Vol. 1, No. 1 Summer 2013

South Carolina
Department of Natural
Resources
Vol.1, No.1, Summer 2013
NEWS
www.dnr.sc.gov
Newsletter of the Ashepoo, Combahee, Edisto Basin
Protection Update
A Lasting Legacy, over 200,000 acres protected !
After nearly a quarter of a century of conservation
efforts, The ACE Basin Project has achieved a major
goal by protecting over 200,000 acres from commercial
and industrial development through the efforts of
public agencies, non-profit conservation groups and
private landowners. When the Project first started in
1988, our original goal was to protect 100,000 acres in
20 years. WE DID IT IN 10! So the bar was raised
to 200,000 acres and we have surpassed that goal and
plan to continue our efforts. We have over 70,000
acres of publicly protected lands in the form of four
Wildlife Management Areas, a National Wildlife
Refuge, a National Estuarine Research Reserve and
two South Carolina State Parks. A total of 140,000
acres of land are protected by private landowners,
mainly through the 145 conservation easements held
by the non-governmental organization conservation
partners in the Project. All of this is a testament
to the success of public/private partnerships in the
conservation of the ACE Basin.
The beauty of the ACE Basin Project is that we
have protected not only our natural resources, like
wading bird rookeries, old rice fields and barrier
islands, but we have also protected significant cultural
and historical features such as old plantation houses
and historical cemeteries..
All of this leaves a lasting legacy for future
generations.
Bindon Plantation Conservation Agreement Reached
Beaufort County Council announces the
acquisition of a conservation easement on Bindon
Plantation in northwestern Beaufort County,
through its Rural and Critical (R&C) Land
Preservation Program. The announcement is the
culmination of a cooperation and collaborative
effort between the owner of Bindon Plantation,
Hollingsworth Funds, Inc. of Greenville, SC,
and Beaufort County’s R&C Land Preservation
Program.
The 1100-­acre plantation is located in Sheldon
and has substantial frontage on US 17, as well as
over three miles of waterfront along the Pocotaligo
River and its tributaries. The property serves as
the western entrance to Beaufort County and
is the gateway to the ACE Basin, a nationally
recognized conservation project boasting one of the
most bio-­diverse landscapes on the South Carolina
coastline. Replete with numerous cultural and natural
resources, the plantation has significant historic and
environmental value. Over two hundred years ago it
was the site of a Revolutionary War fort and it is now
home to vibrant wood stork and bald eagle habitats.
“This easement protects the gateway to both
northern Beaufort County and the ACE Basin, and is
a tremendous conservation win for Beaufort County”
said County Council Chairman Weston Newton.
Before the conservation easement was acquired,
the property was premixed for intense residential and
commercial use. The conservation easement promotes
sustainable land management, preservation of the
property's natural state in perpetuity, and maintains
Bindon’s conservation values.
“The conservation easement agreement allows
us to preserve this property, rich in history and
natural significance,” said Jim Terry, president of the
Hollingsworth Funds, Inc. “It also allows us to create
value and return for our beneficiaries.”
The R&C Land Preservation Program acquired
this conservation easement for $2.5M, and it will
be held by the Beaufort County Open Land Trust.
As stated under the protection of the conservation
easement, future owners will enjoy traditional
Lowcountry land uses and recreational opportunities.
The conservation easement on Bindon Plantation
brings the total lands preserved through the County’s
R&C Land Preservation Program to over 20,000 acres.
Common Ground: The Story of the ACE Basin
South Carolina’s public television series Southern
Lens has completed an hour long documentary on
the conservation efforts of the ACE Basin. To date
over 209,000 acres of this region has been protected
through conservation easements by private and public
landowners.
ACE Basin conservation efforts are viewed as
an example of how groups dedicated to preserving
the land as an intact, healthy ecosystem where the
traditions of fishing, hunting, farming, and forestry
can work together and find great success.
Common Ground: The Story of the ACE Basin
focuses on the history of the region and the large,
wealthy landowners that settled the land, the affects
of the Civil War on the region and threats of coastal
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sprawl. The documentation
follows ACE Basin Project
leaders as they tell the story
of how these challenges
were met head on through
conservation efforts.
