Jekyll Island Protected

Surfrider Foundation’s Coastal Georgia Low Country Chapter won a victory in their efforts to help protect Jekyll Island State Park from development. Jekyll Island Authority (JIA) Board Chairman Ben Porter announced via a letter to Representative Jerry Keen that the Authority will revise the beachfront component of its plan to redevelop Jekyll Island State Park. The announcement followed a hotly contested legislative struggle in which a series of attempts to introduce protective Jekyll legislation were killed in committee despite thousands of calls from concerned Georgia citizens to legislators on both sides of the aisle. The beachfront north of the Convention Center, which had been slated for commercial development, will ultimately become a public park with improved public access and beach parking, and an Environmental Conservation Center. This decision marks at least a partial victory for the Initiative to Protect Jekyll Island (IPJI) and for other groups defending the general public's right to direct access and an unobstructed view of Jekyll’s most popular beach. Thanks to the input of Georgia citizens from around the state speaking through leading Jekyll advocates Senator Jeff Chapman, Representative Debbie Buckner, and Representative Dubose Porter, the voice of the people has emerged as the single most powerful entity in the ongoing discussion of the planned revitalization of Jekyll Island State Park.