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.
The Bald eagle is not only a national symbol of the United States, but also represents one of the greatest success stories of the Endangered Species Act. Bald eagle populations have increased from just 417 breeding pairs in 1963 to over 71,400 pairs documented in 2019. Their success can be attributed to this important law that established greater habitat protection, banned the use of a harmful chemical in insecticide known as DDT, and established conservation actions through captive breeding programs, reintroduction efforts, and nest monitoring programs. In fact, Bald eagles can be seen nesting this time of year in South Carolina!
This past week, SCWF staff worked with residents in the Keowee Key community to install nesting boxes for Wood Ducks and Eastern Screech-Owls as part of SCWF’s Upstate Nest Box Program.
Through this program, which is a partnership with Duke Energy, our staff and volunteers will install 40 nesting boxes for each species prior to the start of the 2023 nesting season. This is a collaborative project which aims to engage the community in long-term and sustained conservation actions. Read more about the project here.
Did you know it’s important to clean out bird boxes so Eastern Bluebirds and other cavity nesters, like the Carolina Chickadee and Tufted Titmouse, will return the following year to build a new nest?
On Tuesday, January 17, SCWF staff members, Jay Keck, Angi Fuller Wildt, and Bev Roberts, were joined by 9 volunteers as well as a group of home school kids, who cleaned out and collected data from over 30 bird boxes at Camp Discovery in Blythewood, SC.
Camp Discovery’s mission is engaging and inspiring through discovery in science and nature. This 116-acre outdoor learning environment is a perfect home for Eastern bluebirds, woodpeckers, and other cavity nesters!
SCWF’s volunteers removed old nests from last year to make space for the creation of new nests for this year’s breeding season. In addition to cleaning out dormant wasp nests and other debris, volunteers determined which boxes needed to be replaced. They also collected data about the contents of each box, which will be used to help educate the hundreds of students that will visit Camp Discovery in 2023.
SCWF Industry Habitat Manager Jay Keck shows students a nest removed from one of the nesting boxes.
If you would like a bluebird box for your yard, they are available to purchase in SCWF’s office.
A Forest Service employee holds an endangered red-cockaded woodpecker. Builders of the Cainhoy Plantations development were issued an “incidental take” permit to kill eleven family clusters, approximately 100 individuals, of this species to construct 18,000 new homes. File/Chuck Hess/U.S. Forest Service.
This week marks 49 years since President Richard Nixon signed the Endangered Species Act. He made the poster child for the law the bald eagle. But among the 160 lesser-known species that became America’s first federally protected endangered species was the red-cockaded woodpecker, a bird once common in South Carolina.
In 1973 when Nixon signed the act, there were about 10,000 such woodpeckers and fewer than 1,000 bald eagles left in the Lower 48 states. After nearly a half-century of protection, both the eagles and woodpeckers have made a comeback. But where bald eagles have beneftted from 20th century pollution regulation and have adapted to living on the edges of human development, red-cockaded woodpeckers continue to struggle against modern threats.
A massive 9,000-acre development planned for the Cainhoy peninsula, wedged between Daniel Island and the Francis Marion National Forest, is ground zero for the threats that the species faces: development, climate change and politics.
The city-sized mixed-use development once called Cainhoy Plantation, now Point Hope, received federal permits last spring from the Army Corps of Engineers to destroy over 200 acres of wetland. The permit also allows the “take” — which includes displacement and likely death — of over 100 red-cockaded woodpeckers.
Environmental groups have been voicing concerns about the destructive nature of the development plan, which is in the city of Charleston and Berkeley County. In August, four groups filed a lawsuit in Charleston’s District Court claiming that the plan violates the Clean Water Act and the Endangered Species Act, while ignoring better alternatives.
“There are development alternatives we presented, but they didn’t express interest,” said Chris DeScherer, an attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center’s Charleston office. He said the groups are not against development in the region. In consultation with the planning firm Dover, Kohl and Partners, they found development alternatives that accommodated almost the same number of residential homes while minimizing impacts to water quality, wetland birds and the endangered woodpeckers.