To order your copy of
Common Ground: The Story
of the ACE Basin, contact the
Center for Humans and Nature at:
Center for Humans and Nature
20 N. Wacker Drive • Suite 2807
Chicago, Illinois 60606
Phone: 312-629-5060
ACE in the Hole - Property Spotlights
Last year, Ducks Unlimited
(DU) and Lowcountry Open
Land Trust (LOLT) completed
two significant conservation
easements in Four Holes
Swamp, the headwaters of the
Edisto River and a principal
riparian feature of the Atlantic
Coast Joint Venture ACE Basin
Focus Area. The importance
of Four Holes Swamp is well
recognized, as it is home to the
National Audubon Society’s
Francis Beidler Forest, a
17,000-acre sanctuary that
contains the largest remaining
old-growth blackwater bald
cypress and tupelo gum
swamp in the world. The
Beidler Forest portion of Four
Holes Swamp is recognized
as a “Ramsar site” which is a
designation for wetlands of
international significance. As a reference point, the
only other Ramsar site in South Carolina is Congaree
National Park.
Both DU and LOLT are long-standing partners
of the ACE Basin Task Force, a partnership that has
protected over 200,000 acres in 23 years. This effort
is a nationally recognized model of success consisting
of several non-governmental organizations, private
landowners, SC Department of Natural Resources and
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Together, DU and LOLT protected a total of 757
acres of significant land, known as the Pringle Tract
and Indigo Flats, with nearly four miles of frontage
along the main run of Four Holes Swamp. The
bottomland hardwood areas of the Swamp featured
on both the Pringle Tract and Indigo Flats are utilized
by an extremely diverse set of wetland dependent
species including waterfowl, wading birds, reptiles,
amphibians, song birds, small mammals and avian
predators. Both properties are privately owned and
were protected with conservation easements that
limit structures and provide forested buffers along
the Swamp. In particular, the Pringle Tract contains
one of the longest sections of privately owned Swamp
frontage totaling nearly three miles.
DU, LOLT and the ACE Basin Task Force are
very appreciative of these landowners’ willingness
to permanently protect these properties for future
generations. Those who paddle and bird watch along
Four Holes Swamp will also be appreciative for
years to come, as the properties will remain virtually
unchanged. “With these easements, Mr. Glover,
Mr. Branton, Ducks Unlimited and Lowcountry
Open Land Trust have made huge contributions to
the protection of Four Holes Swamp and its wildlife
for which Audubon is most grateful”, said Norman
Brunswig, long-time manager of Beidler Forest and
Audubon South Carolina Executive Director.
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Working in the ACE Basin
SCDNR SCORE’s program in the ACE Basin
The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources
(SCDNR) has been focusing its oyster restoration efforts in
the ACE Basin, with the South Carolina Oyster Restoration
and Enhancement (SCORE) program and the
help of volunteers. The goal of these efforts is
to provide essential habitat for diadromous and
coastal finfish by creating intertidal oyster reefs
and salt marsh and fostering stewardship at the
individual and community level.
The (SCORE) program is a communitybased volunteer oyster restoration program that creates
oyster habitat for the purposes of fish habitat, water quality
improvement and shoreline stabilization with the help of
community volunteers and school groups. The restored oyster
habitat is then used as a living classroom and
to promote public awareness and conservation
efforts. Community volunteers and school
groups participate in shell recycling, shell
bagging, Spartina alterniflora nursery production,
reef building, marsh construction and water
monitoring. Through engagement in hands-on
restoration activities, the community learns how
oysters improve water quality, control erosion, and provide
habitat for other commercially and recreationally important
shellfish and fish species. It is important that volunteers learn
about oyster biology and how human activities can influence
their well being.
The eastern oyster, Crassostrea virginica,
is not only a commercial and recreationally
important fishery resource in its own right, but
also provides habitat for numerous other species
including Atlantic croaker, Atlantic menhaden,
black sea bass, red drum, spot, spotted seatrout,
summer and winter flounder, and weakfish. More than
83 species of finfish and invertebrates are associated with
intertidal oyster reefs in South Carolina. Oyster reefs also
protect fragile shorelines and promote expansion of Spartina
salt marsh, another essential fish habitat. In addition to the
habitat benefits, both salt marsh and oysters improve
water quality through filtration, play important roles
in nutrient cycling, and provide buffering from
coastal flooding.
