Nature lovers gathered at the Hopelands Gardens guest cottage on Friday morning for a lecture on identifying birds by their sounds. The event, part of an educational series organized by the Friends of Hopelands and Rye Patch, featured speaker Jay Keck, industry habitat manager for the South Carolina Wildlife Federation.
“There’s a language of birds, and they’ll tell you a lot,” said Keck about the benefits of learning to recognize bird calls. “When you hear certain birds, it can tell you things about the landscape.” Keck’s lecture emphasized birds that are in decline and what people can do to help them thrive.
“There’s a language of birds, and they’ll tell you a lot,” said Keck about the benefits of learning to recognize bird calls. “When you hear certain birds, it can tell you things about the landscape.” Keck’s lecture emphasized birds that are in decline and what people can do to help them thrive.
According to Keck, getting people interested in nature and encouraging them to help preserve it is the ultimate aim of SCWF. “One of our biggest goals is just to kind of connect people to our planet because if they’re connected, they’ll care about it. Which makes them automatically conservationists,” he said.
So how can we help the birds? According to Keck, it’s important to plant and preserve native plants, which have natural chemicals that attract necessary insects. This then attracts birds, reptiles and amphibians, creating healthy environments for them. “More and more nurseries are actually selling [native plants] because folks are starting to get it. Even big box stores like Lowe’s and Home Depot are starting to sprinkle in some native plants,” he said.
The Friends of Hopelands and Rye Patch will host two more presentations on July 14 and 28. Both will feature Keck and will conclude the group’s educational events for the summer season.
The July 14 event will discuss ways to attract caterpillars, butterflies, moths and birds to your yard.
The July 28 presentation will provide tips on how to garden with native plants and for create habitats that benefit wildlife.
SCWF Note: This is a terrific article about an amazing SC species, the threats that it faces, and legislation that could help to save it. SCWF is involved in a lawsuit to protect the ephemeral ponds on the Cainhoy peninsula mentioned in this article as “being actively destroyed…this year” – these wetlands are critical for the survival of this species, and many others. SCWF is also actively pushing for the passage of the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act mentioned in this article, and we applaud Senator Graham for being a co-sponsor!
Article by Clare Fieseler cfieseler@postandcourier.com
Published at: https://www.postandcourier.com/environment/with-growing-subdivisions-and-drought-is-it-too-late-to-recover-the-goldilocks-frog/article_aff42fc8-0627-11ee-8f13-57539b227266.html
Ben Morrison, with the Amphibian and Reptile Conservancy, and James Henne, project leader at the Bears Bluff National Fish Hatchery, release gopher frogs into the Francis Marion Forest on June 1, 2023. Grace Beahm Alford/Staff
Grace Beahm Alford gbeahm@postandcourier.com
BERKELEY COUNTY – Beyond a locked gate and an old logging road lies Sunset Pond – an ephemeral oasis known to South Carolina scientists as the last stronghold of the Carolina gopher frog.
The name “Sunset Pond” doesn’t appear on maps. In this southern stretch of the 259,000-acre Francis Marion National Forest, surprisingly close to Charleston’s growing sprawl, subdivisions and drought are already threatening the frog’s survival. No need to add passersby to the mix.
The pond’s secret location has helped it grow into a giant conservation experiment. Listening devices, orange flags, underground tubes and the scars of targeted fire management dot the landscape.
To stabilize the gopher frogs’ numbers, a husband-and-wife team of conservation specialists – working closely with state and federal scientists – have been mapping and preparing the area for the release of almost 700 captive-reared froglets back into the national forest.
The goal here is to find out if early intervention can stop the gopher frog’s population decline before the species winds up on the list of federally endangered species. Nationwide, less than 10,000 Carolina gopher frogs remain and, according to Andrew Grosse, the S.C. Department of Natural Resource’s state herpetologist, “populations in South Carolina have declined dramatically.”
On June 1, the couple – Ben Morrison and Sydney Sheedy – arrived at Sunset Pond with a federal employee who carried a cooler full of 30 food cups with lids tightly attached. Each container contained a speckled froglet, maybe the size of a wet bar of soap. Some were sage green, others were dark olive. Most had just lost their tadpole tails, and a few had vestige tails attached.
“Where do you want to start?” Morrison said, with a heavy sigh. He’d already released 500 froglets at this location over the past month and each needed to be carefully placed, by hand, next to pre-identified burrows in the ground that gopher frogs need for safety and survival.
This work is both time-consuming and a long time coming.
Seven months ago, Morrison and Sheedy had collected these same critters from the waters of Sunset Pond when they were just eggs. Once brought to the federally run Bears Bluff National Fish Hatchery on Wadmalaw Island, tadpoles later emerged and then slowly metamorphosed under the care of James Henne, the hatchery’s project leader.
The Endangered Species Act, which turned 50 this year, has been effective at preventing extinctions but quite ineffective at actually recovering species to healthy populations. Listed species get trapped at numbers that are perilously small and genetically defunct.
Carolina gopher frogs are an ideal species to keep out of this trap by getting ahead of the ball, intervening with this so-called “head start” program now while there are still a few robust breeding ponds remaining.
It’s an approach known as proactive conservation. Some think it’s the future of U.S. conservation. Others doubt whether it can overcome a warming, increasingly crowded America.
