Cumberland Island is a wilderness and national seashore along the Georgia coast that is home to some of the world’s most astonishing biological diversity. It is one of the last barrier islands still functioning in a relatively natural state. It is managed by the National Park Service, and it is home to hundreds of nesting loggerhead sea turtles but only a handful of island residents and less than 300 visitors a day.

Part of the natural ecology of Cumberland Island is wildfire. Many of the island’s ecosystems require natural, lightning-ignited wildfires, and many species depend on wildfire for their survival and reproduction. Wildfires are different from controlled burns, which are human-ignited fires that are more targeted and controlled.

Given unnatural fire ignition, Cumberland Island’s fire management plan fails to ensure that natural wildfire continues where it’s needed most. Instead, it continues a series of controlled burns that do more harm