Intertidal oyster reef restoration and
enhancement has occurred in SC for over 100 years
as commercial fishermen returned shucked oyster
shells from canneries and shucking houses to harvest areas
during the summer months to propagate beds for harvesting
in fall, winter and spring. These shells replace shell removed
during harvest providing hard substrate for the recruitment of
juvenile oysters. Since the demise of the canning
and raw shuck industries in the 1980s, less shell
cultch planting has occurred, resulting in declines
in shellfish habitat. Even un-harvested areas, such
as the project sites in the ACE Basin, decline over
time or even disappear as waves remove shell from
the shoreline. New channels cut through marsh,
whether by man or nature, are especially vulnerable
as they lack any hard substrate for oyster attachment.
These oyster restoration efforts are being funded
by grants received from the National Oceanic Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA) and the Southeast Aquatic
Resources Partnership (SARP). As part of the
grants, the SCORE program will plant over 2.5
acres of essential oyster habitat, plant Spartina
alterniflora grown in local schools behind several
of the reefs within the ACE NERR, and engage
volunteers and school groups with hand-on
restoration activities that will foster a sense of
stewardship for our ACE Basin National Estuarine Research
Reserve.
Rice and Ducks: The Surprising Convergence that Saved the Carolina Lowcountry
“This is the story of how ducks became a catalyst for
transforming South Carolina’s rice culture into one of the
greatest land conservation movements in America.”
- Matt Connolly, Jr., former CEO of Ducks
Unlimited and Wetlands America Trust
Rice and Ducks is the name of a beautiful new coffee
table book to be published in the fall of 2013. A joint
project of Ducks Unlimited and Evening Post Books, Rice
and Ducks is a compelling account and powerful visual
record of the rise and fall of South Carolina’s rice kingdom,
the transformation of the old rice fields into hunting lands,
4
and the subsequent evolution of a land conservation
movement unlike anything seen before in the United
States.
The book chronicles the grand and tragic history of the
rice kingdom in all the major Lowcountry river basins –
from the Pee Dee down to the Savannah – and how the rice
culture set the stage for a remarkable experiment in wildlife
and habitat preservation, predicated on duck hunting. It
is a story full of interesting characters and unlikely allies,
based on a wealth of personal interviews and family
archives, and generously illustrated with photography,
artwork and maps spanning more than three centuries.
We are not alone in Conservation: a visit from
the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy
Members of the ACE Basin Task Force welcomed
colleagues from the Southern Appalachian Highlands
Conservancy (SAHC) for a visit and tour of the
ACE Basin in mid-March. The purpose of the visit
was to exchange ideas and share how each group
has been successful in achieving land conservation
across very different landscapes and land ownership
patterns. Sandwiched between a wonderful frogmore
stew dinner on Monday evening and a lunch of fried
chicken and collards the following day at Nemours
Plantation, there was ample opportunity for each
group to share
their thoughts on
past successes and
future challenges
ahead in land
conservation.
Founded in
1974, the SAHC
is one of the
country’s oldest
land trusts. Their
mission is to
conserve the
unique plant and
animal habitat,
clean water, local
farmland, and
scenic beauty of
the mountains in
North Carolina
and east Tennessee. Their focus area is literally the
top of the world for the southeastern United States
and covers a section of the Appalachian Hiking Trail
and such critical landscape as the grassy balds of
the Roan Highlands. These are some of the most
picturesque landscapes in the world and have a very
rich and unique botanical diversity.
The efforts of SAHC have led to the protection
of some 60,000 acres, but much more has to be done
according to their Executive Director Carl Silverstein.
One of their recent success stories, which was 40
years in the making, is the protection of the 601acre tract at Grassy Ridge in Avery County, North
Carolina, adjacent to the Pisgah National Forest
and near the Appalachian Trail in the Highlands of
Roan. This tract borders one of the highest ridges
of the Southern Appalachians and has been one of
SAHC’s top conservation priorities for four decades.
The property forms a high elevation corridor, linking
National Forest lands on the north end with lands
owned by the State of North Carolina in the Yellow
Mountain State Natural Area to the south. This is
truly a crown jewel of the Roan Highlands.
