NATURE BASED EDUCATION

2.2- LAND AREA COVERED BY PLAN

Established in 1950, the JIA was chartered and granted a lease from the State of Georgia for all of Jekyll Island as well as the marshes and marsh islands adjacent and adjoining the Island (O.C.G.A. § 12-3-241). Beginning in 1971 and as amended over time, the Georgia General Assembly established the limited land area of the Island that could be developed. Until 2014, this limitation was percentage based, and was commonly referred to as the “65:35” limitation, meaning that 65% of the Island must remained undeveloped. In 2014, following an update of the Jekyll Island Master Plan, Georgia Code was amended to change the land use limitation from a percentage basis to a fixed-acreage basis. Developed land on Jekyll Island is now limited to no more than 1,675 acres, which equates approximately to 35% of the land above Mean Higher High Water. The 2016 Georgia Code mandating the limit to developed land on Jekyll Island can be found in Appendix A.

These limitations have always been applied only to the Island itself and have not had bearing on additional lands within Jekyll Island State Park that adjoin the causeway, including marshes and hammocks. The 2020 update to this Conservation Plan clarifies that the objectives herein do include that part of Jekyll Island State Park. This inclusion is important because of the marsh hammock islands that occur there, five of which are significant enough to be recognized as Conservation Priority Areas, as defined in Chapter 7. These include shell midden communities that harbor rare plants. JIA’s stewardship responsibilities along the causeway overlap with the interests and jurisdictional mandates of Georgia Department of Natural Resources (GA DNR), Georgia Department of Transportation, Georgia Power, Georgia State Patrol, and the Federal Aviation Administration.