Cumberland Island Wilderness is part of the Cumberland Island National Seashore, administered by the National Park Service (NPS). It was previously sanctioned as a UN Biosphere Reserve, and is located just miles from Kings Bay Naval Base and also nuclear warhead storage. I firmly believe that all Wilderness experiences have the potential to be transformative in our lives, but Cumberland Island Wilderness offers a complex variation of ecosystems that only a southeastern barrier island can: towering sand dunes, freshwater lakes, maritime forest, salt marshes, and deserted beaches. With over 9,000 acres of Wilderness ecosystems to explore, I lose myself for days among curtains of Spanish moss. I watch dolphins frolic from the shore, and witness sea turtle hatchlings making their way to the sea. I can watch the sun rise over the waves of the Atlantic Ocean, set over the Cumberland River, and see the Milky Way like never before. Bald eagles, osprey, wood storks, herons, American oystercatchers, least terns, and other shorebirds are all common sights when I visit; look closely and discover alligator, bobcat, armadillo, and coyote tracks. The magic begins with a calm boat ride (a passenger ferry, to be precise) that departs from the friendly town of St. Mary’s, GA. But really, my journey is just beginning; when I disembark, I’ll hike miles on the beach or through the maritime forest before I set up camp. Afternoons on Cumberland Island are best spent dozing in a hammock hung among the ancient live oaks—a welcome reprieve from hiking in the heat and humidity. (All I can say is, it’s not hard to be confused by feral horse paths leading you away from the hiking trails. Ahem.) Late one humid afternoon, I was sitting in the shade, observing hummingbirds and writing (truth be told, I was mostly wishing for a good afternoon thunderstorm to cool things off). Suddenly I heard a low rumble, similar to a plane, but getting increasingly louder. As it moved closer, the sky above us went dark. I looked at my companion; clearly, she was as startled as I. Everything seemed to go completely, eerily still. We clamored our way to a clearing and looked up—it was far too large to be a shorebird. We couldn’t believe our eyes. It was the Goodyear blimp, directly overhead—flying low enough over the Wilderness area to completely darken the sky for several startling seconds. As the blimp flew farther north, we returned to our shaded area. My heart was beating rapidly, my palms were sweaty—it was unnatural, what I had just experienced—and was NOT what one wants in a Wilderness experience. I was shaken. I am accustomed to hearing low-flying planes and helicopters, even in this Wilderness area—but I never imagined seeing a blimp. But this blimp gave me a reminder of how much worse it could get. After all, if Spaceport Camden stakeholders get their way, rockets will soon be flying overhead. As I watched the sun set over the Cumberland River that night, I could not even imagine the potential devastation to this delicate ecosystem if this spaceport, located only four miles away, is approved to shoot commercial rockets directly over this Wilderness area. One failed launch could eradicate over 40 years of conservation efforts. It also threatens every aspect of Cumberland Island’s wilderness character: Wildness
Solitude
Remoteness
Noise
Visual intrusion
Primitive and unconfined recreation
Undeveloped nature
Transcendent and spiritual values
Connection to the past
Ecological and evolutionary processes The idea of a private, for-profit spaceport launching rockets over a Congressionally-protected Wilderness area nearly makes my head explode. I firmly believe protecting Cumberland Island Wilderness in 1982 was one of the best choices our leaders ever made—but I also believe that it is our job to hold public officials accountable to protecting and maintaining the integrity of Wilderness character on Cumberland Island. That includes opposing any version of a spaceport that would be located just four miles from the Congressionally-designated Wilderness area on Cumberland Island. | 
