Dear Friends,

As we swelter through the "dog days" of summer in what has pretty much been a dog of a year, there are still things to celebrate. Near the top of the list is passage of the Great American Outdoors Act in the U.S. House of Representatives earlier this month and in the U.S. Senate in June. Andrew Bowman, President & CEO of the Land Trust Alliance, calls this bipartisan legislation "the realization of a 50-year-old dream across the conservation community: securing full and dedicated funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund." ( Please see the article and media links below. )

At the Land Trust, we're also thankful that while so many of our supporters and close associates have contracted the COVID-19 coronavirus, most are recovering well. And we’re heartened to see that our business partners are hanging tight, mostly as a result of so many of you being committed to "keeping it local" and loyally supporting island restaurants, retailers, hotels, and service providers.

Lastly, we are profoundly grateful for and touched every day by the generosity of this community. That includes our dedicated volunteers who, although not serving as Cannon's Point Preserve docents right now, are continuing to work solo and safely on different projects. And we are genuinely moved by how many of our supporters have answered the call to renew their memberships early this year, greatly helping us make wise, informed financial decisions through the last half of 2020. So much to be grateful for, except possibly the heat.

Please stay well, and thank you!

Emily Ellison

SSLT Executive Director

On July 22, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Great American Outdoors Act, that will permanently fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund. The Fund uses a small portion of revenues from offshore oil drilling to protect important land, water, and recreation areas that benefit all Americans. The bill passed out of the Senate last month and now heads directly to the president’s desk for his signature.

"The Great American Outdoors Act is critically important to address maintenance backlogs and to preserve our treasures in the First District of Georgia. I am glad this legislation passed the House... and I hope the funding will get to places like Fort Pulaski, Fort Frederica and Cumberland Island as soon as possible. These places need to be properly maintained for many generations to come."

--U.S. Representative Buddy Carter

Read more from the Land Trust Alliance HERE .

Read more from The Brunswick News HERE .

Although we have asked most of our Land Trust Volunteers to take a break during these heightened days of the pandemic, and they are not working on group projects or helping to staff properties, we are still providing virtual training for new volunteers .

If you are interested in one of the volunteer opportunities listed below, please sign up for training soon so that you're ready to become involved when it's safer to do so.

Our Volunteers are among the finest, most dedicated people we know and they make a lasting impact in our community nearly every day. Plus, they do it all while having fun!

Docents who regularly work at Cannon's Point, tell us that their days at the Preserve are their favorite days of the week. Whether it's leading tours and educating visitors at Land Trust properties, maintaining trails, helping with events, or assisting with administrative projects, we couldn’t do our work without our dedicated volunteers.

We hope you'll consider joining this incredible group of community leaders!

Find the right volunteer opportunity for you!

We are truly grateful for the commitment of all Land Trust volunteers!

Because Georgia continues to be in a “high risk” period with the COVID-19 virus and is one of approximately 21 states that are considered “red zones” with increasing numbers of confirmed cases, we have decided to keep Cannon’s Point Preserve closed temporarily . In addition, Glynn County is considered a hot-spot within the state, with high rates of “community spread” and with local hospitals at capacity.

To ensure maximum safety of all CPP volunteers and docents, Preserve visitors, and SSLT staff, Cannon’s Point Preserve will remain closed until further notice . We will continue to monitor the situation daily and to follow guidelines from the Glynn County Public Health System and other local, state, and national authorities. During this time, we hope you will visit other Land Trust properties that do not require staffing and where you can hike, bike, and explore on your own.

Thank you for your understanding as we remain cautiously optimistic about reopening the Preserve later this summer or in the early fall.  

Please remember that our local businesses continue to need our support.

Let's keep it local!

1% for St. Simons contributions are raised by participating businesses collecting a voluntary 1% donation from their customers' receipts/invoices or program partners providing in-kind services to the Land Trust.

1% donations are turned into protected acres! 100% of the program donations go directly to paying for 70 environmentally-significant acres at Oatland North and helping to create a wilderness corridor on the island's north end . Learn more HERE .

Join us every Wednesday as we show extra support to our preservation partners

and encourage members and followers to

KEEP IT LOCAL!

The Land Trust's second 1% Wednesday grouping of partners

highlights our dedicated SERVICE PROVIDERS

and the gifted entrepreneurs who started them, including:

Book Music Now ,

Commonground Creative ,

Creative Printing ,

Poseidon Consulting & Renovations , and

SocialCompass .

Learn more about each local business and ways to support them

by clicking here and the links below.

Be sure to also follow our upcoming  #OnePercentWednesday posts on social media!

Thank you to all participating businesses, their teams, and their patrons!

Thank you to all our 20th Anniversary Sponsors!

Because land conservation means more now than ever,

and because our work continues in spite of pandemics and economic downturns,

we're encouraging supporters to

renew their Land Trust memberships early this year .

Your  early renewal  or  pledge  will help significantly in our efforts to plan prudently

and to make critical financial decisions during the coming months.

Note : Memberships can be paid monthly or quarterly with direct, online payments.

Thank you for your continued support during this time!