Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026
Good morning! We have updates today on three ongoing issues in Coastal Georgia: turtle-friendly lights, redevelopment of the Gilman Paper site, and zoning on Sapelo Island. We also bring you tragic news of a fatal shooting on Cumberland Island.
Questions, tips or concerns? Send me a note at mary.landers@thecurrentga.org
NEWS: ENVIRONMENT
Turtle lighting update
Conservationists first raised concerns last summer about the effects on sea turtles of the tall lights at the I-95 exit near Buc-ee’s. With the light visible on some nearby beaches, hatchling sea turtles could become disoriented and crawl towards the dunes rather than the sea. The tall lights remain, but Glynn County is now working with residents to create a turtle-friendly lighting ordinance for the whole county, as The Current GA‘s Jabari Gibbs reports.
“Similar ordinances are pretty much in place everywhere you go. Conservative communities and others in the southeast,” said Catherine Ridley, Vice President of Education and Communications for 100 Miles. “So if you go to Florida or South Carolina, North Carolina, you’re going to find updated lighting ordinances, and we have one in place. It’s just been in place since 1984, when a lot of our hairstyles and our technology looked a lot different.”
NEWS: GROWTH & DEVELOPMENT
Redevelopment stalled
A Camden County public agency is seeking a new developer for the roughly 700-acre Gilman Paper site in St. Marys, after Atlanta-based developer Jim Jacoby squandered a final chance to pay millions of dollars of debt to the county, The Current GA‘s Maggie Lee reports.
“It’s never good news to have to go through something like this,” said James Coughlin, executive director of the Camden County Joint Development Authority. “But now we’re finally in a position to be able to move forward, to be able to select another developer.”
NEWS: ELECTIONS
Sapelo referendum
As of Tuesday morning, at least 700 people had voted early in the McIntosh County special election scheduled for Jan. 20. The referendum asks voters if they want to repeal a 2023 zoning ordinance that would allow larger houses to be built on Sapelo, where there’s an enclave of descendants of West Africans once enslaved on the island, as The Current GA‘s Mary Landers reports. The descendants see the vote as a referendum on support for Gullah Geechee people. But last week, county officials raised the possibility that a yes vote would create a situation where any size house could be built. Supporters of Sapelo descendants reject this interpretation, saying it was part of a losing argument at the Georgia Supreme Court.
NEWS: ENVIRONMENT
Cumberland victim identified
The Georgia DNR has identified the hunter who was shot and killed by another hunter during a managed hog hunt on Cumberland Island last week. He is Jason Wallin, 52, of Coal Valley, IL. Wallin was shot by another hunter on Thursday morning, as The Current GA‘s Mary Landers reports. At the request of the National Park Service, DNR’s Critical Incident Reconstruction Team is leading the ongoing investigation.
Upcoming events
Skidaway Audubon offers a look into the world of sharks with Bethany Brodbeck, a marine biologist with experience tagging sharks, who is assistant curator of the UGA Aquarium on Skidaway. The program begins at 4 p.m. Jan. 15 at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, 3 W. Ridge Road, Savannah. Admission is free for members of Friends of Skidaway Audubon, and $5 for guests, payable at the door. Attendees are asked to pre-register online at this link: REGISTER.
Wild Cumberland will hold a virtual town hall at 7 p.m. Jan. 21 to discuss the National Park Service’s newest proposed Visitor Use Management Plan, which outlines the agency intention to accommodate 700 visitors per day (up from the current 300), establish new campsites, and provide retail sales on the island, among other things. Volunteers from the nonprofit Wild Cumberland will outline the proposed changes in detail, explain what you can do, and answer your questions. Public comments on the plan are due Feb. 6, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. (Mountain Time). Register for the town hall here.
At “Ossabaw Night in Savannah,” Elizabeth DuBose, executive director of the Ossabaw Island Foundation will present the lecture “Torrey home turns 100: Rehabilitating a ‘Southern Palace’ on Ossabaw Island.” Reception begins 5 p.m., program at 6 p.m. Jan. 22 at the Armstrong Center, 13040 Abercorn Drive, Savannah.
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Camden takes back old Gilman Paper site in St. Marys
Camden starts a search for a new developer at the old Gilman Paper site, looking to make up millions sunk in a plan that ended in a bankruptcy court.
Glynn brings turtle-friendly lighting plan to residents
Glynn County held two public meetings to discuss updates to the lighting ordinance, which seeks to protect sea turtles nesting on the area’s barrier islands, while also addressing residents’ safety concerns.
As McIntosh votes on zoning, Sapelo’s future is unclear
McIntosh residents are voting in a referendum to repeal a 2023 zoning amendment that would double the allowable house size on the island, which supporters believe would force out the descendants of enslaved West Africans in favor of wealthy newcomers.
Update: Georgia DNR identifies hunter killed on Cumberland Island
A fatal shooting occurred during a managed hunt on Cumberland Island and the Georgia DNR is investigating.
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