Feature Stories

Carol Ruckdeschel, a legendary conservationist now in her 80s, has lived on Cumberland Island for half a century, self-sufficient and mostly alone—reflecting her vision of what a public wilderness should be.

A personal reflection of place and music in Dolly Parton’s Smoky Mountains

An investigation

Southern rock is abundant but often locked behind property lines. That hasn’t stopped climbers. If you want to know how to make private land public, ask a community that’s spent two decades doing just that.

At the edge of the legendary Okefenokee — the South’s largest public wildlife refuge — a community considers its future.

Hal Herring is writing the book on America's public lands. He had to leave the South to find them — but the region never stopped shaping what he fights for.