Golden Isles

Proposed National ParkGeorgia and South Carolina
Driftwood on the beach at Cumberland IslandPhotograph: gailhampshire, CC BY 2.0
All proposed National ParksGolden IslesNo active campaign
Location
Georgia/South Carolina
Current protection
Cumberland Island National Seashore; the Savannah Coastal Refuges Complex
Status
No active campaign
Tier
Tier 2 · National Monument
In the book
Not featured in Undiscovered America

Why should it be a National Park?

Off the Georgia and South Carolina coast, a chain of barrier islands holds maritime forest, dunes, and some of the largest salt marshes on the Atlantic, along with the ruins of the rice plantations that made this the Old Rice Kingdom in the early 1800s.

It is one of the great coastal landscapes in the country. A National Park would tell its natural and human story together.

The history of National Park Campaigns

The Golden Isles were one of several National Park suggestions sent by Robert L. Wood of Seattle in a 1946 letter. The Park Service replied that the area would be listed for study when money and staff were available. Much of the coast is now protected by Cumberland Island National Seashore and seven national wildlife refuges.

Distinct National Park attempts
1 (1946 suggestion)
Other designation attempts
2 (1972 national seashore; refuges)

Sources

  • National Park Service, Suggested Areas Resumes (1957)
  • Wikipedia, List of proposed National Parks of the United States
Know of a campaign? Tell us
  1. January 14, 1946

    Robert L. Wood of Seattle suggests the Golden Isles for a National Park; the Service lists it for future study.

  2. October 23, 1972

    Cumberland Island National Seashore is established.

  3. Today

    The seven refuges of the Savannah Coastal Refuges Complex protect nearly 57,000 acres along a 100-mile stretch of coast.