2- INTRODUCTION

2.0- INTRODUCTION

This updated Conservation Plan was completed nine years after the approval of Jekyll Island’s first formal Conservation Plan for in 2011. Much of the following text follows the format adopted in the original plan because it has proven be an effective tool to guide the establishment and growth of a successful conservation program. Changes in the Plan are based on new information reflecting the accomplishments since 2011, additional information on the Island’s ecology compiled by professional natural resource managers now employed by the Jekyll Island Authority, and advances in scientific knowledge related to climate change, sea level rise and species dependent on the Island.

Context for the entirety of the Jekyll Island Conservation Plan:

Since 1950, Jekyll Island has operated under the direction of the Jekyll Island State Park Authority, commonly called the Jekyll Island Authority (JIA) in recognition that Jekyll Island is separate from the State Park System of Georgia managed by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. The JIA is governed by a Board composed of members appointed by the governor.

Georgia law specifically designates Jekyll Island, along with the adjoining marshes and hammocks surrounding the causeway leading to the Island, as a state park. The land and its flora and fauna belong to all citizens of Georgia. Thus, conservation of the park’s natural assets is important to stakeholders across the state. Jekyll Island, however, belongs to a special category of state parks, since it is not managed by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources and its operations are not subsidized by the state’s taxpayers. Rather, the Jekyll Island State Park Authority is authorized as the Island’s governing body and required to operate the park as a financially self-sufficient entity. Residential neighborhoods and commercial zones on the Island are made up of leased lots, and the lease fees flow to the Authority. JIA-operated enterprises, or “amenities”, account for 40% of JIA’s operating income. Parking fees are collected at the Guest Information Plaza on the causeway leading to the island. These revenue streams are used to support the operation and conservation of the Island.

The Jekyll Island Conservation Plan recognizes the need for income-yielding lands respecting the statutory limitation keeping the total Developed area of the Island to no more than 1,675 acres as determined in the 2014 Jekyll Island Master Plan and as updated in future Master Plans. This Conservation Plan provides direction to guide JIA decisions about balancing multiple priorities, including conservation, and influencing the design and use of the park’s developed lands to enhance sustainability. Additionally, this Plan provides a road map for the prioritization of conservation in the natural areas of the Island surrounding developed lands.

Careful attention is called for when interpreting the Conservation Plan acreages referencing lower-case “developed” areas and upper-case “Developed” areas. For example, Management Unit #s 5 and 6, Golf Course and Urban/Park, as described in Chapter 5, are customized according to conservation-management considerations and therefore are not intended to cross reference to acreages of areas classified in the Jekyll Master Plan as Developed. The Master Plan classifications apply to limitations imposed by state law on the developable acreage of Jekyll Island. Whenever the Master Plan classifications are referenced in this Plan, the words “Developed” and “Undeveloped” will be capitalized. If referring generically to undeveloped or developed land, the words are not capitalized.

The purpose of this Plan is to create a framework for protecting and managing the natural resources of Jekyll Island. This document is not the final story for conservation; instead, it provides a vision for a multi-decade approach to protect, adaptively manage, and enhance the sensitive environments of this barrier island within a continually changing physical, social, and biological context. A long-term planning horizon provides context for the vision for the Island within a dynamic natural and political environment, including climate change, sea-level rise, shoreline change, predictable and unpredictable biological responses, and multiple “generations” of JIA decision-makers. This Plan is not intended to serve as an annual work plan, specific funding vehicle, or new ordinance for the Island, although any or all of these may be needed along the way to fully implement the conservation strategies outlined in the Plan. With each successive update of both this Plan and the Jekyll Island Master Plan, the two will be integrated. Likewise, other topical planning documents produced by the JIA, such as the Design Guidelines, must be compatible with the Conservation Plan. The Plan is expected to be clarified, refined, and adapted based on further research, improved techniques, and a changing environment to maintain and improve conservation efforts and the ecological value of the Park. The Plan defines long-term objectives, a description of desired goals and impediments to success, and management actions to meet the objectives that will help focus JIA staff, partners, and the Park’s broad community of stakeholders and supporters, on a unified strategy for the ongoing conservation of Jekyll Island State Park. The utility of this Plan is anticipated to carry forward from five to eight years following the date of adoption.

2.1- MISSION & PRIORITIES

This Plan, in alignment with the JIA Mission: As stewards of Jekyll Island’s past, present, and future, we are dedicated to maintaining the delicate balance between nature and humankind.

and the JIA Vision: Through progressive stewardship and excellent customer service, Jekyll Island will be recognized as a sustainable conservation community that is the choice destination among all who experience its unique environment, services, and amenities.

Establishes the following Mission, specific to the JIA Conservation Program:

Conserve, manage, and restore Jekyll Island State Park’s natural communities and biological diversity; provide nature-based educational and recreational opportunities for the general public; and guide the Jekyll Island Authority, its partners, and its tenants to reduce the broader environmental footprint of human activities that occur within the Park.

This mission statement is adapted from the 2011 Conservation Plan to include new focus areas presented in Chapter 6 (Institutional Sustainability). Park-wide Management Objectives that carry forward from the 2011 Plan are detailed in Chapter 5 and remain the guiding priorities regarding the Island’s natural communities and biological diversity. For the 2020 update, a new Park-wide Management Objective has been added to assure adaptation and response to threats associated with climate change.