Check out our 2017 Year in Review video! Thank you to all of our donors and sponsors who make our education and conservation programs possible! SCWF’s mission is to conserve and restore South Carolina’s wildlife and wildlife habitat through education and advocacy. Please consider making a donation and helping us to continue, and to expand, these programs in 2018! Donate online through our secure giving portal here.
Month: December 2017
2017 Successes & Looking Toward 2018
Your tax-deductible gift today will give us an important boost as we look to make 2018 the best year in our history!
As we leave 2017, our hope for 2018 is that we can continue to grow more effective in boldly representing ALL outdoor
enthusiasts. We have been working hard to plan for the new year, and those plans center around reaching new members of
all types of backgrounds. We are working on debuting new events to bring supporters together, strengthening our forces
and making us unstoppable in the fight for conservation and advocacy.
2017 was a very successful year for SCWF – we expanded our outreach programs, and added popular and exciting new events.
We reached nearly 7,000 people this year through classes, presentations, exhibit tables, and special events. We are
already planning even more exciting programs for 2018!
As a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, we rely on individual donors for a substantial portion of our operating budget.
Although we are affiliated with the National Wildlife Federation, all funds raised stay in South Carolina.
We need your support today as we begin to make plans for 2018!
Please click here to donate online today!
The mission of the SCWF is to conserve and restore South Carolina’s wildlife and wildlife habitat through education
and advocacy.
Conservation & Education Program Successes of 2017:
Certified Wildlife Habitats
– Hundreds of new backyard habitats have been certified statewide at homes, schools,
businesses and other places throughout the community which provide food, water, cover & places to raise young for
wildlife. SC is a leader in the nation in the number of certified sites per capita!
Junior Naturalist Program – Partnered with Camp
Discovery and the Midlands Master Naturalist Association to plan nature walks and activities for kids to learn more
about wildlife.
Longleaf Pine Restoration – Through our
landowner cost-share and technical assistance program, we have already aided in the enhancement or restoration of over
10,000 acres of longleaf pine. This program fosters sustainable forestry practices and re-establishes valuable habitat
for the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker, as well as important habitat for deer, turkey, and quail.
Midlands Master Naturalist – The Spring
2017 class filled quickly and twenty students completed 12 days of instruction. Our graduates have now joined the
Midlands Master Naturalist Association for continuing education & volunteer service. The Spring 2018 class has also
filled, and more quickly than ever!
Milkweed for Monarchs – Distributed
over 2,000 packets of milkweed seeds for gardeners to re-establish habitat for Monarchs through planting of this crucial
food source for the caterpillars.
Naturalist Training Classes – New one-day classes
were added to give folks a glimpse of the Master Naturalist experience. We also had certified Master Naturalists from
around the state who counted these hours for Advanced Training requirements.
Community Wildlife Habitats – Two new
communities are pursuing registration along with a handful of coastal communities already registered and/or certified.
Palmetto Pro Birder – Added two new instructors
– Tim Lee & Steve Patterson – who joined Dr. Drew Lanham in leading classes about bird identification all across the
state. Over 200 people have been trained to identify birds and participate in citizen science projects to gather data
for bird conservation programs.
Women’s Outdoor Retreat – Registration
filled super early again this year! 180 women registered in just under 1 week to participate in this annual weekend
event. We had 40 instructors who enthusiastically volunteered to come and share their passion and expertise.
Wildlife And Industry Together (WAIT) – Received
funding for 4 new WAIT sites during 2017, bringing our total to 33 certified industrial properties which provide quality
wildlife habitat, environmental education for employees, and outreach to their communities.
Advocacy Achievements in 2017:
Seismic blast exploration and offshore oil drilling – The
Trump Administration has put South Carolina and other South Atlantic states back on the chopping block, so our wildlife
and coastal way of life are again in jeopardy from seismic test blasting and offshore oil development. Along with
thousands of other South Carolinians, we will not rest until the southeast coast is declared off-limits to the oil and
gas industry – forever.
SC Conservation Bank – The Bank will expire in 2018 unless
we rally the troops and succeed with new legislation. The Bank has overwhelming public support, and we will remind
legislators of its merits in upcoming months.
Science-Based Conservation – We are continuing SCWF’s
legacy of insisting that science, not politics, remain at the forefront in decisions affecting our wildlife.
Clean and Abundant Water – Some of our most cherished
rivers and associated groundwater systems last summer saw large volume reductions. We will continue to insist that the
state legislature plug the loopholes in the current law that allow large agriculture withdrawals.
Public Lands – Lands owned by all of us and enjoyed by tens
of millions each year are under attack by misguided elected and unelected officials in DC. We are working with the
National Wildlife Federation and partners in-state to keep public lands in public hands and resist efforts to exploit
national forests, parks and monuments.
Your financial support is needed at this time to help us
continue these great successes and expand in 2018.
Please click here to
donate online today!
THANK YOU for your support!!