Not endangered, yet
Carolina gopher frogs are listed as endangered under S.C. state law but under federal law they are a “species at-risk.” That designation means that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is still reviewing its case for federal endangered species status.
Currently, there are over 1,300 species listed as threatened or endangered under U.S. law. But less than 60 of them have been removed for making a full recovery.
In other words, species typically land on the endangered species list when it’s too late for them to recover. Their numbers are so low when finally given protections that conservation measures become expensive and extreme. The petition process can drag on, taking three years or often longer. Between 2000 and 2009, the average wait time was 10 years.
The too-little, too-late pattern in the Endangered Species Act system was first uncovered by scientists in 1993. According to a study published by some of the same scientists last year, nothing’s really changed.
Here’s another problem: Some endangered listing or delisting decisions are swayed by political interests – instead of science, as the law requires. The Post and Courier has previously covered such instances in the cases of the dwarf-flowered heartleaf and the northern long-eared bat.
A promising new bipartisan U.S. bill called the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act, or RAWA, was built to address some of the endangered species law’s shortcomings, including a heavy focus on proactive conservation.
It would invest $1.4 billion annually into proactive conservation for wildlife in decline, species that are officially listed but also many that are not, like the Carolina gopher frog. The Bears Bluff hatchery and the three other Fish and Wildlife hatcheries currently experimenting with gopher frog head-start programs, in the Carolinas and Georgia, would stand to benefit from RAWA.
A large chunk of the money from RAWA would go directly to state agencies, like the S.C. Department of Natural Resources, which often partners with conservation nonprofits. These partnerships have proven key.
Morrison and Sheedy work for the nonprofit Amphibian and Reptile Conservancy, which partners with both DNR and the federal agencies. DNR also partners with the Riverbanks Zoo and Garden to run a similar, albeit smaller, head-start program for gopher frogs in the state capital of Columbia.
The RAWA bill failed to pass the U.S. Senate last year. In 2023, wildlife advocates get another shot at pushing it through. South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham has already signed onto the 2023 version of the bill. Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., has not.
Even if RAWA passes at the federal level, local development could still work against the frog and its shot at recovery. In the city government offices of Charleston, which permits development for land where frog-breeding ponds still exist, the species isn’t on the radar.
‘Goldilocks’ frogs and subdivisions
“They’re kind of a Goldilocks frog,” said Morrison while releasing a froglet next to a half-filled Sunset Pond ringed with blue flag irises. “They only really like a specific type of habitat.” In simple terms, like the girl in the fairy tale they want the bed that’s just right.
Ephemeral ponds in longleaf pine habitats are about as specific as you get. The frogs depend on these ponds for breeding, which brim with rainwater only seasonally before the waters disappear, almost magically, in the summer heat.
But entire pond habitats are at risk of disappearing under a pile of bulldozed fill. Ephemeral ponds are being actively destroyed on the Cainhoy Peninsula this year.
Henne, the hatchery leader, said he reared frogs this year that were part of a “rescue effort” from a pond, located just outside the borders of the Francis Marion National Forest, that will be the future site of Point Hope townhomes.
The new 45,000-occupant development will be the size of a small city. The mixed-use development once called Cainhoy Plantation, now Point Hope, sits on 9,000 acres of currently undeveloped timber and forest land in the city of Charleston in Berkeley County. The developers received federal permits last spring from the Army Corps of Engineers to destroy nearly 200 acres of wetlands, which are protected under the Clean Water Act.
Under current interpretations of the Clean Water Act, their isolation from other waterways under the law puts them in danger of becoming subdivisions.
U.S. Supreme Court cases in recent years have called into question the Clean Water Act’s jurisdiction over so-called “isolated waters,” such as ephemeral ponds.
Under a recent Supreme Court case, those waters are still in a legal gray area over whether they are protected. Federal agencies have been slow to give guidance on how to treat these ponds, leaving developers free to move ahead in the meantime.
“This is just another example of all the harm of this proposed Cainhoy development. It could destroy imperiled species in the South Carolina Lowcounty,” said Chris DeScherer, an attorney for the Southern Environmental Law Center.
And because the frog is not listed as endangered, its habitat – mainly the ponds and connected forest patches around them – don’t receive protections under the Endangered Species Act. The city of Charleston says it’s not accountable for either.
“Environmental and wildlife issues are outside the purview of the city’s site-review process. Those matters are handled by subject-area experts at the appropriate federal and state agencies prior to the issuance of relevant city permits,” said a spokesman for the city of Charleston, which in 2014, approved the rezoning of the Cainhoy Peninsula, enabling up to 18,000 homes to be built there.
Because ephemeral ponds are not fed by creeks or streams, they usually dry up in the heat of summer and don’t support the fish that might otherwise eat the frog eggs and tadpoles. Without fish, ephemeral ponds are perfect gopher frog nurseries.
Ponds that remain full year-round, like the ones created for townhome developments and golf courses, actually displace gopher frogs – they don’t support them.
Henne reared the eggs rescued from Cainhoy Peninsula bulldozers on Wadmalaw Island. Once they metamorphosed, Grosse and other biologists from DNR released them in an undisclosed ephemeral pond on protected land.
“Due to the sensitive nature of this state endangered species, we have made an effort not to disclose sensitive location information of our release site,” Grosse said.
