Bike Path News

If the bike path is such a wonderful project, why are Sea Island, the St. Simons Land Trust, and the Path Foundation going to such lengths to hide the details from the public?

Click here for the applicants' response to public input to the Environmental Protection Department, which is supposed to protect the environment.

Points of interest:

• Please note that none of the changes requested in public comment was incorporated nor does there appear to be any penalty for destruction of marsh habitat without the proper permits in January.

• Bike path will be 8 feet wide with 3 additional feet of land disturbance on each side for a total of 14 feet.

• Bike path will disturb 2,925 feet critical marsh habitat.

•  Jurisdictional Determination Line appears to be incorrectly drawn, so the path will be too close to the marsh in many areas.

• We are not against bike paths in general or even this bike path in particular, we only want it built in accordance with the laws protecting the marsh and critical marsh habitat.

Please email us if you have any comments about the bike path or the process. We will be posting selected comments in the future.

Leading Nonprofits Join Sea Island
In Destroying Critical Habitat in Marsh Buffer

 “After reading the St. Simons Land Trust (SSLT) mission statement, I am appalled by the fact that it would disregard all the environmental good the Land Trust has accomplished in our area for a bike path,” said former Altamaha RiverKeeper, James Holland.

"Apparently the SSLT has partnered with the Path Foundation and the Sea Island Company to build a bike trail from Frederica Road on St. Simons along the Sea Island causeway to the gates at Sea Island. In so doing, the three involved entities are going to destroy more than 2900 linear feet of Salt Marsh buffer zone," commented Holland.

The marsh buffer variance application was submitted by Ms. Susan Shipman (Former Director, DNR Coastal Resources Division (CRD) for the St. Simons Land Trust.

Buffers are extremely important for many good reasons, one of which is the absorption of pollutants, which harm the marsh. It is critical to consider the wildlife that use these areas along the marsh buffers. Once an 8 foot wide bike path is completed, it will irreparably interrupt and disrupt feeding, safe harbor, nesting, resting and mating habits of the wildlife living in and using this particular area.

The variance application package states, "the project will not result in the removal of any canopy or shrub vegetation, and therefore there will be no loss of shading functions". This statement is in direct contradiction of the facts on the ground at this site. There have been several palm trees and cedars removed from the marsh buffer; therefore, there are shading losses due to the destruction of these trees in the marsh buffer.

The loss of these trees is also a direct loss of habitat for birds and other animals that use this area along with the scenic marsh habitat that humans enjoy.

“The creation of a bike path by Sea Island Company, SSLT and the Path Foundation is certainly going to send the wrong message not only to the users of the path but others who see it from their vehicles traveling along the causeway," said Holland.

In short, the message sent is simple and shocking: if you want to obtain a variance - a permit to destroy, all you have to do is approach the State of Georgia, request a permit, and then do as you please regardless of the environmental harm caused by such actions. Is this really the message that the Sea Island Company, St. Simons Land Trust and the Path Foundation want to convey to the general public at large?

Erosion and sedimentation control devices have already been placed in the marsh buffer by using a machine to dig the trenches to install the silt fence.

As of 2-1-2012 , no signed marsh buffer variance had been issued authorizing work in the marsh buffer to commence. It is believed that the people responsible for this site are in violation of Georgia's Erosion and Sedimentation Control Act. It is shameful that entities like Sea Island, St. Simons Land Trust and the Path Foundation would be involved in activities like this before authorization came down from the Director of the EPD.

The Glynn County authorities issued a Stop Work Order on February 2 , 2012 to the applicants for not having proper permitting, including a right of way work permit.

It’s not too late to stop this destruction. Contact the St. Simons Land Trust, the Path Foundation, and the Sea Island Resort today and let them know what you think.

