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Save the N. Atlantic Right Whale & Cumberland Island!

Save the N. Atlantic Right Whale & Cumberland Island!

Target:
Land Resource Co., Coastal Marshland Protection Comm., Board of Natural Resources
Sponsored by: 
The North Atlantic Right Whale is in danger of becoming extinct.  The waters off St. Mary's, Georgia, across the Intra-coastal Waterway from Cumberland Island National Seashore, are one of the few places that these endangered whales migrate each winter to birth their calves. 

Cumberland Harbour development is trying to obtain permits to build an enormous marina complex, approximately 17, 500 linear feet (3.5 miles!) of docking, on the coast of St. Mary's, Georgia.  IT would bring approximately 800 additional boats to the already crowded waters that these whales use.  Several collisions have been reported in the past several years.  Adding 800 more to the madness will surely be the demise of these endangered mammals.

Researchers believe that as few as 300 to 350 of these rare whales still exist and that the death of even one whale could lead to their extinction.  The #1 killer of these peaceful giants is collisions with large boats.

Another scary reality of the marinas is the effects they will have on Cumberland Island, an incredible, federally protected, wildlife sanctuary is across the Intra-coastal Waterway from Cumberland Harbour.  The extremely fragile ecosystem that thrives there does so because of the limited human impact to it.  The drastic increase in fuel emissions, trespassing, and storm-water runoff (to name a few) will all have major impact on the now stable, yet extremely sensitive environment there.

Other wildlife species that will be directly affected include West Indian manatees,  sea turtles, Gopher tortoises, many bird species like the piping plover and wood stork, and the endangered East Indigo snakes.  Both their habitats and species survival will be threatened.

This is urgent.  The Supreme Court of Georgia will be deciding on whether or not to grant these permits in the coming months.  Although their decisions are purely law based, they are elected officials and their decisions are affected by the public opinion.  Please sign and forward!!


Cumberland Harbour is an upscale residential development on the coast of St Mary's, Georgia located across the Intracoastal Waterway from Cumberland Island.  The developers of this community are proposing to construct several marinas which would bring more than 800 boats, some as large as 100 feet in length, to the area.  Currently the project is being held up in court thanks to lawsuits filed by several environmental groups.
The final decision is in the hands of the Georgia Supreme Court.  Since the court makes rulings based purely on laws, I have made the target of this petition, first, Land Resource, the company who is developing Cumberland Harbour and whom are the defendants in the law suit.  I have also added  the Coastal Marshland Protection Committee and the Board of Natural Resources as "targets" simply because if anyone can help put a stop to this it is these two organizations.
You can read more about this very serious issue by clicking on the links below:
~ THE STRAIGHT UP FACTS ABOUT THE CUMBERLAND HARBOUR MARINAS:
http://www.southernenvironment.org/cases/cumberland_harbour/factsheet.pdf

~ARTICLE FROM THE SAVANNAH MORNING NEWS:
http://www.southernenvironment.org/cases/cumberland_harbour/svm_3-11-05.htm

~ My letter to the Editor of the Tribune-Georgian newspaper in St. Mary's GA: http://www.tribune-georgian.com/articles/2008/07/25/opinion/letters/2letter7.25.txt

~ ARTICLE FROM THE COASTAL COURIER:
http://www.coastalcourier.com/news/archive/7169/

~ DETAILS ABOUT THE COURT CASE:
http://www.southernenvironment.org/cases/cumberland_harbour/index.htm

~ MAP OF CUMBERLAND HARBOUR:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=115 Osborne Street, St Marys, GA 31558&ie=UTF8&ll=30.754818,-81.526108&spn=0.129817,0.21286&z=12




 
 
The North Atlantic Right Whale is in danger of becoming extinct.  The waters off St. Mary's, Georgia, across the Intra-coastal Waterway from Cumberland Island National Seashore, are one of the few places that these endangered whales migrate each winter to birth their calves. 

Cumberland Harbour development is trying to obtain permits to build an enormous marina complex, approximately 17, 500 linear feet (3.5 miles!) of docking, on the coast of St. Mary's, Georgia.  IT would bring approximately 800 additional boats to the already crowded waters that these whales use.  Several collisions have been reported in the past several years.  Adding 800 more to the madness will surely be the demise of these endangered mammals.

Researchers believe that as few as 300 to 350 of these rare whales still exist and that the death of even one whale could lead to their extinction.  The #1 killer of these peaceful giants is collisions with large boats.