The plaintiffs in the lawsuit are the Southern Environmental Law Center, Coastal Conservation League, South Carolina Wildlife Federation and Charleston Waterkeeper.
Wetlands provide habitat for waterbirds, like great egrets and wood storks. While not endangered, these birds play a critical role in maintaining healthy marshes. The adjacent longleaf pine forest hosts endangered woodpeckers. Both state and federal agencies use fire management to maintain the integrity of the habitat for the birds. Longleaf pine forest depend on fire to thrive. This woodpecker-focused fire management in the nearby national forest also supports other critical wildlife there, like long-eared bats and frosted salamanders.
State agencies recognize the value of preserving the two habitats adjacent to each other — wetlands and longleaf pine forest — in order to offset the loss of coastal habitats on nearby Daniel Island. In a comment provided to the Army Corps, the S.C. Department of Natural Resources said it “continues to find the best use for this property, based on the ecological functions and unique resources located there, would be conservation.”
Historically, red-cockaded woodpeckers could be found in longleaf pine forests from New Jersey to Texas in numbers well over 1.5 million. Today the number of woodpeckers has reached 14,000. The permitted number of birds that the developers can “take” represents about 1 percent of the bird’s current population.
A critical number of endangered red-cockaded woodpeckers can now be displaced near a national forest in the process of building a new 45,000-occupant mixed-use development on the Cainhoy peninsula. By destroying 2,850 acres of longleaf pine trees that the birds depend on for survival, many will likely die. The birds are territorial, and carving out a new tree cavity can take up to two years. Once a woodpecker family is displaced from its tree home, successful relocation is rare.
“The most questionable decision is that no environmental impact statement was conducted,” said Michelle Nowlin, a clinical professor of law at Duke University.
Nowlin, who is not involved in the lawsuit, has worked on previous cases involving the protection of red-cockaded woodpeckers. Upon hearing that no impact statement was conducted, as is required by the National Environmental Policy Act, Nowlin was stunned.
“Oh my God … the presence of an endangered species … that is when NEPA should be triggered,” she said. “Then you look at how significant the action is and what are the likely environmental impacts.”
The lack of a formal environmental impact statement for the Cainhoy development and the Francis Marion National Forest is a key argument of the ongoing lawsuit.
Richard Porcher is a local naturalist and former professor at The Citadel. He has written books on the flora and fauna of South Carolina’s forests, including Francis Marion.
Porcher said he has been “fighting” for the recovery of wildlife in the forest for decades. When told about the permit granted to Cainhoy builders that allowed for the deaths of over a hundred woodpeckers, Porcher sighed: “It’s a total tragedy.”
Another argument brought by the lawsuit is that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service didn’t fully take climate-driven threats into account, as also is required by law. In its opinion to the Army Corps, which ultimately resulted in the permitted “take” of over 100 birds granted to land developers, the site-specific threat of climate-worsening hurricanes to Berkeley County is barely mentioned.
“Francis Marion National Forest’s (red-cockaded woodpeckers) population is very healthy… but it’s only one good hurricane away from being very unhealthy,” said Tim Evans, director of land conservation at Audubon South Carolina, the state office of the National Audubon Society.
Climate change is one of the issues that Audubon stresses when trying to help the public understand what Berkley County will look like in 30 years. In 1989, Hurricane Hugo destroyed two-thirds of the wookpecker-hosting trees in the national forest. In 1996, a similar hurricane slammed a North Carolina forest, wiping out almost half of the woodpecker-hosting trees with one storm.
Politics at play
Presidential biographer Douglas Brinkley called the Endangered Species Act the “least controversial” legislation of Nixon’s presidency. The bill passed the U.S. Senate by 92-0, and the House, 355-4, before arriving to Nixon’s desk on Dec. 28, 1973. Even the National Rifle Association supported it at the time. But in the 20th century, the act has become highly politicized. How it is applied to red-cockaded woodpecker protection may be no exception.
The Trump administration proposed to delist or downgrading over 40 species — from “endangered” to “threatened” — including the grey wolf and the red-cockaded woodpecker. A species loses protections when its status changes like this. South Carolina’s local Audubon group took a stand against downgrading the red-cockaded woodpecker. Environmental groups and wildlife officials in North Carolina have also come out against the proposed down-listing, claiming it’s too soon.