But, wherever it is, the frogs’ new pond home is not safe from the extreme droughts in South Carolina’s future.
Drought and doom
“Because of development, there are fewer ponds,” said Brian Crawford, a herpetologist who assessed the future viability of gopher frog populations for his postdoctoral work. “But the other big problem is climate change.”
Of the 10,000 Carolina gopher frogs that remain, all of them are within the rapidly warming and drought-stricken Southeast region. But, as Crawford and his colleagues concluded in a 2022 publication, the future intensity and frequency of droughts is still uncertain.
If the next 30 years looked like the last 30 years, with about four years of drought per decade, then there is good news for gopher frogs: They have an 89 percent chance of avoiding extinction.
If things get drier, as government agencies predict, things look more bleak. Under a future of more frequent droughts, the likelihood that the species survives drops to 70 percent across their Southeastern range. That also increases the likelihood of local extinction in certain states. In other words, the gopher frog could disappear completely from states like North and South Carolina.
Notably, Crawford’s model projections only considered future drought and didn’t factor in whether future development might further push these numbers towards extinction.
Crawford, now a scientist at the consultancy firm Compass Resource Management, said that drought is already affecting the quality of ponds as breeding ground. Instead of yearly breeding, he’s seen more sparse breeding over time, perhaps as some ponds fail to fill up in the winter or dry up too quickly in the spring.
Sheedy, the conservation specialist, said she’s seen this phenomena, too, confirming “There is one pond that we found recently that historically supported gopher frogs, but that pond is just barely hanging in there. It has egg masses but they aren’t doing great.”
For now, Francis Marion National Forest still has at least three populations, or clusters, of gopher frogs that still breed almost yearly across seven ephemeral ponds. Not being able to control the climate nor encroaching development, scientists are focusing their efforts here.
If successful, this year’s release of 700 frogs would be almost triple the number of frogs as 2019, when the “head-start” program started, as an experiment, by scientists who didn’t want to wait.
Published at: https://www.postandcourier.com/environment/with-growing-subdivisions-and-drought-is-it-too-late-to-recover-the-goldilocks-frog/article_aff42fc8-0627-11ee-8f13-57539b227266.html
Three split-rail fence gardens, full of native wildflower pollinators, have been installed at the Richland Library Ballentine.
Thanks to grant funding from the Richland County Conservation Commission (RCCC), SCWF staff worked with Richland Library Ballentine staff and community volunteers to create native wildflower pollinator gardens in the “grass island” of their parking lot. The gardens are already attracting pollinators as well as frogs, toads, and lizards, that have been seen foraging around the flowers and finding shelter in the vegetation and mulch.
Ballentine library is a popular year-round destination and is visited by hundreds of thousands of residents each year. Library staff, including Branch Manager Kelly Jones, have been highly supportive of conservation projects on their property. Last year, thanks to another RCCC grant, SCWF staff installed a CollidEscape window film that prevents bird strikes and is transparent from indoors. This year’s pollinator garden project will provide much needed food, in the form of insects, for many of the same birds that are being protected on the library’s property!
Planting was on Earth Day as part of the library’s celebration
This project went smoothly thanks to the volunteers who helped install three split-rail fence gardens at the front of the library within the island separating the two parking areas. Each garden contains native plants that will flower during the spring, summer, and early fall months, which will help pollinators throughout the year. Interpretive nature signs were installed next to each garden to educate the thousands of visitors exploring the property. The gardens will play an active role in supporting wildlife and educating local citizens on how to garden for wildlife, fulfilling two missions of the SC Wildlife Federation: conservation and education! If you haven’t seen the gardens yet, please visit Ballentine Library to see what you can find amongst the flowers!
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Endangered Species Act! Join us as we highlight species throughout the year that have benefited from this landmark legislation.
Once an abundant pollinator in South Carolina, the rusty patched bumble bee was listed as a federally endangered species in 2017. As a social species, the queen bees are the only members of the colony to survive the winter, and they rely on flowers for food once they emerge in early spring. Check out the ways you can help not only bumble bees, but all pollinators:
Grow a mix of native flowers, shrubs, and trees that bloom throughout the year to sustain pollinators throughout the season
Skip mowing when dandelions are blooming – these are an important source of nourishment in early spring
Leave the leaves for overwintering insects – avoid raking, pile the leaves at the edge of your garden or add to a compost pile
Eliminate the use of pesticides and herbicides, which can harm pollinators and destroy their food source
Linda Suber stands at the entrance to Kaleidoscope, her pollinator garden.
National Pollinator Week June 19-25 is an annual celebration designed to raise awareness of the importance of pollinators and what we can do to protect them. Linda Suber has been celebrating bees, butterflies, flies, wasps, and hummingbirds in her Shandon garden for 15 years by planning and planting pollinator picnics. Menus vary by season and by pollinator preference. The caterpillar café menu grows dill, fennel, and parsley to host black swallowtail caterpillars; snapdragons for buckeyes; violets and pansies for variegated fritillary; and native milkweeds for monarch caterpillars. The nectar café menu includes annuals, biennials, and perennials including balloon flower, beardtongue, canna, clover, coneflowers, coreopsis, cosmos, cuphea, daylilies, hibiscus, hydrangeas, Joe Pye weed, lantana, marigold, pentas, phlox, spiderwort, vitex, and zinnia. Hummingbirds imbibe at bee balm, red bottlebrush, cleome, columbine, Mexican petunias, salvias, and red shrimp plant. Most plants are purchased from Gardener’s Outpost in Columbia and Joyful Butterfly in Blackstock, S.C.
