Jimmy Carter Releases An Owl
on the Sapelo River

     The approach to Pine Harbor from the sea brings the seeker of sanctuary over the waterways of the winding Sapelo River. The Sapelo bursts inland between barrier islands, St. Catherine's and Blackbeard. Coastline creeks and marshes brim with abundant life offer muddy-mounds of wetland relief to inhabitants. The Sapelo, ingested by waters of the Atlantic Ocean, rises & flows with the tides. Here lies one of our nation's most fragile ecosystems; barrier islands, saltwater marshes, prehistoric beach ridges populated with threatened and endangered wildlife.

     The approach traveled by the former President & First Lady from Plains, Georgia this Fourth of July weekend to the quiet oak-lined enclave @ Pine Harbor via old US Hwy. 17N meandered through lowland delta rice fields & plantations once cultivated by southern planters. As you cross the Altamaha River system, names like Champney River, Butler Island, Generals Island, Wolf Island, Cathead Creek, Buttermilk Sound, Doboy Sound all lend to the lore of lowland coastal Georgia. One is awed by the raw beauty of the expansive oak and pine lined waterways, the avian wildlife & the heat seeping from the humid marshes.


     Jimmy Carter, a student of history, a maker of history, a man of historical legacy with the finest post-presidency record for active involvement in so many worthy endeavors, had arrived at Pine Harbor on the Sapelo River.