WAIT Program Data Collection Project

July 31, 2026

Collecting data is critical in wildlife conservation, so in 2024 SCWF started taking inventories of the flora and fauna at many of our WAIT partner’s properties. Though we’re at the beginning stages of this data collection project, we have recorded some very interesting plants and animals from partners in the coastal plain to the foothills of SC.

Healthy populations of prothonotary warblers, a neo-tropical bird in decline, have been recorded on properties with adequate wetland habitat, though the installation of nest boxes will have the potential to increase their population at these sites. While larger animals such as alligators, coyotes, bobcats, and of course, white-tailed deer, have been recorded at numerous sites, insects, frogs, reptiles, and shorebirds, like the pectoral and Western sandpiper, have also been recorded.

Recording a loggerhead shrike, a bird that has declined by 75% in the past 50 years, actively feeding on a corporate property because of the habitat they have produced, is both uplifting and inspiring. Some of the interesting plants recorded include; combleaf yellow false foxglove, fringed bluestar, carolina ipecac, and numerous native trees and shrubs.

These plants help the property’s insect population, which in turn help support a diverse wildlife population on site. Though you can’t have industry without some habitat loss, the WAIT program helps industries enhance a portion of the remaining habitat on the property so it can help wildlife remain, and in some cases, return to the property to live out their lives and reproduce. Thank you to all of the partners that have allowed us to take inventories on your properties. We look forward to completing more of these this fall and throughout 2027!

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