How is urban soil amended? Linda and husband, Von, compost underground in holes using a Dig and Drop method. Von digs a hole 15 inches deep to bury kitchen food scraps. He replaces the soil and is done. The organic matter decomposes underground and the resulting compost enriches the soil and offers nutrients to plants. Grass clippings and dry deciduous leaves are used as mulch year round to control soil temperature and moisture, smother weeds, add nutrients, invite earthworms, and prevent erosion.
Many plants are in portable containers or on caddies with wheels.
Container plant pots are filled with Miracle Gro potting soil and top-dressed with Stout Ollie compost. Linda uses Fox Farm Tiger Bloom fertilizer with earthworm castings for containers. Rain barrels, hoses, drip line, and underground sprinkler system are used to get water to all areas of the sun-filled garden.
Since pesticides poison pollinators and can cause subtle changes in reproduction, navigation, and memory of bees and other beneficial insects and herbicides destroy pollinator food sources, Suber uses no pesticides or herbicides and advises others to do the same.
The garden is a bird sanctuary for 35 species to fly, feed, sing, and nest. The bird buffet includes millet, sunflower seed, suet, and mealworms. From an ecological perspective moth and butterfly caterpillars are an important protein and fat food source for birds, reptiles, amphibians, and small mammals. Fountains and birdbaths bring feathered friends to drink, bathe, and preen. Cheeky Charlie, a robin, was a longtime visitor.
When Suber’s grandson attended Rosewood Elementary, she invited his second grade class to the garden to observe monarchs in various stages of metamorphosis. Since the life cycle of butterflies is part of the second grade science curriculum, Rosewood second graders continue spring visitation observing the monarch life cycle in a screen cage and rotating among four stations— Pollinator Word Search, Sidewalk Chalk of Life Cycle, Scavenger Hunt, and Pollinator Bee Sticks.
The Suber garden was featured on Columbia Green’s 2023 Spring Festival of Gardens in April. Her garden, named Kaleidoscope, is registered with the Rosalynn Carter Butterfly Trail based in Plains, Ga., with Monarch Watch as a Monarch Waystation and with the S.C. Wildlife Federation as a Wildlife Habitat.
To participate in the citizen science Great Southeastern Pollinator Census August 18-19, register at ggapc.org
Banner Image Credit: Dinner on Deck by Natalie Chapman.
South Carolina Wildlife Federation’s Annual Wild Summer Nights Online Auction to Support Conservation and Education Programming Begins Thursday, July 13, 2023
The South Carolina Wildlife Federation (SCWF) is launching a three-day online auction to support the nonprofit’s conservation and education programs. The online auction features hunting & fishing trips, exclusive vacation packages, outdoor experiences and gear, wildlife art, specialty gifts, spa packages, and more. The – “Wild Summer Nights Online Auction” – goes live to the public on Thursday, July 13th at 9 am, and will conclude at 8 pm on Saturday July 15th.
Registration opens on June 30th. To register for the auction, please visit: SCWF2023.givesmart.com.
CWF’s mission to conserve and restore South Carolina’s wildlife and their habitat through education and advocacy has remained constant since our founding in 1931. We fulfill our mission through CARE-based activities; we Conserve, Advocate, Restore, and Educate. This auction is our largest annual fundraiser, and the proceeds support critical-needs conservation programs and innovative educational experiences and science-based initiatives that inform and inspire.
The Wild Summer Nights Online Auction format allows supporters to bid on items from anywhere. This event would not be possible without the support of our sponsors including: Deer Park, Abacus Financial Group, Inc.; AgSouth Farm Credit; BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina; BMW Manufacturing; Colgate-Palmolive; Duke Energy; Electric Cooperatives of South Carolina; Glen Raven Custom Fabrics; Longleaf Advisors; Lonza; Mark Anthony Brewing; Martin Marietta; Michelin; National Land Realty/Jim Taylor; National Wildlife Federation; OceanaGold; Palmetto Citizens Federal Credit Union, ReWa; Robinson Gray Stepp and Laffitte; Shaw Industries; Spartanburg Water; and Westinghouse.
To learn more about the South Carolina Wildlife Federation’s Wild Summer Nights Online Auction and upcoming in-person and online educational opportunities, visit www.scwf.org/events.
About the South Carolina Wildlife Federation:
One of the 52 state & territory affiliates of the National Wildlife Federation, the South Carolina Wildlife Federation (SCWF) is the oldest conservation organization in the state and prides itself on science-based wildlife conservation policy and high-quality education programs. SCWF’s mission is to conserve and restore South Carolina’s wildlife and wildlife habitat through education and advocacy.
SCWF Staff Jay Keck and Sara Green had the opportunity to visit with one of our partners in the Wildlife And Industry Together (WAIT) program recently and see the amazing work they’ve been doing for wildlife on their grounds! See below for an update from Christina LeGrand, Empowerment Partner at Michelin (Us5).