SAHC ‘s member Jay Leutze, whom some
readers may recognize as the author of the
inspirational book titled Stand Up That Mountain,
told the true story about the fight by local citizens to
protect their mountain and way of life. The book is
about a group of “mountain people” suspicious that
a mining company was about to destroy the mountain
above their homes and
they call upon their
neighbor Jay Leutze,
a non-practicing
attorney, to help them
in their fight. The
book is a great story
about what is possible
when local people
come together to
protect their land and
heritage.
For all
participants, the visit
by SAHC members
was a chance to learn
how conservation
efforts are being done
in other ecosystems
and reaffirm the
importance of everyone’s efforts to conserve our
land and protect our local heritage. It is always
comforting to know we are not alone in our efforts
in the ACE Basin and others have noticed our
accomplishments.
Many thanks go out to Witt Langstaff, Jr.
of SAHC and Al Segars, SCDNR biologist, for
organizing the event, and to Dean Harrigal, SCDNR
biologist, for hosting the SAHC members at the
Donnelley WMA and providing a very entertaining
presentation on the history and key events associated
with the ACE Basin project. Thanks also to
Patty Kennedy, Beaufort Open Land Trust, and
Mark Purcell, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, for
participating and providing valuable input. A final
thank you to Eddie Mills and Ernie Wiggers for
providing a tour of Nemours Plantation and allowing
the group to continue their discussions over a
wonderful lunch prepared by Peachie Washington.
5
Mike McShane, of the ACE Basin Task Force, presents a model rice trunk to LTC Edward P. Camberlayne and staff
of the USACE in appreciation for their effort in developing a General Permit for managed tidal impoundments
during ceremonies at Nemours Plantation.
U.S. Corps of Engineers Works with Wildlife Managers to Develop a
General Permit for Managed Tidal Impoundments
At the peak of the rice farming era in the mid
1800’s about 150,000 acres of tidal wetlands were
impounded along the SC coast and used to grow
rice. Today about 70,000 acres remain behind dikes
and are owned by both public resource management
agencies and private landowners. These
impoundments have long been valued for their
ability to be managed for the creation of habitat
for a variety of species, particularly migratory
waterfowl. What the public may call old-rice fields,
are designated as managed tidal impoundments
(MTI) by agencies including the U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers (USACE) and Ocean and Coastal
Resources Management (OCRM) who have
regulatory jurisdiction over these wetlands.
As all landowners and their managers know,
managed tidal impoundments require regular
maintenance to keep the dikes and water-control
structures functional. The requirement to obtain
a permit each time these routine activities are
necessary has been an inconvenience at best and
sometimes has caused friction between those
charged to protect and those who are tasked with
managing these impoundments.
6
In an effort to improve communication among all
groups involved with managed tidal impoundments,
the Nemours Wildlife Foundation, the SC Department
of Natural Resources, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
and private landowners began a program to educate
Managed Tidal Impoundments (MTI) can be critical habitats for a
number of species in decline including this pair of Black-necked Stilts.
Maintaining the dikes and water control structures associated with
these impoundments is an ongoing maintenance issue which has been
streamlined somewhat with the recent approval of the General Permit for
Managed Tidal Impoundments by the U.S. Corps of Engineers.
all groups about the issues associated
with the regulation and stewardship of
these special wetlands. A workshop
open to managers and regulatory
staff was developed to demonstrate
how important these wetlands are to
wildlife and show common maintenance
issues particular to MTI’s. A second
workshop held on Nemours Plantation
allowed the regulatory agencies to
explain to the public various regulatory
guidelines they are mandated to uphold.
This workshop was beneficial because
it allowed the free exchange of ideas
and concerns between the public and
those who regulate our wetlands. From
this workshop the idea of a permit to
cover the routine maintenance activities
was floated and the USACE agreed to
explore developing this permit.
