 25 years.” More good news: Adult sea turtle deaths are down thanks to shrimpers using required turtle excluder devices in their nets. “The last couple of years, we’ve had very good compliance, almost 100% of the shrimp trawl fleet, and so we didn’t have a single animal (killed) once shrimp season opened,” Dodd said.

About 250 people from Little Tybee to Cumberland Island worked the nesting and hatching season of May through September to monitor, record and protect sea turtles. Many of these Georgia Sea Turtle Cooperators shared their experiences with the turtle program that Dodd then compiled and posted as a poem on Facebook.

Some experiences were widely shared: “I woke up every morning before dawn and went to the beach to count turtle nests.”

Others were unique: “I crashed my bike off the boardwalk on Little St. Simons and found a pair of dentures.”

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Upcoming events

• The Savannah Tree Foundation is hosting its fall tree giveaway, Trick or Trees, at the International Tree Climbing Competition in Savannah’s Daffin Park from 9 a.m. to noon on Oct. 26. Each household is limited to two trees. The climbing competition features professional arborists and tree climbers competing in a series of challenges that showcase their skill.
• The South Atlantic Salt Marsh Initiative emphasizes both the importance of the salt marsh to coastal residents and residents’ dependence on the marsh.  The groups involved in the initiative have organized workshops to engage community members, academic institutions, agencies, and everyone who cares for Georgia’s coastal marshlands to help create SASMI’s workplan. Two interactive workshops remain:
  • 4-6:30 p.m. Oct. 22 at the Dorchester Improvement Association, 8787 E Oglethorpe Hwy, Midway and
  • 3-6 p.m. Oct. 24 at McIntosh SEED, 1135 North Way # C, Darien.

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