Goals Of the Conservancy:

An Interview with Thornton W. Morris

Thornton W. Morris has had a residence on Cumberland Island for more than a quarter of a century. He was practicing law in Brunswick, Georgia, when, in the mid-1960’s, he was referred to Lucy Ferguson and her nieces and nephew in the Ricketson family to represent them concerning land issues on the island. He later represented the island residents and was largely responsible for drafting the bill that Congressman William S. “Bill” Stuckey of Eastman, Georgia, would introduce into Congress proposing that Cumberland Island be designated a National Seashore. Morris is a founding member of Cumberland Island Conservancy, Inc. and serves on its board of directors. He practices law in Atlanta.

What does “saving the island” mean to you? In what ways do you want it protected?
I am interested in preserving Cumberland Island in its natural condition. By this, I mean preserve the natural, cultural and historical values of the island and protect it from commercial development.

What are some of the goals of the Cumberland Island Conservancy?
Our main goal as an organized entity is to promote educational and scientific understanding of the island and to promote studies and projects that will help us better understand the complex nature of the ecosystem.

You have described yourselves as co-stewards of the island with the National Park Service. What are some of the projects you have shared?
Actually, the concept of our being co-stewards of the island arose out of our first conversations with the Park Service leading up to the ultimate transfer of ownership. These landowners had been concerned with preserving the island’s natural beauty from the beginning of their ties to the land over a century ago. We—the Park Service and the landowners—wanted to work together as we were the two parties who had vested interest in the island’s future.

The first major act, of course, was to bring the Park Service to the island, which, in turn, allowed it to be in a position to be designated a National Seashore. What a lot of people don’t understand is that it was at the behest of the original landowners that their island be made into a National Seashore so that it could be saved from overdevelopment. It wasn’t the other way around. It wasn’t as if the landowners were somehow destroying a national treasure and the federal government stepped in to save the natural habitat by having it declared a National Seashore. These people saw what was ahead and worked hard to develop a plan to benefit everyone, while respecting the island’s unique habitat.

Since the establishment of the Park, we have had numerous shared projects. Some of them include:

• Working with political leaders in helping the Park get the appropriations from Congress that are necessary to manage operations on the island. This includes both managing the Park and finding ways to get new money to expand its borders.
• Assisting in various wildlife projects such as eradication of the feral hog population that is doing so much damage to the land.
• Working together on the loggerhead turtle project, which studies and protects these unique sea creatures.
• Maintaining roads, both financially and physically.
• Picking up trash on the beach periodically.
• Working closely with the Park in providing an Alternate Trail (north to south) for hikers so they don’t have to hike on Main Road.
• Maintaining jointly-held properties, such as Dungeness Dock and its support facilities (the little house at the dock and the museum).
• Support for various bird projects, including that of the oyster catcher. 

Do you believe the Park’s designation has helped achieve the intent of the original landowners?
On the whole, yes. The Park has allowed a controlled number of people to enjoy the island in a way that has little impact on its natural world. It has helped educate the public and continues to be a source of tremendous support in saving the island. By becoming a National Park, the island has brought people to enjoy its beauty who appreciate its uniqueness. It has taught people not familiar with this kind of habitat how to enjoy it respectfully.

The National Park Service has also helped in the preservation of Plum Orchard mansion, built much-needed bridges on the island and helped control wildfires. The list goes on. In general, the Park Service has become a very good protector of the island by leading tours and educating people, by patrolling it and by making sure its natural resources are not harmed by vandals or ignorant people. It has been a tremendous benefit.

Part of Cumberland Island (north of Stafford) was designated a Wilderness Area by the National Park Service in 1982. Why was this done, and how has it affected conservation efforts on the island?
Speaking as a landowner on the island, we have all struggled with this issue of Wilderness Area designation since its inception. When it was first designated back in the early 1980s, it was done in an effort to limit just how much the National Park Service could do in terms of opening the island up to visitors.

When the island was first turned into a National Park in 1972, there had been concerns that, even as a Park, there was going to be too much traffic on the island and that this would be detrimental to the natural and historical assets. The landowners agreed to the idea of designating part of it as a Wilderness Area because we saw this as a way for the Park to self-regulate and keep the number of visitors reasonable.

The main reason the landowners did not oppose the Wilderness Area was because we were assured it was in the best interest for saving the island from development by government action and because we were guaranteed this designation would not adversely affect our rights and privileges. We were promised by the federal government that the wilderness designation would only deal with the way in which the Park could regulate itself. We welcomed controlled numbers of visitors, but we feel people of all skill levels and ages should have access to the natural landscape of Cumberland. As it is, under the Wilderness Area provisions, only the most stouthearted, physically strong and rugged hikers can now have access to the far reaches of the island. Elderly people, people with physical handicaps, or just members of the general population who aren’t trained trekkers cannot enjoy their National Park to the fullest extent.

As landowners and conservationists, we do not want Cumberland Island to be just another tourist destination. At the same time, we know that human activity has been part of the island’s heritage and this heritage, like the unique ecosystem, is just one more thing that makes Cumberland Island so special.

I guess the most important thing we want understood is that we want Cumberland Island to remain undeveloped, and we support proposals that help keep the island in its present, relatively natural state.

Anyone interested in joining the Cumberland Island Conservancy is asked to contact the Conservancy by writing to: The Cumberland Island Conservancy • 1950 N. Park Place, Suite 475, Atlanta, Ga. 30339 or email us at info@cumberlandisland.org.