Michelin (US5) in Lexington held a teambuilding event to enhance their WAIT area. We had a birdhouse building contest, hung up additional feeders and bird houses on the grounds, planted more native flowers, added additional water sources, removed invasive plants, added outside seating and new signage. During the two day event, the teams worked beyond the WAIT area and picked up litter along the road and on site. Jay Keck visited the site to share ideas prior to the event and after came back with Sara Green to see the updated areas. We have enjoyed the time spent working together as a team at US5, and with SCWF, as we remain committed to the WAIT program.
Michelin US5’s WAIT Team and their plant manager pose for a photo with SCWF’s Jay Keck and Sara Green while showing off their newly planted Carolina Fence Garden.
Why WAIT?
SCWF Partners with conservation-minded businesses throughout the state who want to help wildlife thrive by enhancing their properties and providing educational opportunities for their employees and communities. Read more about the WAIT Program, and how to join here.
Alex Killman is a guest writer for SCWF sharing his experiences of connecting with nature, enjoying the outdoors, and advocating for conservation – all through hunting.
Busy. That’s the word that describes most Americans living in 2023, especially when you throw a family in the mix. Get up, get the kids fed and ready for school, head off to work minutes later, get home in time for dinner, put the kids to bed, watch a little Netflix, then rinse and repeat the next day. The exhaustion that comes from all that we do on a weekly basis can make it extremely difficult to find the time or energy to head off to the woods looking for deer on the weekends. But I’m here to tell you that summer scouting is one of the single most effective ways to have success in the fall. Without it, putting venison on the table is a roll of the dice for most folks. Unless you’re managing a property with preset stand locations, food plots, and limited hunting pressure, past intel may not help you fill a tag this year.
Why Summer Scouting?
Not everyone scouts post-season. Not everyone shed hunts during the spring. That’s ok. A solid foundation for a successful season can still be laid through summer scouting. The information you gather with boots on the ground is going to help you make informed decisions when determining when and where to set up, which will inevitably increase your odds of success. By observing warm-weather patterns, identifying food sources, and understanding how deer use the terrain you’ll be hunting, your confidence can be high with each sit because it will be based on evidence versus high hopes of tagging a nice buck. But you have to know what to look for.
Food, Water, Security, and Does
In a nutshell, scouting basically boils down to locating the things that influence deer movement. Food, water, security, and does – that’s basically it. All year round, food is king for both does and bucks except during the rut when bucks are more focused on chasing and breeding does than a full belly, which makes does another major influencer. And just like us, deer require hydration, so water is key. But perhaps the greatest influencer in deer behavior is security. Their need to stay hidden from predators is top priority for all deer, especially older age class bucks. That’s why hunting pressure negatively affects deer movement more than anything else.
White-tail deer by Lindsay Pettinicchi.
Locate Food
Food is a critical component of a deer’s daily routine and knowing where to find it can greatly improve your hunting success. Scout for preferred food sources such as agricultural fields, mast-producing trees – white oaks, particularly – and natural browse. Natural browse includes vegetation, such as greenbrier, honeysuckle, and ragweed. Pay attention to the abundance and quality of food as well, as it can influence deer movement and the size of their home range. Keep in mind that food sources may change throughout the summer as crops ripen and vegetation develops.
Where Are the Does?
Doe by Tina Schnell.
To increase your chances of encountering bucks during the rut, it’s crucial to locate doe groups during the summer. Does serve as magnets for bucks during the breeding season, so look for areas where does and fawns congregate, such as bedding areas and transition zones between feeding and bedding areas. Observing doe behavior and movement can provide valuable insight into potential buck activity during the pre-rut, rut, and possible second rut.
Thinking Through Tree Selection
Selecting the right tree for your stand is critical. Look for trees that provide adequate cover and concealment while offering a clear shooting lane to where you expect to have encounters. Consider the prevailing wind direction, and position your stand accordingly, to minimize your chances of being downwind of the dominant trails. Thermals should also play a large part in tree selection. If you’re not familiar with the term, just know that in the mornings as temps rise, the air rises with it. The process reverses in the evenings as temps cool. So, even if the forecast says that the wind should be blowing uphill from a creek bottom, during the evening, the air will actually be pulled down to the bottom as temps fall.
Entry and Exit
Planning your entry and exit routes carefully is essential to avoid bumping deer heading in andout of your hunting spots. Bumping deer while entering or exiting is one of the best ways to ruin a stand for the entire season. Learn to use topographical maps and aerial imagery to e-scout for potential routes that minimize your pressure and the scent trails that we all inevitably leave behind. The Spartan Forge app is a great tool for e-scouting.
Put The Pieces Together
Rack in the Grass by Bailey Slice.
My favorite locations to hunt are the ones that bring food, water, security, and does together all in one place. Swamps, marshes, and creek or river bottoms often check all the boxes. They provide deer with the browse they need to feed all day without having to leave the security of a location bordered by water with high vegetation that conceals them when bedded. They obviously have all the water they need as well, and with ample bedding opportunities among thick vegetation, you’ll often find lots of does, and during the rut, bucks as well. Of course, these are also great locations for bucks to use year-round. Summer is the ideal time to gather crucial information and lay the groundwork for a successful fall. Record everything you find when scouting in some type of journal. The paid version of the Spartan Forge app includes a journaling feature, but any type of journal will work. Just make sure to write it all down so you can build a strategy around your season that takes everything you find into account. And if possible, use cellular trail cameras. They’re an invaluable tool that helps you pattern movement without having to routinely go in, leaving your scent all over the woods you’re hoping to hunt. Investing time in the woods now will give you the necessary intel to tag one in every stage of the season. So, don’t wait and enjoy the time afield.