North Carolina Public Radio reported in 2021 that the Southern Environmental Law Center had obtained documents indicating that the wildlife service internally debated delisting the woodpeckers completely, not just downgrading their ranking on the list to “threatened.” This raised eyebrows over scientific integrity. According to the act, any proposal to change the status of an endangered animal must be scientifically vetted and predetermined population recovery goals must be met.
In South Carolina, red-cockaded woodpecker populations are growing at an annual rate of 4 percent, faster than any other state in the birds’ range. The target growth rate set by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for the species recovery is 5 percent. According to the Endangered Species Act, an endangered species should not be “delisted” unless it has reached the goals set in its recovery plan. Taking an animal of the endangered species list is not always a political act. The bald eagle is a prime example.
In 2007, conservation and industry groups alike celebrated the delisting of the bald eagle, marking a remarkable recovery for America’s most famous bird, whose populations now exceeds 300,000. Breeding pairs can even be found in the green spaces of the nation’s capital.
‘Loving the Lowcountry to death’
To some, the death of any endangered species is a tragedy. To others, development in Berkeley County is a good thing that carries environmental trade-offs.
“Berkley County has to really think about why people are moving there … the beauty, the natural habitat, the coast of South Carolina,” Evans said. “How do you hold onto those things and love those things without destroying them?”
Joe Riley, Charleston’s former mayor, led the annexation of the Cainhoy peninsula into the city’s urban growth boundary in 1996. In the wake of this year’s litigation over the Cainhoy development, Riley defended these actions in a column in The Post and Courier, calling the decadeslong planning for the 9,000-acre property “responsible smart growth.” Riley likened the future development on Cainhoy peninsula as following in the same patterns of sustainable, suburban growth that played out on Daniel Island during his tenure as mayor. Conservationists view the carelessness for local endangered species as something very different.
“People are loving the Lowcountry to death,” Evans said. “We have to get our heads around how we do these things sustainably. … Saying we’re going to take 11 woodpecker colonies is not how we do things sustainably.”
In the meantime, construction continues for services and roads that will serve the 45,000 new occupants of Point Hope. The transportation corridor at the center of it all, Clement’s Ferry Road, has already been widened in some sections, adding two lanes to alleviate congestion of the 15,000 cars and trucks that traverse it daily. Road construction is ongoing. For now, no construction has reached the sections of forest where the woodpeckers live. But, said Nowlin, it’s only a matter of time.
Nowlin, who worked at the Southern Environmental Law Center prior to her tenure at Duke, has worked on other endangered species cases in which the incidental take permits were ultimately revoked, ruling in favor of environmentalists trying to protect an endangered animal from development. In some cases, the critical habitat had already been destroyed during the long slog of litigation.
“There’s no way to undo that damage once it’s done,” Nowlin said.
The current lawsuit challenging the destruction of wetlands and displacement of woodpeckers on the Cainhoy peninsula won’t be resolved anytime soon. Environmental groups are hoping it will be resolved by the end of 2023, with the courts ruling in their favor, marking a win for red-cockaded woodpeckers and the 50th anniversary of the very bill that saved them.
RED-COCKADED WOODPECKERS IN SC
Red-cockaded woodpeckers nest exclusively in longleaf pine trees, making their homes by way of “cavities” carved into the trunks of old-growth trees. Cavities take years to construct. South Carolina was the first state to pioneer the use of artificial cavities to accelerate the bird’s recovery. It was first used as a stop-gap solution when Hurricane Hugo felled large swaths of longleaf pine trees in Francis Marion National Forest.
Less than 5% of the country’s original longleaf pine habitat remain. Much of that is now fragmented, creating small forest islands that isolate the woodpeckers and weaken their gene pool. Francis Marion National Forest on the Cainhoy peninsula is one of the last remaining large tracts of protected longleaf forest. It’s one of six critical population hubs for the species.
Red-cockaded woodpeckers have complex social lives, living in family units called “clusters” that often include a breeding pair and several non-breeding relatives. In South Carolina, the number of family clusters have increased from about 680 in 1993 to more than 1,450 today. In the 1990s, the presence of five woodpeckers clusters on a Berkeley County property held up plans for a new Mercedes-Benz plant. The plant was eventually built in Alabama instead.
