CUIS Land Exchange Pre-NEPA process

The NPS is considering the acquisition, through land exchanges (including conservation easements), four potential parcels of privately owned land within the authorized boundary of Cumberland Island National Seashore, Georgia. This would create a relatively continuous corridor of NPS-owned land within core areas of the Park to improve manageability of these areas, preserve important resources, and prevent further development on these inholdings. By exchanging property with these landowners, the NPS would seek to relocate private interests to other areas where it is more appropriate and less impactful on visitors. The properties under consideration for NPS acquisition intersect the Park's main road and key visitor use trails.
The properties contain important natural and cultural resources that the Park seeks to protect and conserve and values of the Park, including live oak maritime forests, pristine beaches, potential historic and archeological resources, an intact barrier island ecosystem, nesting for shorebirds and threatened sea turtles, and lands with a primitive and undeveloped character.