Another scary reality of the marinas is the effects they will have on Cumberland Island, an incredible, federally protected, wildlife sanctuary is across the Intra-coastal Waterway from Cumberland Harbour.  The extremely fragile ecosystem that thrives there does so because of the limited human impact to it.  The drastic increase in fuel emissions, trespassing, and storm-water runoff (to name a few) will all have major impact on the now stable, yet extremely sensitive environment there.

Other wildlife species that will be directly affected include West Indian manatees,  sea turtles, Gopher tortoises, many bird species like the piping plover and wood stork, and the endangered East Indigo snakes.  Both their habitats and species survival will be threatened.

This is urgent.  The Supreme Court of Georgia will be deciding on whether or not to grant these permits in the coming months.  Although their decisions are purely law based, they are elected officials and their decisions are affected by the public opinion.  Please sign and forward!!


Cumberland Harbour is an upscale residential development on the coast of St Mary's, Georgia located across the Intracoastal Waterway from Cumberland Island.  The developers of this community are proposing to construct several marinas which would bring more than 800 boats, some as large as 100 feet in length, to the area.  Currently the project is being held up in court thanks to lawsuits filed by several environmental groups.
The final decision is in the hands of the Georgia Supreme Court.  Since the court makes rulings based purely on laws, I have made the target of this petition, first, Land Resource, the company who is developing Cumberland Harbour and whom are the defendants in the law suit.  I have also added  the Coastal Marshland Protection Committee and the Board of Natural Resources as "targets" simply because if anyone can help put a stop to this it is these two organizations.
You can read more about this very serious issue by clicking on the links below:
~ THE STRAIGHT UP FACTS ABOUT THE CUMBERLAND HARBOUR MARINAS:
http://www.southernenvironment.org/cases/cumberland_harbour/factsheet.pdf

~ARTICLE FROM THE SAVANNAH MORNING NEWS:
http://www.southernenvironment.org/cases/cumberland_harbour/svm_3-11-05.htm

~ My letter to the Editor of the Tribune-Georgian newspaper in St. Mary's GA: http://www.tribune-georgian.com/articles/2008/07/25/opinion/letters/2letter7.25.txt

~ ARTICLE FROM THE COASTAL COURIER:
http://www.coastalcourier.com/news/archive/7169/

~ DETAILS ABOUT THE COURT CASE:
http://www.southernenvironment.org/cases/cumberland_harbour/index.htm

~ MAP OF CUMBERLAND HARBOUR:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=115 Osborne Street, St Marys, GA 31558&ie=UTF8&ll=30.754818,-81.526108&spn=0.129817,0.21286&z=12




 
 
We the undersigned respectfully ask that building permits for the proposed marinas at Cumberland Harbour be denied.  The construction of these marinas will bring up to 800 boats, some as large as 100 feet in length, into an area that is home to many endangered species, in particular the North Atlantic right whale.

In addition to the right whales, federally protected Cumberland Island National Seashore is directly across the Intra-coastal Waterway from this development.  The extremely fragile ecosystem that thrives there does so because of the highly monitored impact by humans.  The drastic increase in boat fuel emissions, trespassing and certainly the storm-water runoff will cause serious, irreparable harm to the unique environment there. 

The location of these proposed marinas are less than two miles from where these gentle giants migrate to give birth.  Collisions with boats are the number one killer of these whales.  Should the marinas be constructed, it will most certainly be the demise of the species and other wildlife that depend on the land and water there
.
Regardless of claims made by the developers, their only concern is for their lost revenue and lawsuits from current property owners who were promised a marina.

Please save these beautiful creatures from certain extinction by denying the marina permits.

Thank you for taking the time to consider the voices of so many who speak for those who cannot.
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We signed the "Save the N. Atlantic Right Whale & Cumberland Island!" petition!
# 475:
3:48 pm PDT, Sep 6, Eve Glover, New York
# 474:
12:25 pm PDT, Sep 6, Morgan Meeuwsen, Oregon
Wildlife was here way before we were. What gives us the right to ruin their worlds? The human world needs to grow up and take responsability for their actions and take care of our world!
# 473:
11:01 am PDT, Sep 6, Ana Maria Matiz, Florida
# 472:
7:20 am PDT, Sep 6, Amanda Moss, Florida
# 471:
7:20 am PDT, Sep 6, Angela Rhodes, Greece
# 470:
12:48 am PDT, Sep 6, Ruthie Manuel, California
Do you feel that developers should be held liable if proof shows that their actions directly contributed to the injury or death of an endangered or protected species?