Clare Fieseler, PhD is the climate and environment reporter at The Post and Courier. Fieseler previously served as a reporting fellow at The Washington Post. She earned a PhD in ecology from UNC Chapel Hill and holds a research appointment at the Smithsonian Institution.
Don Myers participates in SCWF’s annual “Plishing” event.
On October 28, 1931, a group of 150 sportsmen gathered to establish the South Carolina Game and Fish Association. This meeting was the result of several conversations between two men. Local writer Harry Hampton with The State newspaper in Columbia and Zan Hayward of the Game Conservation Dept. of E.I. duPont de Nemours in Columbia.
Hampton wrote a weekly column for his newspaper called “Woods and Water.” From June to October in 1931 he focused primarily on encouraging sportsmen in the state to demand amended laws that would fundamentally change natural resources and game management policies.
After these two dedicated sportsmen travelled the state preaching the gospel of game and fish conservation, the organization’s membership swelled to 2,000. Laws to protect the state’s abundant wildlife and natural spaces were soon moving through the state governing body.
The purpose of the statewide organization was defined as protection and propagation of the game, fish, and forests of the state. The goal adopted at the meeting was to ensure decisions regarding game management in South Carolina were based on science and to remove corruption from the process. In 1946, after World War II, the South Carolina Fish and Game Association reorganized as the South Carolina Wildlife Federation (SCWF). While SCWF is affiliated with the National Wildlife Federation, it is a separate organization, focusing on efforts to exclusively benefit South Carolina wildlife.
Those efforts featured a fight to develop the South Carolina Resources Coalition to establish and enforce game laws in the state, which were finally deemed successful when that coalition was established in 1952. This was the forerunner to today’s S.C. Department of Natural Resources.
The current version of the South Carolina Wildlife Federation has worked for land conservation and habitat protection since becoming an organization. Early hero Harry Hampton’s lasting legacy was the preservation of the Congaree Swamp and getting 15,000 acres designated as a National Monument. That fight was controversial at the time but now, with the Congaree a National Park, controversy seems unbelievable.
Protecting the Colleton River and associated salt marshes, stopping installation of the Russell Dam on the Savannah River, saving the Wando River from ports development, preventing the dredging of Savannah Harbor, and stopping floodplain building are all accomplishments of the SCWF.
In addition to advocating for wildlife throughout the state, the federation has also worked tirelessly to educate South Carolinians about the state’s wildlife and its habitat, outdoor recreation, and conservation practices.
Executive director Sara Green explains, “During the pandemic, we experienced significant demand for information about wildlife in backyards and communities. We began offering webinars on a variety of wildlife topics from backyard birds and butterflies to oysters and sea turtles. All these webinars are now available on our YouTube channel, and more webinars are still being offered on new topics. Upcoming webinars can be found on our website, scwf.org/events.”
One of the best things everyone can do to protect and support wildlife is enhance the habitat in their own backyards and communities. Through SCWF’s Gardening for Wildlife program, even a small yard can be certified by the National Wildlife Federation. Providing food, water, cover, and places to raise offspring makes a big difference for wildlife and gives residents the opportunity to educate neighbors and spread the word about conservation. Habitat gardens also can be created at parks, libraries, churches, schools, and private businesses.
Vivian Addis participates in SCWF’s annual “Plishing” event.
Sara Green adds, “A new initiative we started this year is called “Plishing” which is a combination of the Swedish phrase “plocka upp”, meaning litter pick up, and fishing. Individuals and families across the state joined our summer challenge and logged fish caught as well as litter picked up and disposed of properly. Each fish caught, fish released, and bag of litter collected counts for points toward some great prizes (in addition to enjoying the outdoors and practicing conservation). Stay tuned for the 2023 Plishing Challenge!”
South Carolina Wildlife Federation is a member of the South Carolina Conservation Coalition (SCCC), a collection of 40 conservation minded groups working together to make sure the state legislative body is aware and concerned about conservation issues. Among the issues SCCC has focused on:
The S.C. Conservation Bank Funding, which provides funding to protect threatened wildlife locations. Since 2002, when the group was established, over 300,000 acres of threatened land have been preserved.
