Cumberland Island National Seashore preserves most of Cumberland Island off southeastern Georgia as a largely undeveloped barrier-island landscape of beaches, dunes, marshes, and freshwater lakes, while also protecting one of the state’s richest concentrations of historic sites. Authorized in 1972 and expanded with a wilderness area in 1982, it remains carefully managed with limited public access to safeguard its character. The island is Georgia’s largest and most biodiverse barrier island, with at least 23 ecological communities and significant wildlife research. Its layered human history includes the Dungeness ruins, Plum Orchard, ancient habitation sites, and museum collections in St. Marys and on the island.