After several meetings that included
LTC Edward P. Camberlayne, Commander and District Engineer USACE,
various stakeholder groups and the
USACE, a General Permit covering 13 congratulates representatives from several resource conservation organizations and
USACE staff on the development and approval of the General Permit for Managed
maintenance activities ranging from
Tidal Impoundments during a ceremony at Nemours Plantation, August 2012.
installing water-control structures to
building contraction dikes were agreed
upon. The full General Permit can be viewed on
A companion document for the General Permit
the USACE’s web site www.USACE.charlestion.
is being developed by Dr. Travis Folk of Folk Land
gov. Anyone who has responsibility for tidal
Management and Dr. Ernie Wiggers of the Nemours
impoundments are encourage to review the permit
Wildlife Foundation that will further explain the
carefully. There are eligibility requirements which
practices covered under the permit, as well as a
have to be met before work under the general permit
historical overview of rice farming and guidelines for
can be done.
managing MTI’s for waterfowl and other wetland
species. This document will be distributed at two
workshops planned for the spring of 2014;
one in the ACE Basin and the second in
the Georgetown region.
The work of many different
individuals came to fruition with the
public announcement of the General
Permit by LTC Edward P. Chamberlayne,
Commander and District Engineer
with the USCAE, on a pleasant August
morning at Nemours Plantation. This
was a special day because members
of the regulatory agencies stood with
resources managers and celebrated their
achievement. The General Permit will
help stream-line maintenance and some
emergency related repairs on managed
tidal impoundments and ease the work
load of regulatory staff, allowing them
to focus on those who want to do harm
The permitting process needed for the maintenance and replacement of
rice-trunks like this one has been simplified thanks to a General Permit on
to our wetlands. In this regards, all sides
Manage Tidal Impoundments recently approved by the U.S. Corps of Engineers.
benefitted.
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ACE BASIN EASEMENTS 2009-2013
Conservation Sites as of 06/07/13
Public Sites
ACRES
Wildlife Management Areas
26,171
Bear Island, Donnelley, Botany Bay Plantation, Edisto River
ACE Basin National Wildlife Refuge
Edisto Unit, Combahee Unit
11,939
ACE Basin National Estuarine Reserve
25,724
Edisto Beach State Park
Hunting Island State Park 1,255
5,000
Sub-total70,089
Private Sites
Conservation Easements (145)
114,423
Deed Restrictions 33
Organization Ownership
Nemours Plantation Wildlife Foundation, Bailey Island 10,548
Management Agreements Meadwestvaco Other (Slann Island) 1,262
Sub-total 139,341
TOTAL
13,076
209,430
Tract
Acreage Hermitage 1087
Little Cypress 476
The Swamp
418
O.D. Clarke Estate, Four Holes Swamp
300 Connelly Tract, Colleton County
150
Dry Swamp Farm, Edisto River 64 Frogmore Plantation, Edisto Island
46
Paul and Dalton Plantation Amendment 44 Oregon Plantation, Green Pond 999
Baughman-Halsey Property, Four Holes Swamp
166
Kinlaw Tract, Edisto Island 142
Talley Tract, Beaufort County
163
Bellfield Plantation 34
Belser Sunnyside Plantation 63
Thompson Sunnyside Plantation 88
Sasser Sunnyside Plantation 83
Rice Sunnyside Plantation
55
Pinkney Mikell Peters Point Plantation
184
Hastings Governors Bluff 140
Britton Family Property 48
Newton Frogmore Property
149
Sand Creek Farms 217
Coosaw
1500
Winfield120
Ravenwood III
501
Ravenwood IV
1159 The Farm 34
Poco Sabo Plantation
1651 Platt Farm 98
Rooty Hill
199
Indigo Flats
279
Pringle Tract
478
Rhodes Tract
1042
Ashe Point
124
SOUTH CAROLINA CHAPTER
The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources prohibits
discrimination on the basis of race, color, gender, national origin,
disability, religion or age. Direct all inquiries to the Office of
Human Resources, P.O. Box 167, Columbia, S.C. 29202.
N EM O UR S
WILDLIFE FOUNDATION
13-8639
S.C. Department of Natural Resources
Alvin Taylor, Director
ACE Basin Project Coordinators
Dean Harrigal, Division of Wildlife and
Freshwater Fisheries
Phil Maier, Marine Resources Division
Editors
Dean Harrigal, and Amanda Stroud
Funding provided by the
ACE Basin National Estuarine
Research Reserve.
Total Cost -
$453.00
Cost per Copy - $0.55
Total Copies - 250
Printed On Recycled Paper
8
ACE Basin NEWS
South Carolina Department of Natural Resources
585 Donnelley Drive
Green Pond, S.C. 29446