The Green Space Sales Tax act provides tax dollars for conservation issues. Spearheaded by Sen. Tom Davis, South Carolina adopted the “County Green Space Sales Tax Act” in May of 2022, designed to empower counties to undertake land preservation efforts.
The SCCC has also been active in protecting sea turtles and regulating Tegu Lizards and other invasive species, and the group is monitoring such issues as offshore drilling, plastic bag regulation, and floodwater impact.
From brook trout to bobwhites, wildlife is part of what defines South Carolina. Unfortunately, more than 800 local species of concern have been identified by the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. It’s part of a larger national trend where more than one-third of America’s wildlife are edging toward extinction.
Right now, Congress still has a chance to help protect our wildlife heritage. A bold, bipartisan bill called the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act would dedicate $1.4 billion to proactive, collaborative efforts to help species at risk. It is a solution that matches the magnitude of the crisis.
The U.S. House passed the bill on a bipartisan basis in June. The Senate version has more than 40 cosponsors, from both parties, Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina among them. This bill would give the S.C. Department of Natural Resources $15 million a year to help at-risk species in the Palmetto State.
This makes sense: Natural Resources has decades of experience using the fees and taxes paid by hunters and anglers to ensure that the state has bountiful fish and game populations. The agency also has the know-how and the desire to help other wildlife species, but lacks the funding.
The plight of prothonotary warblers, or “swamp canaries,” illustrates the problem. During the summer breeding season, South Carolina hosts 20% of the global population of these small migratory birds — recognizable by their bright yellow heads and blue-gray wings. But the loss of cypress swamps and other forested wetlands have reduced prothonotary warbler numbers by nearly half over the past five decades.
When wildlife like warblers are in trouble, the resources simply aren’t there to do much about it. Nevertheless, the Department of Natural Resources and nonprofits like ours have stepped in where we can, protecting habitat and building nest boxes. The new State of the Birds report found that these kinds of efforts are slowing the decline of swamp canaries and other birds in eastern forests, but restoration at the scale that is necessary remains out of reach.
Prothonotary Warbler (Swamp Canary) by Jim Miller
This is where the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act comes in. It would give the Natural Resources Department the funds needed to work with landowners, universities and other partners as soon as a species such as the prothonotary warbler starts to struggle, rather than waiting for it to be on the brink of extinction to take action. It is the ounce of prevention that prevents a pound of cure.
The $15 million annually would unleash a new era of conservation for South Carolina wildlife including bobwhite quail, diamondback terrapins, black ducks and northern long-eared bats. The voluntary habitat restoration on private lands will help rural parts of the state, boost South Carolina’s $5.7 billion outdoor recreation economy and help sustain cultural traditions, from subsistence fishing on the coast to Lowcountry sweetgrass basket making. We are grateful for Sen. Graham’s steadfast support.
Unfortunately, inaction is the ally of extinction — and this bill is running out of time. We hope that Sen. Graham and Sen. Tim Scott will do everything they can to ensure this commonsense, cost-effective proposal to save wildlife with collaborative conservation is part of the end-of-the-year package.
Sara Green is the executive director of the South Carolina Wildlife Federation.
Reviewing several new large developments in the Charleston area, I have become convinced that it is far past time for developers to shift development practices in order to achieve new sustainable development in light of higher flooding potentials and large losses of valuable ecosystem elements.
Two large recently proposed developments (and likely many more I have not reviewed) have been planned with problematic design standard practices. These practices include attempting to fit unrealistically high numbers of dwellings including placing residential dwellings in the 100-year floodplain (which these days is probably now closer to a 50-year floodplain). In addition, these practices result in destruction of large acreages (approximately 200+ acres at each site) of onsite wetlands that provide wildlife habitat and naturally detain, retain and filter runoff destined for our streams and rivers. They also often result in loss of valuable forested habitat, natural drainage and carbon storage patterns and attempt to control onsite flooding by building large retention ponds in areas with a high-water table.