Vita/Troop 1126, Sara Green, Laurie Walden, Roberto R. Adam, and Michelle Fyles
The Mission of the South Carolina Wildlife Federation is to conserve and restore South Carolina’s wildlife and
wildlife habitat through education and advocacy. SCWF is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit citizens’ conservation organization
governed by an elected Board of Directors. Although affiliated with National Wildlife Federation, SCWF receives its
support directly through its donors. Funds raised are used in South Carolina.
Invest in our state’s future,
invest in SCWF .
From planned giving to annual support, we appreciate your generous tax-deductible donations. Please join us!
SCWF Goes to DC
SCWF board member Calvert Huffines of Walterboro (center) recently joined Audubon South Carolina‘s Matt Johnson (left) and Conservation Voters of South Carolina member Tom Erwin (right) in Washington DC. They met with Senator Lindsey Graham, and also with staff from the offices of Senator Tim Scott, Representative Mark Sanford, and Representative Jim Clyburn. Topics discussed included our opposition to drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and to selling of public lands for mining, and our support of full funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund. For more information on these and other issues, please visit our Advocacy Page here.
Offshore tests a risk for whales
BY STEVE GILBERT
In a recent Post and Courier article, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration expressed great concern about the recovery of the endangered right whale. There are only about 450 left and 17 of them have died so far in 2017. There are only 100 breeding females. The Northeast regional administrator for NOAA Fisheries stated: “You have to use the extinction word, because that’s where the trend lines say they are.”
Ironically, this concern for the survival of the species temporally coincides with an ongoing NOAA Protected Species Division process for issuing Incidental Harassment Authorizations (IHA) in association with seismic testing for oil and gas exploration in the mid-and south Atlantic for the “take” (harm) of right whales and other protected species under the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Endangered Species Act. Seismic permits require such an action before the Federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management can issue them.
Seismic testing uses powerful underwater air-gun blasts, the equivalent to igniting a stick of dynamite every 10-12 seconds. These sounds extend underwater for hundreds and even thousands of miles from the blast. Permit applications indicate that multiple companies would be conducting such surveys off our coast continuously for periods of up to a year covering over approximately 9,000 linear miles of ocean.
According to published studies, many marine organisms are highly dependent on sound for feeding, navigation, communication and reproduction. Research has shown that fish, invertebrates (like clams, scallops and shrimp) and marine mammals show both physical harm and behavioral-pattern alteration from seismic blasts. Recent research also shows seismic blasts have devastating effects on zooplankton, a critical link in the marine food web and the primary food for juvenile fish, like snapper and grouper, as well as for the North Atlantic right whale. The warmer Atlantic waters serve as breeding habitat for this species.
A great concern is that in their IHA analysis, NOAA routinely “buys down” impacts to marine mammals through mitigating actions like posting observers to spot whales and shut down seismic blasting while in their vicinity. These are not particularly effective safeguards as the operations also occur at night, in fog and/or rain when visibility is low, and the level of sound that may affect behavior or loss of communication (particularly relevant during spawning activities) occurs far beyond effective visual distances.
Additional concern for marine mammals, especially the endangered right whales along our coast has also been raised by a recent study on bowhead whales (a close relative of our right whales) which start behavioral responses at the 100dB noise level or 1 million times less than the threshold NOAA Fisheries is using in its IHA analysis. If thresholds were updated in their analysis, the areas of impact would show substantially larger numbers of whales impacted and non-negligible impacts. This would also have implications for the effectiveness of mitigation measures, as behavioral response levels would occur at greater distances from the source with significantly less chance of marine mammal visual observation.
It is also critical that NOAA Fisheries include a cumulative impact analysis in the IHA and not just review each company’s IHA request in isolation. In total, surveys would result in 906 days of round-the-clock seismic activity within a one-year period over the same geographic area.
Inevitably marine mammals in the proposed survey area will at times be exposed to multiple air-gun activities at once and will probably experience some air-gun activity most days of the year. These multiple activities will expose marine mammals to chronic noise that will cause cumulative impacts on individuals and stocks in the area.
How can an agency charged with the protection of our marine resources and recovery of endangered sea turtles and whales issue take permits for imperiled species when they recognize they are close to extinction?
We can only hope they do the right thing for the species. Unfortunately, it is unlikely they will do the right thing in an administration under the thumb of the oil and gas industry. It is the people of South Carolina, along with our neighbors to the north and south, who are now responsible for saving this majestic creature by speaking out against oil and gas exploration by seismic blasting.
Steve Gilbert, a fish and wildlife biologist, is special projects manager for the South Carolina Wildlife Federation.
2017 Photo Contest Winners
Congratulations to these winners of our 2017 Photo Contest! We had great participation in the contest this year, click here to see ALL the entries. Our board & staff had a particularly difficult time choosing winners because there were so many fantastic entries! First place in each category wins $100. Click here for information on next year’s contest!
