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Jekyll Island board highlights Tiffany window restoration, record burns and sea-turtle collaborations
Summary
Board members heard that a three-year Tiffany window conservation at Faith Chapel is complete, conservation staff doubled recent prescribed burn acreage to 62 acres, and the Georgia Sea Turtle Center hosted large collaborative cold-stunned turtle releases and prepares for the April 27 Turtle Crawl.
The Jekyll Island State Park Authority on April 23 received department updates on historic preservation, conservation and sea‑turtle work that reflected both long-term restoration and active wildlife management.
Andrea Marroquin, historic resources museum curator, described completion of a three-year conservation project on the 1921 Tiffany window at Faith Chapel. Marroquin said workers removed later-added paint and replacement glass, repaired cracks and completed stabilization work; an improved shutter system was installed to reduce future storm damage. The restoration concluded with a rededication ceremony held on Good Friday, 103 years after the window's original Easter‑time installation.
Yank Moore, director of conservation, reported that the authority burned 62 acres this prescribed-fire season—more than double the previous best season—after adding 10 fully certified burners (three in Conservation and seven in the Fire Department) and with support from Roads and Grounds. Moore outlined the authority's annual alligator survey (capture, marking, measurement and blood draws) and said the island's population structure is approximately 42% under 3 feet, 30% up to 6 feet and 25% over 6 feet; he noted multiple sightings, including one "new to the island" alligator that was placed in the Oleander Big Pond.
Michelle Kaylor, director of the Georgia Sea Turtle Center, said the Turtle Crawl fundraising event will be held April 27 and recapped that Jekyll Island's 2023 nesting season was the island's second-largest with 217 nests; she said staff estimate about 14,000 turtles were returned to the ocean from those nests. Kaylor described collaborative cold-stunned sea turtle releases this season—four partner institutions and an eight‑turtle transfer from the Georgia Aquarium—and said the aquarium asked JIA staff to tag animals with Inconel tags as a training opportunity.
The board was encouraged to visit the restored Tiffany window at Faith Chapel and was briefed on ongoing wildlife and conservation programs that combine public programming with research and rehabilitation.
