Facts JUST THE Coastal Habitats

WORDS BY LINDSEY ADKISON WITH RESEARCH ASSISTANCE BY TYLER JONES | PHOTOS PROVIDED BY THE DNR

300,000

Our friends at the Georgia Department of Natural Resources were kind enough to share some fun facts and photos that highlight the plants and animals that share these beautiful landscapes. Read on to learn more:

$11 million

Shrimping remains a staple of coastal Georgia’s culture, with a fleet of commercial shrimping vessels operating up and down the coast. Each year, commercial shrimpers bring in approximately $11 million in dockside value. The Georgia Department of Natural Resources’ Coastal Resources Division in Brunswick opens and closes shrimp season to ensure the sustainability of the industry.

Coastal Georgia’s unique ecosystem makes it a perfect stopover for migrating shore birds. These species include dunlin, red knot, semipalmated sandpipers, and American oystercatchers.

450 million

Horseshoe crabs, often called living fossils, have inhabited the planet virtually unchanged for approximately 450 million years.

Not a true crab, they are more closely related to spiders and scorpions, but cannot bite or sting you. Horseshoe crabs play an important role in the coastal ecosystem by providing eggs which migrating birds use for food. Horseshoe crabs also play an important role in medical research, and their copper-rich blood is used in medical testing.

The Bald and Golden Eagle Conservation Act of 1940 prohibits the taking of bald or golden eagles, and plays an important role in helping this majestic species recover.

In 2022, biologists with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources recorded 73 bald eagle nesting territories on the coast, a typical amount.

368,000

Georgia is home to 368,000 acres of protected salt marsh. Not only do marshes provide essential habitat for all manner of marine life, they also provide crucial storm protection during hurricanes and tropical storms by buffering the mainland from storm surge.

105 miles of sand beaches: From Savannah to St. Marys, Georgia’s coast is home to approximately 105 miles of sand beaches.

14 Barrier Islands

Some of the most spectacular barrier islands on the East Coast are found in Georgia. Only three of these islands have large scale development on them, leaving the remaining 11 as relatively untouched ecosystems. The largest of the 14, Cumberland, is home to Cumberland National Seashore, part of the U.S. National Park Service system and boasts 9,800 acres of Congressionally-designated wilderness.

And always, without fail, I am inclined to tote around memories made there like a fresh forget-menot flower that never wilts.

years: Write a novel set in my beloved, tranquil paradise.

When Tink and I married at Sea Island’s Cloister Chapel, while there, we also conducted a two-day writing course. One night at dinner, Tink asked, “Why haven’t you written a novel about St. Simons? It means so much to you.”

For years, he repeated that as soon as we would return to the marshes of Glynn. Then, when well-known beach novelists began to lay down their pens — either through death, setbacks, or retirement — I felt the time was right. Over the course of the last three years, I have spent a total of four weeks at the King and Prince, two weeks as The Lodge, and two weeks at The Grand as guests of the Hodnett family. In those places facing the ocean, I began a novel that wrote itself into a mystery as well as a beach read.