Thank you to The State, The Times and Democrat, The Island Packet, Spartanburg Index-Journal, Columbia Star, Island Eye News and KPVI News, for sharing our press release, and links are below for each article.
Contact: South Carolina Wildlife Federation – Director of Education, BeBe Dalton Harrison – mail@scwf.org
Do you have a fishing rod in your garage? Or maybe even a cane pole? If so, the South Carolina Wildlife Federation (SCWF) invites you to join our Plishing Challenge this summer! Plishing is a combination of the Swedish phrase “plocka upp”, meaning litter pick up, and fishing! Our Plishing Challenge is designed to keep the public engaged with fishing, and to help keep our waterways clean by using best fishing practices, picking up litter, and catching fish!
This conservation initiative is a great way to enjoy South Carolina’s aquatic resources, practice conservation, and win prizes. The challenge is designed to be simple and fun for all ages. Once registered, you can enter each fish you catch and each bag of litter you collect from our waterways. You do not have to weigh or measure any fish to participate, just snap a photo or video in the app and enjoy the outdoors. There is a different sponsor each month offering prizes including gift cards, apparel, and fishing gear.
Image Captions L to R: Plishing is fun for the whole family! Overall 2022 Plishing points leader Don Myers with an impressive Redfish.
At the end of the summer, there will be an overall winner for fish, an overall winner for litter collection, and a randomly selected winner, who will each receive a $500 gift card to Palmetto State Armory. In addition, Palmetto State Armory is covering the cost of the first 250 people to register for the challenge. Register early for the best chance at getting a free spot in the challenge!
Fishing and being on the water are great ways to spend time outdoors. Health benefits of fishing include boosting your immune system, relaxation, and lowering stress. Whether you like to fish solo, or take your whole family, SCWF’s Plishing Challenge is a great way to connect with your environment and appreciate our beautiful state.
In addition to Palmetto State Armory, our other amazing sponsors for the Plishing Challenge include Palmetto Pride, AFTCO, Local Boy Outfitters, the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, the South Carolina Boating and Fishing Alliance, and Angling Women. The event runs from June 1 through August 31 and has dedicated Facebook and Instagram pages, SCWF Plishing Challenge. For more information, visit www.scwf.org/plishing. Tight lines!
SCWF continuously works with state legislators and policymakers to protect precious wildlife habitats and ensure that sound scientific data is used to make decisions that affect wildlife. Below is an update on several issues and bills that we’ve been tracking this session. Our Government Relations Manager, Trip King, represents the SCWF, as well as our conservation partner, Audubon South Carolina (ASC) at the State House.
If you haven’t had a chance, please check out our new state advocacy page on our website here. This page is updated daily during the Session to help you stay informed on the latest status of the bills that SCWF is monitoring in the SC Legislature.
The South Carolina General Assembly adjourned promptly at 5:00 pm on Thursday May 11, 2023. Normally, the constitutionally mandated adjournment of the Legislature on the second Thursday in May is accompanied by a sine die resolution which stipulates what business the House and Senate can take up when they return, usually two weeks after adjournment, to accept and approve conference committee reports and consider vetoes issued by the Governor. This year, the Legislature did not pass a sine die resolution but instead returned to Columbia on Tuesday, May 16, upon the call of the Governor, an agreement that was worked out weeks ago between the Legislative leadership and the Governor. This is an unusual circumstance which was precipitated by a lingering abortion bill that was passed by the Senate but not taken up by the House during the regular session. Because the Legislature will be reconvening at the call of the Governor, the state constitution allows the House and Senate to take up any matters they wish including bills that were still pending when they adjourned at the constitutionally prescribed date and time.
Since neither chamber agreed with the other on a state budget, House and Senate conferees will also meet during the next several weeks to iron out the differences between the Senate and House versions of the state appropriations bill and, once they find agreement, a conference committee report will be presented to each chamber for a final vote on the state budget.
As of June 6, both the House and Senate have met (the House on May 16 and May 23; the Senate on May 16 and May 23) and have passed several bills that were carried over from the regular session which concluded May 11. While House and Senate negotiators on the Budget Conference Committee have also met several times since the regular session adjournment, as of this date, they have yet to reach a compromise on the state appropriations bill and it is unclear when they might find agreement. Both the House and the Senate passed a Continuing Resolution that would fund state government functions after July 1, the beginning on the state’s fiscal year, should conferees be unable to reach an agreement on the FY 2023-2024 spending bill and have it pass both chambers of the General Assembly by midnight June 30.
Conservation Funding in the State Budget
South Carolina Office of Resilience (SCOR) – SCWF supported SCOR’s budget request for $200M to be used for disaster relief, mitigation and statewide resilience planning and implementation because these measures protect and enhance critical wetland habitat for wildlife. The House version of the budget included this amount, but the Senate only included a placeholder amount of $1.00. House-Senate budget committee conferees must now agree on funding SCOR’s non-recurring budget request between the $1.00 and $200M mark.
