ATLANTA – The state has awarded a $3 million grant to Chatham County to help acquire and preserve Green Island, Georgia Rep. Jesse Petrea, R-Savannah, announced Wednesday.
Petrea has been working for the last two years with the county, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources and Savannah lawyer and philanthropist J. Curtis Lewis III. The Lewis family owns the 450-acre island in the southern end of Chatham County.
“As a native coastal Georgian, I can think of no better environmental success than to preserve for future generations more sensitive land along our beautiful coast,” Petrea said during a news conference at the state Capitol.
“We have had multiple successes in land preservation in recent years. I am proud to add Green Island to the list of accomplishments.”
The state grant is coming through the Georgia Outdoor Stewardship Act, a program funded through a state tax on purchases of sporting goods ratified by Georgia voters as a constitutional amendment in 2018.
Petrea said negotiations are underway with the county and Lewis on a final price for the property. He would not disclose what the price tag might be, citing the ongoing talks.
“We have agreement on what it’s going to take to do it,” he said. “We have a clear path forward.”
Petrea said plans call for Green Island to become a county park where families can boat, picnic, and hike. There is no road access to the island.
“We’ve got to have places for our young people to be outdoors. We learned that during the pandemic,” he said. “We see it being very actively used.”
Petrea said the park could be open before the end of this year.
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.