Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026
Good morning! Today is the deadline to submit public comments about draft private recreational dock rules, and our first story examines who has been advocating behind the scenes for longer structures. We then turn to the forgotten parent of sea turtles, the fathers. We finish up with a gift to Tybee from the federal government: sand.
Questions, tips or concerns? Send me a note at mary.landers@thecurrentga.org
NEWS: ENVIRONMENT
Inside the dock decision
A 12-member stakeholder group representing homeowners, builders, local officials, environmental organizations, and technical experts spent months meeting and crafting new rules for private recreational docks in Coastal Georgia.
But the recommendations from this public-facing group are not what’s shaping the limits on dock size in draft regulations the public has until today to weigh in on, as The Current GA‘s Mary Landers reports.
Instead, a former EPD commissioner and consultants who represent clients seeking to build long docks across the publicly-owned marsh have been working behind the scenes to push for relaxed limits on length.
FEATURE: ENVIRONMENT
Taking stock of male loggerheads
Georgia researchers have launched the state’s first effort to estimate the population of male loggerhead sea turtles using advanced nuclear DNA methods, as GPB’s Jillian Magtoto reports. The sex of sea turtles is determined by nest temperature and global warming threatens to skew hatchling sex ratios toward females. That adds urgency to determining if enough males exist to sustain the population. But by analyzing DNA from both egg yolks and flippers, experts are on their way to a better picture of how many loggerhead males are out there.
Beefing up the beach
With a sigh of relief, Tybee Island announced earlier this month that the federal government has allocated $12 million to allow it to renourish its severely eroded beach this winter. The Chatham County island was unexpectedly passed over in federal funding doled out earlier this year. Officials estimate Tybee’s 5-mile beach has lost about 60% of its sand volume since 2020.
Some of that loss is attributable to the nearby Savannah harbor shipping channel, which traps sand that would otherwise land on Tybee. The city, along with Chatham County and the state, are chipping in another $8 million to pay for the full cost of placing 1.3 million cubic yards of sand.
Without a robust beach Tybee is more susceptible to coastal flooding and is less appealing to visitors who power a $200 million tourist economy that supports nearly 1,200 jobs. The beach is also critical for nesting loggerhead sea turtles, which laid more than 55 nest of the island this year.
Construction and sand placement is expected to begin in December.
Beach resorts in New Jersey that received federal renourishment funds earlier this year and completed projects this summer saw massive losses of the newly placed sand as a nor’easter tore up the coast last weekend, as WPVI in Philadelphia reports.
Also noted
- The 2026 federal recreational red snapper fishing season in the South Atlantic, which includes Georgia, will open for harvest for three days this year: Oct. 9-12. Georgia, along with Florida and South Carolina will also have an extended recreational red snapper fishing seasons from Oct. 9-22 for eligible participants. This program is meant to allow states to test their data collection and management strategies this year. After reviewing their data on the October season, NOAA Fisheries and the states will decide if a second season may take place in December.
- Two lawsuits were filed on September 4, 2026, by Sapelo Island residents and organizations seeking to invalidate new zoning regulations recently approved for the Hogg Hummock enclave, The Current GA’s Mary Landers reports.
- Two giant pandas arrived in Atlanta on Sunday morning as part of an agreement between the Chinese and American governments, the Associated Press reports. Ping Ping and Fu Shuang will be quarantined for about a month in a biosecure area of the wildlife park’s new giant panda complex. Park officials haven’t confirmed a specific opening date.
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Private interests overshadow stakeholders for new DNR dock rules
While a 12-member stakeholder group worked for months to craft new rules for private recreational docks in Coastal Georgia, draft regulations allowing docks up to 1,500 feet long are being shaped by behind-the-scenes lobbying from a former EPD commissioner and consultants.
Georgia scientists take stock of male sea turtles
Researchers in Georgia have begun using a new nuclear DNA extraction method to track the elusive male sea turtle population and determine if rising sand temperatures are skewing sex ratios.
Sapelo Island residents challenge new zoning with lawsuits
Two lawsuits were filed in early September by Sapelo Island residents and organizations seeking to invalidate new zoning regulations recently approved for the Hogg Hummock enclave.
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