316: The Wildest Woman in America and the Fight to Protect Cumberland Island National Seashore.

She’s been called the wildest woman in America—and with good reason. Carol Ruckdeschel has wrestled alligators, dissected roadkill in the name of science, and lived off the grid in the wilderness she vowed to defend. But behind the sensational headlines is a sharp, fearless conservationist whose tireless efforts helped protect one of the last truly wild places in the Southeast: Cumberland Island National Seashore. Taking on powerful families and even the National Park Service, Carol waged a relentless fight to preserve the island’s fragile ecosystems—and she won, but the fight isn’t over.

SOURCES:

“Wild Woman Carol Ruckdeschel, the ‘Jane Goodall of sea turtles’ and more,” by Maria Dintino (Nasty Women Writers, 2025).

“Last Stop on the Way to the Cosmos? No Thanks,” by Alexandra Marvar (The New York Times, 2021).

Untamed: The Wildest Woman in America and the Fight for Cumberland Island, by Will Harlan (2014).

“Travels in Georgia,” by John McPhee (The New Yorker, 1973).

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