Center For A Sustainable Coast Inc

The Center does a great job as a watchdog for environmental issues on Georgia's coast. In this role, the Center helps citizens and other environmental groups stay abreast of the regulatory climate, effectiveness of existing regulations and enforcement thereof, and making a strong case for the economic benefits of strong environmental protection. The Center's newsletter helps introduce much useful research and opinion that might otherwise not be introduced to our local discussions. The web site is timely and also disseminates much useful information pertaining to the environment and its protection.

I found the Execuitive Director and other board members were very generous with time and information. I believe the combination of knowledge, involvement, and broad viewpoint enables the Center to have far more influence than its small size would suggest.

I was introduced to the Center for a Sustainable Coast and its Exec Dir some 10 years ago; my relationship with both has grown immeasureably as the Center's contribution to the ever-more challenging issues threatening all aspects of coastal ecology have become increasingly critical. During this time, the stature & reputation of the Center has evolved such that it is considered by many as

As a resident of coastal Georgia for twenty years, I had long been aware of the work done by the Center for a Sustainable Coast in promoting the health of Georgia’s coastal ecosystems. However, it was not until I became deeply involved in a coastal development issue through my work with the Initiative to Protect Jekyll Island State Park that I actually had chance to collaborate with the Center’s director, David Kyler. From my first contact with David, I was taken with his command of the ecological, conservation and economic dimensions of the proposed private development of Jekyll Island, which is a Georgia’s only barrier island state park. But, it has been David’s persistence and effectiveness in bringing this issue into the public square that is most remarkable and has truly made a difference. Acting on behalf of the Center for a Sustainable Coast, David wrote editorial after editorial in Georgia’s leading newspapers pointing out how the proposed development conflicted with Jekyll’s state park mission and was inappropriate for a natural treasure as ecologically and environmentally sensitive as Jekyll Island. He made a powerful case for sustainable renovation of Jekyll Island at public meetings, including those held by the Jekyll Island Authority board of directors and the Georgia General Assembly’s Jekyll Island Legislative Oversight Committee. He has been a source of inspiration and support for the Initiative to Protect Jekyll Island State Park (IPJI), having provided wise counsel on a host of practical matters related to IPJI’s organization and operation. He has partnered with IPJI in making conference presentations and in meeting with groups interested in the Jekyll development issue, and has arranged for IPJI to receive free counsel from the Center’s attorney on matters involving environmental law. In helping to inform countless numbers of Georgia’s citizens about a coastal development plan that was at odds with the public interest, ecologically unsound, and fiscally irresponsible, David proved to be instrumental in elevating the Jekyll issue to center stage, with the result that the plan for expansive, oceanfront development on this fragile barrier island was dropped in favor of one far more responsible. In sum, integrity, commitment, objectivity and leadership are at the core of the Center’s personality. Those qualities find expression in the Center’s work week after week, year in and year out. For me, the Center for a Sustainable Coast, under David Kyler’s leadership, ranks among the most outstanding environmental and conservation groups in America.