b"LittleSt. SimonsAltamahaIslandSt. Simons River Island Sea IslandGEORGIAIT SEEMS EVERYTHING ABOUT LITTLE ST. SIMONS ISLAND IS UNIQUE. As many barrier islands around the world are eroding away, Little St. Simons is growing, thanks to sediment deposited by the Altamaha River along its northern edge. While most of the Sea Islands up and down the southeastern U.S.'s Atlantic coast have been broken up and densely developed, Little St. Simons has been a single parcel since the late 1700s. Today, the island hosts just 32 overnight guests on a busy night in its sole eco-lodgealong with countless birds, fish, crustaceans, and plenty of alligators. And in a nation where bird habitat is shrinking, Little St. Simons Island and neighboring Georgia barrier islands received the highest designation, Landscape of Hemispheric Importance, from the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network.At just 11,000 acres, Little St. Simons Island is a tiny Written by squiggle on most maps. But its subtle uplandsjust Steve Werblow 10 to 12 feet above sea level at bestand sprawling wetlands present a big opportunity to studycoastal dynamics.Drone Footage byKevin Labb A considerable portion of the island is a relatively pristine marsh, while another significant section right Photography by next to it is a marsh that was ditched and channelized Nate Christopher in an attempt to increase water flow and control mosquitoes starting in the 1930s.Whos Minding the Planet? 51"