McMillan Creek Project
In 2000, the City of Jesup decided to take on a new environmental project. The project would develop an in-town greenway along the McMillan Creek corridor in Jesup. The purposes of the greenway are to (1) reduce non-point source pollution from the surrounding urban area runoff; (2) improve water quality through stream clean-up, monitoring, and management; (3) restore the urban forest to the fullest extent possible; (4) provide pedestrian and bicycle access between neighborhoods; (5) provide safer walkways and bikeways to and from school for children living in nearby neighborhoods; (6) significantly enhance recreational opportunities for everyone living in Jesup.
The project area, which is 2 ½ miles long is expected to take ten years to complete. The estimated cost of the McMillan Creek Project is over $4 million. The City has enlisted several funding sources to pay for this project. Those sources include: Georgia Recreation Trails, Land and Water Conservation Fund, DNR Friends of Wildlife, Department of Transportation TEA – 21, Georgia Forestry Commission, Coastal Zone Management and Private Foundations. Several grants have been obtained from these sources to help the City start the building process. Our in-kind match of these grants has been met by several local organizations including: Wayne County Garden Clubs, Wayne County Peachy Clean, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Altamaha River Keepers, STAR students, City of Jesup Tree Board, Altamaha Wildlife Association, and the Georgia Forestry Commission. Prison labor will also be used to help clear and build the greenway.
We are still in the building stages of the McMillan Creek Project. Now that the physical structure is visible, the community interest has grown tremendously. By restoring McMillan Creek, we plan to improve water quality, provide recreational resources, provide environmental education resources for local schools, provide habitat for in stream and near stream wildlife, and become a leading community in protecting and preserving a valuable resource. Although the workload of this project is huge, it is small in comparison to the difference we are making in the lives of our citizens.