Why do you believe it is important to protect natural resources and threatened wildlife? We can only keep learning more things when we have these species right infront of us. Alot of knowledge about animals can help us in the long run. These animals contribute to the wellbeing of this world! and all life is precious. None should be threatend.

# 469:
11:19 pm PDT, Sep 5, Carlen Arnett, New York
Stop the marina. Leave this natural resource to the creatures who live in and depend upon it: the whales and other ocean animals. Carlen Arnett
# 468:
11:05 pm PDT, Sep 5, MICHELLE FIRSTER, Pennsylvania
# 467:
10:33 pm PDT, Sep 5, Name not displayed, Colorado
Yes-- they should be held responsible. Why is development more important than life and ecology?

Yes-- things such as global warming should show how important our environment is and how we are all interdependent-- including plants and animals.

# 466:
9:39 pm PDT, Sep 5, Emily Lain, Texas
Do you feel that developers should be held liable if proof shows that their actions directly contributed to the injury or death of an endangered or protected species? Yes. Its awful that they think they are the only ones on this earth!

Why do you believe it is important to protect natural resources and threatened wildlife? Yes.

# 465:
9:34 pm PDT, Sep 5, Jason Mumm, Texas
Do you feel that developers should be held liable if proof shows that their actions directly contributed to the injury or death of an endangered or protected species? Yes.

Why do you believe it is important to protect natural resources and threatened wildlife? Because this isn't just our world.

# 464:
9:34 pm PDT, Sep 5, Colleen Moss, Pennsylvania
# 463:
9:33 pm PDT, Sep 5, Glenn Nichols, Delaware
# 462:
9:33 pm PDT, Sep 5, Jacey Dean, Canada
# 461:
9:30 pm PDT, Sep 5, Brac Kaun, Wisconsin
# 460:
9:08 am PDT, Sep 5, Cynthia Keegan, South Carolina
# 459:
6:26 am PDT, Sep 5, Lauren Summerlin, Florida
I do believe that the land developers should be held accountable to any danger that these whales encounter!! It is sad and ridiculous that they seem to just not care. The Whales cannot stand up for themselves so it is up to the people who care to give them a voice.
# 458:
8:01 pm PDT, Sep 4, Charmaine Barreta, Australia
YES!

Because what if that is us thats getting threatened ? woulndt you do something about it? well this is the same situation!

# 457:
3:14 pm PDT, Sep 4, Name not displayed, Kansas
# 456:
2:04 pm PDT, Sep 4, Laurel Ruehle, California
yes
# 455:
6:00 am PDT, Sep 4, Jackie Medina, Kansas
# 454:
8:33 pm PDT, Sep 3, Jorge Cazares, Kansas
Being that the North Atlantic Right Whale is an endangered species, any intrusion upon their habitat that would result in the injury or death of even one whale should be viewed and tried as a serious crime. The contractors/communities that are making this happen should be held responsible for the death or injury of any North Atlantic Right Whale that is brought on by the building or use of this marina.

As just about anyone knows, the natural world is like a web, when certain spieces are destroyed, the web eventually becomes weak and falls completely apart. As humans we have already done more damage to nature than we could ever try to repair, but that doesn't mean that we shouldn't try to prevent causing more damage. We claim to be the most intelligent animals on this planet, yet we can't even prove ourselves responsible enough to take care of our environment and neighbors. Let's stop selfishly and mindlessly destroying and start taking care of the animals we've almost completely wiped out.

# 453:
7:51 pm PDT, Sep 3, Aimee Denton, Kansas
Yes I believe that developers should be held responsible for any and all whales that are injured or killed because of their developments. It is illegal to kill endangered species and this is no different

I think it is important to protect our wildlife because people depend on them to help balance out nature. Once one species is gone, it is guaranteed that other species and their habitats will suffer along with it. People have already destroyed many natural habitats, and killed many animals so now we have to preserve what we can to help bring back balance to our world

# 452:
11:42 am PDT, Sep 3, Lucy Broxson, United Kingdom
this is awful and should not happen!
# 451:
2:51 am PDT, Sep 3, Zoe Ingram, Australia
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