Scenes of South Carolina Category Winners:
1st: Photo by Joan Eckhardt
2nd: Photo by Laurie Walden
3rd: Photo by Bill Varney
Carolina Critters Category Winners:
1st: Photo by Don Wuori
2nd: Photo by Amanda Johnson
3rd: Photo by Jennifer Plunket
Backyard Habitat Category Winners:
1st: Photo by David Armstrong
2nd: Photo by Bill Varney
3rd: Photo by Donald Wuori
NWF Blasts Move to Shrink Monuments
NWF Blasts Move to Shrink Monuments as Attack on Americans’ Birthright
- Judith Kohler
- Dec 04, 2017
WASHINGTON, DC – The National Wildlife Federation condemned today’s announcement that the Trump administration intends to shrink and divide up two Utah national monuments as an attack on our public lands legacy that must not stand.
Collin O’Mara, the National Wildlife Federation’s CEO and president, said:
“The Trump administration’s attempt to remove conservation protections for the vast majority of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments is the largest single attack in history on our nation’s conservation heritage.
“For the past 80 years, the National Wildlife Federation has worked with presidents of both parties to conserve America’s treasured landscapes. No president has broken this bipartisan conservation covenant of building upon the conservation achievements of his predecessor— until today. The only other significant removal of protections occurred a century ago when President Woodrow Wilson sought to allow more timber harvest from Mount Olympus National Monument during World War I. Today’s action, far from being done for national security reasons, is intended to open more public lands to coal and uranium mining and oil and gas drilling at a time when roughly 14 million acres of land under oil and gas leases sit idle and coal leases are going for cents on the dollar.
“And while our Federation is deeply concerned about the impacts of today’s action on wildlife populations and outdoor recreational opportunities, the most galling aspect of the decision is the blatant disregard for the Native American tribes, who have worked for 80 years to protect thousands of years of critical cultural artifacts and sacred lands.
“The National Wildlife Federation stands resolute with our tribal partners and the overwhelming majority of Americans who are determined to fight what we believe is an illegal assault on our public lands heritage—and we will win.”
Celebrate Our Refuge Event
SCWF was elated to team up with Waccamaw River Blue Trail to host an event to honor the 20th anniversary of the Waccamaw National Wildlife Refuge to celebrate our #PublicLands on Friday, December 1st. Attendees of this free event enjoyed refreshments and a free kayaking tour. Thank you to Craig Sasser for opening up your beautiful refuge to us and for speaking at the event, Gator Bait Adventure Tours for the use of your kayaks and guiding the tour, and of course, thanks to the supporters who came out! #saveourrefuge
Online Art Auction Open
For the first time, SCWF is offering very rare “environmental” prints from Artist Jim Booth in an online auction. Bidding is open now and will continue until December 11th at 12 noon. 100% of the proceeds will benefit the wildlife education and conservation programs of the SCWF.
These 5 unframed prints up for auction are Artist Jim Booth signed and numbered limited edition and very rare “environmental” prints with gold seals and certificates of authenticity (signed & numbered prints limited to 95 copies). Sold out Jim Booth prints regularly appraise at over $1000.
OR, with any donation of $35 or more, you can choose a FREE unframed print from other artists in our “SCWF Print of the Year” collection! Click HERE to see the prints you get to choose from! Then donate through the button at the top of this email and our staff will contact you to choose your print.
Online Auction Bidding Instructions:
1. Click HERE to view the prints and their current bids.
2. Click the “Start Bidding” button to register as a bidder. You will need to enter a credit card number to begin bidding. If you are not the highest bidder, you will be charged nothing.
3. Enter your bid on the desired print. You will receive text messages each time you are outbid so you can follow the auction.
4. You may choose to enter a Maximum Bid – our system will continue bidding for you in $15 increments up until your maximum is reached. You will only pay $15 more than someone else’s highest bid (for example, if another person stops bidding at $100, and your maximum is $150, then you will only pay $115.)
Bidding Questions? Call our office at (803) 256-0670, Monday-Friday, 9am-4pm.
Print details: All 5 of these prints are unframed, and dimensions are 31.5″ x 19.5″.
Receiving your print: If you are the highest bidder, we will be happy to ship the print to you, or, you may pick it up between 9-5 Monday through Friday at our office (as we are a small staff who often travel to other parts of the state for education and advocacy purposes, please call the office before coming to pick up your print). You may also pick up the print on December 11th from 4:30-6:30 at our office during our Holiday Open House.
About the artist: Jim Booth, a self-taught artist, has become widely known for his life-like realism. Jim reaches into the viewers’ minds and touches their positive and pleasing thoughts. A very prolific artist, he uses a wide range of themes to communicate with as many people as possible. His art recreates the history of Charleston’s lowcountry. With works that span the millennium, Jim paints scenes of the Civil War, antebellum Charleston, the early 1900’s and into the present with the Citadel, Hurricane Hugo, and the Morris Island Lighthouse. Jim’s exquisite details are a time machine that guides his guest through Charleston’s heritage.