SC Conservation Bank – The Bank’s baseline recurring annual budget was increased by both the House and the Senate to $12,094,515, a $3M increase from 2022. The House gave the Bank an additional $18M in non-recurring funds for their grants program while the Senate upped that amount to $25M. SCWF has advocated for $25M in the Senate version of the budget and we are hopeful the House-Senate budget conference committee report will reflect that higher amount. This agency is the single most important tool the state has to ensure South Carolina’s most iconic and precious natural resources are preserved and protected for future generations.
Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) – House and Senate appropriators were generous in supporting SCDNR’s budget request which included significant funding for deferred maintenance on our state’s fish hatcheries, maintenance for Marine Resources facilities, waterfowl impoundment infrastructure maintenance, state water planning initiative, and maintenance on public recreational properties. Additionally, for the second year in a row, the Legislature has agreed to provide $20M to DNR for habitat protection and unspecified land conservation acquisitions. SCWF supported the Department of Natural Resources overall budget request and advocated strongly for the additional funding for habitat protection and land conservation acquisitions.
Department of Park, Recreation and Tourism (PRT) – The House earmarked $25M for state parks development, upgrades, and maintenance while the Senate recommended only $11.75M for this line item in the budget. SCWF and many of our conservation partners support the higher spending level recommended by the House which will include some funding for the new Black River State Park being established on segments of the Black River between Kingstree and St. Andrews. This is an exciting new project that holds great promise for wildlife habitat and outdoor recreation.
SC Forestry Commission (SCFC) – For many years, SCWF has supported the budget requests of the SCFC. This agency does a tremendous job of managing our state’s forests and protecting our citizens and doing so with severely limited resources, aging equipment, and staff shortages. For the last several years, SCFC has made significant priority funding requests for staff recruitment and retention and for modernized firefighting equipment. SCWF has supported those requests and has advocated to House and Senate appropriators by letter and in-person with our support for these critically needed funds. The Senate version of the budget is more advantageous to SCFC and more in-line with their original request. SCWF supports the Senate budget recommendations pending before the House-Senate budget conference committee.
Some Priority Bills and Legislation of Interest to SCWF (not all inclusive)
S.280 and H.3786 (SC Conservation Enhancement Act) – Both S.280, and its House companion bill, H.3786 would re-instate the deed recording fee funding mechanism to the Conservation Bank that was the primary source of funding for the Bank from its inception in 2004 until its re-authorization in 2018 when this dedicated stream of funding was dropped in favor of an annual appropriation from the General Assembly. S.280 was introduced in the Senate by Senators Campsen and Davis on 1/10/23 and was referred to the Senate Finance Committee. H.3786 was introduced by Rep. Lowe, and others, in the House on 1/24/23 and was referred to the House Ways and Means Committee. The House bill received a favorable report by the Ways and Means Committee on March 30, and was placed on the House calendar. On March 4, the House voted 93 to 20 in favor of the bill and it was sent to the Senate where it was referred to the Senate Finance Committee. Unfortunately, despite much widespread support, Finance Committee Chairman Peeler never scheduled a subcommittee or full committee hearing on either version of the Conservation Enhancement Act before the end of the legislative session. Both bills remain in the Senate Finance Committee and will be carried over into the 2024 session.
Passage of the Conservation Enhancement Act was a priority for SCWF and the SC Conservation Coalition in 2023. Restoration of a portion of the deed stamp fee would have provided considerably more funding to the Bank than the current appropriations from the General Assembly. The additional funding that the deed stamp provides would give the Bank the ability to fund considerably more projects in the ensuing years. We are hopeful that one of these bills will be given a favorable hearing in early 2024 by the Senate Finance Committee and subsequently be approved by the Senate and, if needed, be sent back to the House for a second vote.
Image Credits from L to R: Pawleys Island by Carl Beard; Table Rock by Julie Wyatt; Hunting Island by Teresa Kopec.
H.3951 (Working Agricultural Lands Protection Act) – This legislation, introduced by Rep. Patrick Haddon from Greenville, would create the Working Agricultural Lands Preservation Program and Fund that would be housed within the SC Conservation Bank. The Program and Fund would be funded by a line-item appropriation separate from those annual funds appropriated to the Conservation Bank. The purpose of the Program and Fund is to facilitate the use of conservation easements on working farmlands to permanently protect farmland properties using a selection criterion slightly different from the criteria used by the Bank for its normal grants program.
H.3951 passed through the legislative process in the House and was approved by a vote of 104-2 on March 29th. The bill was sent to the Senate where it was referred to the Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee. Senator Campsen had an amendment attached to the bill during the committee process which basically included the language of S.280, the Conservation Enhancement Act to re-instate the deed stamp funding mechanism to the Conservation Bank. H.3951, as amended, passed out of the Committee, and was placed on the Senate calendar. Senator Peeler, Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, objected strongly to this effort to bypass the Senate Finance Committee where the House and Senate versions of the Conservation Enhancement Act had previously been referred. As a result of his objection, the Working Agricultural Lands Protection Act, as amended, was recommitted to the Senate Finance Committee where it remained when the Legislature adjourned.
