Panel finalizing plan to save sea island culture

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — A panel working for almost four years to develop a plan to preserve the culture of the descendants of slaves along the Southeast coast is almost done.

The Gullah-Geechee Heritage Corridor Commission meets Friday in Jacksonville, Fla., to discuss some final aspects of the plan and how it will be reviewed by the public for comment. The commission plans to submit the plan to the Secretary of the Interior in April.

The group is developing a plan to preserve the sea island heritage in four states. The 400-mile corridor, established by Congress in 2006, extends along the Atlantic coast from Wilmington, N.C., south to Jacksonville.

The island culture known as Geechee in Florida and Georgia and Gullah in the Carolinas is threatened by rapid development.