For Immediate Release
Contact: James Holland
jamesrholland@hotmail.com

Construction (Destruction?) News

Modification of the Sea Island Causeway Bike Path Variance was required as the Resource and Land Consultants somehow missed the impact of the original plan upon multiple large trees, light poles, and a force main vault. Please check out the modification request.

If you are interested in the planned size of the bike path, please check the final two pages of the Georgia EPD 25' Variance Plan - Sea Island Causeway Bike Path. Here is a link to the complete Variance Plan.

Press Release - James Holland.

Comments from the Public

I am a big fan of bike and walking trails, but I am disturbed that your organizations would support the Sea Island Causeway path.

Marsh buffer zones are documented necessities in protecting Georgia's fragile and always threatened marshes. Why would you support destruction of nearly 3,000 linear feet of buffer zone on an island that is already overdeveloped and has plenty of bike trails? Applications for variances to protection laws carry the subtext: Yes, we know the law, but we want to disregard it. In this case, there is the further arrogance of assuming a variance would be forthcoming and launching into cutting vegetation and altering land without waiting for a permit. Glynn County was correct in issuing a stop-work order against this ill-thought-out destruction of public land.

PATH Foundation has done some good work in this state, but this project is not on that list, Mr. McBrayer. Mr. Slade, SSLT's website brags on your organization's "conservation ethic," but I don't see that in relation to this trail.

Few other places on the East Coast have what Georgia has in terms of marshes and buffer areas. The islands and marshes are loved and visited by people all across this state. Please do the right thing and withdraw this bike path project as well as restore the damage already inflicted.

When I read the Sea Island newsletter recently, I said to myself, "it’s about time" to the announcement about the construction of a bike path across the causeway to Saint Simons Island. Little did I think that it wouldn’t be done in a conscientiously appropriate way that honors the marsh ecosystem. I was very naïve, in retrospect.

Since the Sea Island Company has dissolved and new owners with new concerns have moved onto the scene, it seems that a lot of what made Sea Island special is no longer of importance. I can point to the lack of concern about dock building on the marsh as an indication of the change in attitude. The casual and almost wanton destruction of the buffer zone along Sea Island Drive in preparation for the building of the bike path seems to go along with this new attitude.
 
I fervently protest the way this bike path is being installed. There is no reason that it needs to be eight feet wide. Bike paths on Saint Simons Island, to which this bike path will join, are nowhere near that wide. It makes me wonder what ulterior motive or alternate use is being planned. The removal of shrubbery violates the rules to protect the marsh border, something that if a homeowner did, there would be consequences. What right do the owners of Sea Island have to do that? Are they above the law? It also seems as if the use of machinery to install a protective barricade itself is in violation.
I am very much saddened by this thoughtlessness. A bike path is a fantastic idea. It could have been built appropriately and sensitively and people would cheer. It could have been held up as an example of doing things right. Instead I can only think of it as another instance of shameful destruction.

If the violations that have resulted in the stop order lead to prohibition of the bike path, I say, serves them right. I can even say I hope it does. I will get over any anticipation that I had for using the bike path. Laws are put into place for a reason. When one person or entity seems to think that the law doesn’t apply to them, and is granted an exception, where does it stop? What purpose is the law then if everyone can get away with anything they want? The marsh belongs to all the people in Georgia. It should be treated as a treasure and not something to trample and trash.

In some places, paying a penalty is not enough of a punishment for damage to a sensitive area. I am aware of instances where whoever caused the destruction was forced to put back what they removed. I would vote for this to be the outcome here. Or even better would be to require the owners of Sea Island to work with a wetland consultant to come up with a plan to not only replant what was removed but to make it even better protection for the marsh areas on both sides of Sea Island Drive as they replan a bike path with an appropriate surface. That would serve as an example to others who might try to get away with similar projects that are deleterious to wild areas and would be a win-win situation.
It is time for the new owners of the Sea Island properties to become stewards not only of all the facilities maintained for use by humans but also of the natural wonders that make the coast of Georgia so special.

Thank you for reading this letter.