Lawmakers are now considering a bill to extend the lease of the Jekyll Island Authority, which environmentalists fear will leave the island vulnerable to large-scale luxury development being trumpeted by some Republicans.
The year the state of Georgia acquired Jekyll Island: 1947
Price the state paid for Jekyll Island: $675,000
Current estimated value of the pristine beachfront on the southern end of Jekyll Island: $500 million
Number of large-scale luxury development projects on Jekyll Island in the last 57 years: 0
Number of board members appointed to the nine-member Jekyll Island Authority by Gov. Sonny Perdue: 8
Cost of construction of a luxury hotel proposed by Trammell Crow to take the place of the old Buccaneer Hotel: $60 million
Number of luxury condominiums proposed for the southern end of the island: 1,500
Current population of Jekyll Island: 1,000
Number of bird species sighted on the island last year: 95
Number of years the loggerhead sea turtle has been on the nation's threatened-species list: 29
The documented number of sea turtles that went ashore last year on neighboring St. Simons Island, which is heavily developed: 1
The documented number of sea turtles that went ashore on Jekyll Island last year: 137
Sources: Testimony before the House State Institutions Committee earlier this month by former Sen. Ed Boshears, R-St. Simons Island, a member of the Jekyll Island Authority who is opposed to development; the Georgia Department of Natural Resources; the Georgia Conservancy