SCWF and our legislative partner, Audubon South Carolina, along with Upstate Forever and the SC Farm Bureau strongly supported the original Working Agricultural Lands Protection Act as passed by the House and actively worked to shepherd the bill through the legislative process. Had the Conservation Enhancement Act language not been added to H.3951 as an amendment, the bill would have likely sailed through the Senate and would have become law this year. Our efforts to have the amendment stripped from the bill on Senate floor and the original farmland bill taken up by the Senate failed, so we will have to wait until the 2024 session to right the ship and get this important piece of legislation enacted into law.
H.3868 (Women in Hunting and Fishing Awareness Day) – This legislation introduced by Rep. Heather Bauer of Columbia designates the third Saturday in November as Women in Hunting and Fishing Awareness Day. The bill passed both legislative chambers overwhelmingly and SCWF Executive Director Sara Green testified in support of the bill in both the House and Senate committees of jurisdiction. The bill was signed by the Governor on May 16.
S.96 (Boater Safety and Training Legislation) – This legislation sponsored by Sen. Campsen, Davis and McElveen states that anyone born on or after July 1, 2007 must successfully complete a boater safety training program and be in possession of a boater safety certificate in order to operate a vessel powered by an engine of ten horsepower or greater or equivalent to ten horsepower or greater. The bill passed the Senate and was amended in the House. The Senate amended the bill again by stripping out some of the House amendments and sent it back to the House. The House non-concurred in the Senate amendments thus creating a conference committee to iron out the difference between the two versions. The conferees issued a compromise Conference Report which was agreed to by the Senate by a vote of 43-0 but approval was held up in the House on May 11, the last day of session. After much debate in an extended session, the House finally passed the Conference Report by a 97-7 vote when they returned to the Capitol on June 7. The bill will now go to the Governor for his signature and become state law.
Image Credit: Venus Flytrap in Horry County, SC by Austin Jenkins.
S.581 (A Bill to Name the Venus Flytrap as the Official State Carnivorous Plant of the State) This bill passed both the House and the Senate and was signed into law by the Governor on May 8. The bill would bring awareness to the Venus flytrap which is federally designated as an At-Risk Species and the State of South Carolina is just one of two places in the world where the Venus flytrap naturally occurs. SCWF Executive Director Sara Green testified in support of this bill before House and Senate legislative Committees. You can read her remarks here.
H.3121 (Trails Bill) – This bill states that a taxpayer who encumbers his property with a perpetual recreational trail easement and right of way is allowed a one-time income tax credit equal to ten cents for each square foot of the property that is encumbered by the recreational trail easement. If passed, this legislation would help facilitate the continuation of public trails from publicly owned lands through privately owned property. Late in the session, this legislation passed the House and was sent to the Senate where it was referred to the Senate Finance Committee. This exact same bill passed the House overwhelmingly in 2022, but time ran out before the Senate could consider it. Since 2022 was the end of a two-year legislative session, the bill needed to be re-introduced in 2023 and will be consider by the Senate in 2024.
S.281 (SC Public Lands Enhancement Act) – This legislation would capture an amount equal to the annual general fund portion of sales tax revenue derived from sporting goods stores, designated under the 2007 North American Industry Classification System with code 451110, and credit that amount to the Public Lands Enhancement Fund (created by the bill). Funds derived from these sales tax proceeds would be used to create, improve, or restore access to public lands and waters, facilities, natural resources including fish and wildlife populations, or recreational opportunities on parks, forests, wildlife management areas, and heritage preserves that are owned, leased, or managed for public use by an agency of this State. The Bill was sponsored by Sen. Campsen and introduced in the Senate on January 10th where it was referred to the Senate Finance Committee. No further action taken in 2023. Hopefully, this legislation will advance in the 2024 session.
Sunday Hunting on WMAs – The SC Department of Natural Resources promulgated regulations that would allow for Sunday hunting on selected Wildlife Management Areas around the state that are owned or leased by the Department. Committees of jurisdiction in the House and Senate approved these new regulations and they became effective May 26, 2023. Since Sunday hunting was not recommended nor approved for all WMA’s, hunters should check with SCDNR to determine which WMA’s are affected and which are not by the new regulations.
Endangered Pine Barrens Treefrog, photo by Nathan Shepard
H.4047 (Endangered Species Disclosure Prohibition) – This legislation authored and introduced by Rep. Ott states that the Department of Natural Resources may not release records in its possession that contain site-specific information, including but not limited to, unique numeric identifiers of precise geographic locations, telemetry, or other locational data, regarding the occurrence of federal- or state-listed rare, threatened, species in need of management, endangered, or otherwise imperiled plant and animal species on public or private property, except in support of scientific, conservation, or educational purposes. The owner or owners of private property upon which threatened, endangered, or at-risk species occur shall be entitled to records specific to said property upon the request to the department. The bill passed the House on a vote of 97-0 on May 3 and was sent to the Senate where it was referred to the Senate Fish, Game and Forestry Committee. The bill will receive Senate consideration in the 2024 session. SCWF favored this legislation and Sara Green testified in support of the bill before the House Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environmental Affairs Committee prior to the bill’s passage in the House.
S.484 (SC Waterways Protection Act) – Legislation would create the South Carolina Waterways Protection Fund. Funds would be expended from the trust account primarily for the removal of hazardous, abandoned, or unattended vessels, marine debris, or hazards to navigation from the waters of this State. This bill passed the Senate 41-1 and was sent to the House and referred to the House Ways and Means Committee. It will be taken up by the House in the 2024 session.
