Cumberland Island National Seashore has seen its share of dirty dealings. The most blatant was the 2004 backdoor legislation that removed wilderness designation from portions of the island—marking the first time wilderness has ever been removed from the National Wilderness Preservation System. The sneaky deal brokered by Representative Jack Kingston and wealthy Carneige heirs on Cumberland Island violated thirty years of public input overwhelmingly in favor of keeping Cumberland Island wild.
However, Cumberland Island mismanagement has sunk to an all-time low under Superintendent Jerre Brumbelow. Under his watch, an illegal building was constructed on land that belonged to the American people. The structure was constructed--with Brumbelow's approval--in an attempt to extend retained rights on Cumberland Island for another wealthy island resident. Inmate labor from the local sheriff's department was used illegally to construct the building. And permits for the building and an adjacent dock have not been located. Criminal investigations are under way by the Georgia Department of Investigations. Superintendent Brumbelow's boss has already resigned.
And yet, Brumbelow remains superintendent of Cumberland Island. The National Park Service has not dismissed or transferred Brumbelow, despite his shady dealings with the sheriff's department and his authorization of a blatantly illegal private structure on publicly owned land.
The South's most pristine national seashore is being corrupted by the dirty dealings of Brumbelow and his cronies. The National Park Service needs to restore its integrity on Cumberland by showing Brumbelow the door. The National Seashore--and the 50,000 annual visitors who cherish this wild island--deserve better.
-W.H.
Monday, October 1, 2007
Brumbelow Must Go
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6 comments:
You're misinformed. If you lived here, you'd know the truth.
I live there and the first post is a lie.
Yes, he did approve the illegal building and they used inmates to construct it. But this building was not on public property it was an add on to the Sheriff's buddy's house. It had nothing to do with the Island.
You and me do not have access to that house. Nor does Mr. Brumbelow.
Our Sheriff is so crooked it is not funny.
I run a blog called The Real School Police and I have all of the Sheriff's illegal doing documented there.
Oh and i almost forgot the Sheriff PAID the inmates for the time.
www.schoolpolice,blogspot.com
I live there and the second post is total BS.
Does everyone know that Will Harlan, the author of this blog, lived on Cumberland Island at Carol Ruckdeshel's house and participated in her illegal activities by helping her collect and destroy the isalnd's natural resources? In addition his pay off for writing these lies is free trips to Cumberland Island courtesy of Carol Ruckdeshel. His agenda along with Carol's is to prevent the average tax paying citizen from having access to the island especially the north end. They want the taxpayers to fund the bill for a few radical so-called environmentalist so they can have access to the north end of the island. If you actually understood the wilderness legislation you would know the original legislation was flawed because it allowed the north end of the island to be put into wilderness even though it was bisected by a historic road.
The building was a good faith effort by an island resident to provide some accessibility to the island for disabled people and the superintendent had absolutely no knowledge of this project and he has steadfastly said that NO retained rights will be extended beyond 2010. The inmates were NOT working for private residents but on a project for a non-profit organization for accessibility. The real issue is the attack on the superintendent by environmental whackos who want to limit public access to only their friends. Furthermore, the superintendent's boss, the regional director, did NOT resign because of the issue at Cumberland Island; this is just another one of the many lies by those who have an agenda that is contrary to the laws that established the park.
http://thecumberlandislandchronicles.blogspot.com/
I have lived on the Island and I have to say there are so many forces pulling in different directions that distortion of the facts are a problem. The wilderness law in many opinions was flawed in the first place. Almost all residents and Park Service had the right to travel into the wilderness before and after it became wilderness. If you wern't allowed to go into the wilderness a resident with the rights could invite you and you would be covered that way. with the new legislation now the average tax payer can travel via bike and go with the park on a tour to learn why wilderness protection is so important. The road and a couple of feet on either side have been removed from the wilderness to legally provide more access to people who may not be in the physical shape to make the long walk yet their taxes pay for the park too. Cumberland Island touches us all in different ways and everyone has different ideas on how to protect and manage it. If it wasn't for the residents and government there would be no National Seashore. Jerre Brumbelow brought the people together more than any other superintendant in the past. There were some residents that did get the short end of the stick when land was aquired and harsh feelings were born. Jerre did not rule like a micro managing suit from washington, but treated the Island like a community. Everyone will never see eye to eye on all topics but to remove Jerre in my opinion would destroy the bonds made between residents and the government. Carol is a great check and balance and she conducts important work for all of us. She and her affiliates seem to represent more of a hardline approach to conservation than park management. Remember no matter what your opinion, this is still a park not a sterile laboratory. There is no corruption or big secret movements against conservation just a Superintendant who in my opinion tries to run a park with the all of us in mind.
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