January 15, 2004 — Sapelo Island is the fourth largest Georgia barrier island and one of the most pristine. It’s bountiful natural resources, rich history and contributions to estuarine ecology have made this isolated barrier island of Georgia’s Atlantic coastline a unique and important ecological resource worthy of its protected status. NOAA designated the western perimeter of the island as a National Estuarine Research Reserve in 1976, although it is managed locally by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Wildlife Resources Division.

An advisory committee was established in 1989 to facilitate effective coordination and cooperation among Sapelo Island Reserve interest groups. The Sapelo Island National Estuarine Research Reserve itself is made up of salt marshes, maritime forests and beach dune areas (i.e., Sapelo’s western uplands, the marshes and waters of the Duplin and Little Teakettle Rivers and their confluence with Doboy Sound) and encompasses a total of 6,110 acres (i.e., 2,100 upland acres and 4,000 acres of tidal salt marsh). It is dedicated to research, education, stewardship and sound management of Georgia’s coastal resources, particularly the natural, cultural and historical resources of Sapelo Island and the Duplin River estuary. Located centrally on Georgia’s barrier island coastline, the reserve is geographically isolated from the mainland by a wide expanse of interconnected creeks, marshes and rivers. This isolation by more than five miles of salt-marsh estuary has uniquely positioned the reserve and the island to serve as a control site or indicator for studying the effects of increasing human development and pressure upon the reserve’s surrounding and relatively pristine natural resources.

Facilities
The reserve headquarters is located in a restored oyster tabby sugar mill built in 1809. Other reserve facilities include a 3,500 square foot visitor center and exhibit hall and a 3,000 square foot education and research laboratory. The reserve coordinates with the University of Georgia Marine Institute, which has offices, labs, a dormitory, library, conference center and computer facilities on the island. A public passenger ferry provides access to the island.

History
Sapelo Island has made an indelible impression upon the human experience in North America for more than 4,000 years, as evidenced by recent archaeological studies conducted by faculty and graduate students of the University of Kentucky. Furthermore, these estuarine areas are considered within academic circles to be the birthplace of estuarine and salt marsh ecology. Eugene Odum, often termed “the father of estuarine ecology”, and John Teal, Odum’s colleague, known for his foundation of estuarine carbon cycling research in addition to his popular publications including “Life and Death in a Salt Marsh” were two of the early founders and researchers of the University of Georgia Marine Institute on Sapelo Island. The Marine Institute, originally funded by Reynolds beginning with its founding in 1953, was from its inception, dedicated to understanding the coastal processes and their importance for protection and conservation. The island was purchased almost in its entirety from the Reynolds estate by the state of Georgia in two acquisitions (1969 and 1976) which, in turn, established the Georgia Department of Natural Resources as the primary proprietor of the island’s 26,000 total acres. Shortly following this acquisition the Sapelo Island National Estuarine Sanctuary (now Estuarine Research Reserve) was set aside for the promotion and continuance of the island’s legacy in estuarine research, education, conservation and stewardship.

Research
Sapelo Island NERR research and monitoring programs aim to promote and provide support for coastal environment, specifically estuarine, research efforts within the NERR system and the SINERR. Representatives of University of Georgia Marine Institute, University of Georgia School of Marine Programs, Skidaway Institute of Oceanography, University of Georgia Marine Extension Program, Georgia Tech and Georgia Southern University are among those pursuing research on the reserve. The SINERR research program fulfills information needs on national, regional and local levels through the diversity of its research and monitoring activities and collaborative partnerships.

A key element or foundation of the reserve’s broader research programs is its participation within the NERR System-Wide Monitoring Program (SWMP). The SWMP program allows the reserve to function as a building block for both its own research programs and for those of its partners. Defraying costs associated with baseline data acquisition and providing an extremely high quality product for use by partner agencies, the SWMP program is a primary stimulus for its partners to use the reserve lands as research sites. The holistic approach to gathering, quality assuring and archiving a baseline of continuous and discrete, long-term, water, weather and atmospheric data for use by scientific, management and educational communities are a hallmark of the NERR System. The reserve also serves as a control site or template for assessment of changes and impacts resulting from anthropogenic influences upon it’s nearby mainland. The reserve is conducting research within several areas of science which blend its pristine setting with needed coastal management issues and partners in the following research and monitoring priorities:

• Research, monitoring and mapping of the Marsh Die Back phenomenon within the Spartina and Juncus marshes of coastal Georgia in partnership with the Georgia Coastal Research Council;
• Life history characteristics and disease/pathogenic research and monitoring of the commercially important blue crab (Callinectes sapidus) and dinoflagellate (Hematodinium sp.) in high salinity waters of the Duplin River, in partnership with the Skidaway Institute of Oceanography and the GCE-LTER;
• Estuarine invasive species monitoring, including the recent introductions of the green porcelain crab (Petrolisthes armatus), green mussel (Perna viridis) and red swimming crab (Calinectes exasperatus) in partnership with the Georgia Marine Extension Service;
• Terrestrial invasive species control of the tallow tree (Sapium serbiferum) encroachment in the sensitive inter-dune meadow of Sapelo Island;
• Long-term oyster reef studies and recruitment, including mapping and monitoring of inter-tidal reefs within reserve waters in partnership with the UGA Marine Extension Service;
• Long-term atmospheric deposition monitoring in partnership with the recently established Georgia Coastal Ecosystems – Long-Term Ecological Research Station and the National Atmospheric Deposition Program; and
• Real-time atmospheric and water quality data in partnership with the USGS

