Center for the State of the Parks: Park Assessments
Cumberland Island National Seashore
Published April 2009
Cumberland Island National Seashore preserves significant cultural and natural resources, including a Georgian Revival mansion, the remains of 19th-century slave quarters, nearly 204,000 museum artifacts and archives, a multitude of ecosystems, miles of undeveloped sandy beaches, and more than 9,000 acres of federally designated wilderness. The park interprets the history of the island, which was one of the premiere leisure destinations for some of the nation’s most powerful and influential families. In addition, visitors have the chance to glimpse some of the numerous plant and animal species that reside on the island and in adjacent waters, including several threatened or endangered species such as the North Atlantic right whale, Florida manatee, wood stork, piping plover, loggerhead sea turtle, and green sea turtle.
According to an assessment by NPCA’s Center for State of the Parks, current overall conditions of Cumberland Island’s known cultural resources rated a “poor” score of 55 out of 100. Challenges to the park’s cultural resources include unfunded staff positions, lack of planning and management documents, and difficulty maintaining numerous historic structures with limited funding.
Cumberland Island’s natural resources received a “fair” score of 74 out of 100. The report cites issues with invasive non-native animals and plants, water degradation from feral animals and surrounding land uses, and resource deterioration caused by adjacent development and past land uses on the island.
