Action: Keep Cumberland Island wild

As you may have heard, pending legislation in both the U.S. House and Senate threatens the wilderness status of Cumberland Island. Cumberland is a mostly undeveloped barrier island off the Georgia coast just north of the Florida border, and if you've never been there, you are missing a wonderful experience. If you have been there, you know how precious a place Cumberland Island is, and I hope you realize how important it is to protect it.


Here's a quote from the Ga. Sierra Club about what's at stake:

"Cumberland Island National Seashore off the Georgia coast is one of the largest undeveloped barrier islands in the world. It offers a wilderness experience within 300 miles of several metropolitan areas including Atlanta, GA, and Orlando and Jacksonville, FL. More than 50,000 people visit Cumberland every year. But pending legislation threatens the very qualities that make Cumberland Island so valuable.

"Bills introduced in both the U.S. House (HR 4887) and the Senate (S. 1462) would take portions of the island out of protective status to benefit private and commercial interests, setting a terrible precedent for wilderness everywhere and for our National Park system. In July of 2004, the 11th Circuit courts put an end to motorized vehicle traffic in Cumberland Island wilderness. This bill would also overturn that decision and allow for more traffic through the sensitive island."

Who would benefit? The owners of the posh Greyfield Inn ($400+ a night), who conducted illegal motorized tours in wilderness areas for their well-heeled guests and our elected "representatives" such as Senators Saxby Chambliss and Zell Miller. (The National Park Service itself also broke the law by bringing tour groups into the wilderness in motorized vehicles.) Republican Congressman Jack Kingston's wealthy friends, who'd love to see more development on the island at the expense of wilderness and scientific research. Please contact your Congressional representatives in Washington to let them know you oppose this legislation.

For more information:

• Wilderness Watch -- http://www.wildernesswatch.org/hot%20topics/action%20alerts/cumberland.html


• The Georgia Sierra Club -- http://ga.sierraclubaction.org/showalert.asp?aaid=787


• The Wilderness Society -- http://ga1.org/alert-description.tcl?alert_id=959068

This sucks!

:cry:

If Cumberland gets screwed over, look for the same to happen in other places. Let's put our foot down and tell Congress to conserve our wilderness!