These programs exemplify the direction of the reserve's research emphasis in partnerships, service and application to the broader coastal management and information communities. In many cases, without the reserve's lead or involvement, much of this work would either be of reduced scope or uninvestigated.

Education
SINERR offers a variety of education programs for school groups (5th-12th grades), teachers, special interest groups, coastal decision makers and the public. Programs highlight salt marsh (estuarine) and barrier island ecology, current research efforts on the reserve and Sapelo's rich cultural history. The Education Facility on Sapelo houses a 40-seat classroom with audio-visual capabilities and a wet lab equipped with work stations, microscopes and aquaria. Lab-based programs include "Sapelo's Saltwater Systems" which incorporates field and lab activities that focus on local marsh and ocean habitats. The Sapelo Island Nature Trail, also available to visiting groups, features five barrier island systems and stretches approximately one mile from the maritime forest, through the inter-dune meadow and salt marsh and ends on the pristine Atlantic Ocean frontage of Nannygoat Beach. The reserve also offers both the general public and school groups South-End Tours, which highlights the natural and cultural history of the island. Interested parties can obtain information related to the programs on Sapelo by contacting or visiting the island's mainland based interpretive center located at the ferry docking area in Meridian, Ga. The visitor's center offers visual and audio interpretive displays and a wide variety of reading materials on the islands ecology and history, in addition to a self-guided tour on the reserve’s recently completed mainland nature trail.

The SINERR’s accredited Teacher Workshop Program offers educators an intensive two-week summer curriculum focusing on Southeastern barrier island ecology. This popular hands-on program has enrolled more than 500 teachers within its training venue since 2000. A majority of the program features hands-on activities both in the laboratory and in the field. SINERR has a variety of other resources available for teachers and schools, including its curriculum guide, Sapelo Island: Georgia’s Coastal Treasure. "Sapelo: An Island in Time, A Look at Georgia’s National Estuarine Research Reserve", a video program featuring the ecology and science of the reserve and the University of Georgia’s Marine Institute, is one of three videos that feature the reserve. Posters, area maps and interactive CDs are made available to schools nationwide. For more details on educational materials, please contact the Education Office at (912) 485-2300.

Currently, Sapelo and other NERR sites across the country are implementing the newly established NERR Coastal Training Program for “decision makers.” These programs provide training and resources essential to making informed decisions on coastal environmental issues and focus upon individuals working within policy development capacities. Through the Coastal Training Programs, Sapelo NERR provides cutting-edge scientific and resource management information to elected officials, land-use planners, regulators, natural resource managers and private citizens for making informed decisions about the nation’s coastal resources. The Coastal Training Program’s potential is extensive as it greatly enhances the education and outreach efforts of the NERRs on both a system-wide and site-level basis.

Stewardship
The Sapelo NERR considers its stewardship role within the local, state and national arenas to be one of protection, preservation and conservation of Georgia’s productive and beautiful marshlands. Currently, the reserve is playing a very active role in helping to formulate a prioritization strategy for protection of the state's unique coastal hammocks environs (i.e., fertile elevated areas with hardwood vegetation and soil rich in humus). The multi-agency partnerships found within this protection agenda include: The Nature Conservancy, The Georgia Conservancy, several Divisions of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources and other concerned special interest groups. Georgia’s coastal marsh hammocks serve as roosting and rookery habitat for wading waterfowl, staging platforms for migratory shorebirds, nesting habitat for threatened neo-tropical migrants and nesting and feeding areas for estuarine reptiles and amphibians. Hammocks also add a critical dimension to the expansive marshes by providing small, isolated undeveloped upland maritime forest components to the marsh ecosystem structure. With the increasing pressure of development associated with the coast's recent boom in coastal demographics, the need to formulate a preservation strategy for these critical habitats has never been more important. The reserve is aiding in this stewardship charge by acting as both a control site of investigations and serving actively on a Coastal Marsh Hammock Advisory Committee.

Relevant Web Sites
NOAA

NOAA National Estuarine Research Reserve Program

Georgia Department of Natural Resources

Sapelo Island National Estuarine Research Reserve

Sapelo Island NERR

NOAA ANNOUNCES $555,000 GRANT TO GEORGIA DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES

Media Contact:
Glenda Powell , NOAA Ocean Service, (301) 713-3066 ext. 191 or Ben Sherman, NOAA Ocean Service, (301) 713-3066 ext. 178