To achieve sustainable development, avoid future flooding in new developments, loss of important habitats, and harmful discharges to our state waters, we must shift our development strategies in many ways.
We can not continue to fill large acreages of wetlands and replace them with retention ponds especially in areas like the Lowcountry that have a high- water table that is often not adequately considered when sizing retention ponds. We also need to have developments utilize pervious surfaces for roads and driveways, elevate houses for water movement where appropriate, consider using constructed wetlands instead of retention ponds when necessary, leave more large trees and wetlands for carbon sequestration and reject building in our floodplains.
Steve Gilbert, of Charleston, is the Special Project Manager for the South Carolina Wildlife Federation.
White-tailed deer in the grass by Lindsay Pettinicchi
Imagine being deep in the woods, fallen leaves on the trail, clear blue Carolina sky above, birds and squirrels are active all around you, and suddenly a majestic deer steps out into the light. Maybe you have a hiking stick in one hand, and binoculars or a camera in the other. Maybe you have a child’s hand in each of yours, and you crouch down to whisper and make sure they see it. Maybe you are in a tree stand, taking careful aim and envisioning venison chili for your family’s dinner.
In that moment, regardless of what motivates you to be out there, we each feel a deep and powerful connection to the earth, to the ancient rhythms of nature. Every step and breath of fresh air makes us healthier, and reduces our stress. We feel humbled to be a tiny part of it, and the urge to protect it grows stronger with each step. We all come together through SCWF to preserve that connection that unites us and enriches our lives.
Please consider a donation now to help us continue our mission to conserve and restore South Carolina’s wildlife and wildlife habitat through education and advocacy.
For 91 years, SCWF has offered many ways for you to connect with nature, learn new skills, and take action in your community. We hope you will join us in the coming year to increase our impact for wildlife together.
Our Impact
5,000 packets of free native milkweed seeds distributed for Monarch Butterfly habitat to SC households—a 20% increase from last year!
Nearly 5,000 free Ranger Rick Magazines distributed to children and schools to inspire future conservationists.
2,160 learners reached through in-person engagement opportunities, and another 425 reached through our free webinars!
1,000 native trees planted in the rural community of Britton’s Neck to combat flooding.
240 Federal Duck Stamps sold in support of wetlands conservation this year, an increase of 47% from the previous year!
203 Palmetto Outdoors Women’s Retreat participants had the opportunity to choose from 29 outdoor recreation classes.
150 partners working together for wildlife conservation.
Over 35,000 followers reached through our electronic newsletter, communications, and social media posts.
What Makes SCWF So Unique?
We CARE
C.A.R.E. is at the core of the SC Wildlife Federation. It stands for: Conservation, Advocacy, Restoration, and Education. Each of these words serves as a cornerstone, or pillar, that collectively, makes our organization so vital and critical moving forward.
Conservation
Vivian Addis caught a Bluegill during the Plishing Challenge!
To provide nesting habitat for species in decline, SCWF is working with Duke Energy to install 160 nesting boxes for three different species this spring. Project Prothonotary’s focus is the installation of 80 boxes on the lakes and tributaries of the Catawba River and Lake Wateree for Prothonotary Warblers, and another 80 boxes will be installed in the Keowee-Toxaway watershed for Wood Ducks and Eastern Screech-Owls.
Plishing Challenge
To encourage new and experienced anglers to keep our waterways clean and litter-free, use best fishing practices, and connect with friends and family in our beautiful freshwater and saltwater habitats, SCWF introduced the “Plishing Challenge”. This statewide conservation initiative to conserve and enjoy our state’s aquatic resources had 100 participants, over 500 fish logged, and 169 bags of litter collected in its inaugural year.
Advocacy
SCWF works with state legislators to conserve land and protect precious wildlife habitat from the mountains to the sea. We also partner with the National Wildlife Federation on issues of national significance, such as the bi-partisan Recovering America’s Wildlife Act (RAWA). This bill will protect at-risk wildlife before they reach “endangered” status by bringing more than $15 million annually to our state to protect and enhance habitat for wildlife species of concern, such as the Diamondback Terrapin, American Kestrel, Painted Bunting, Black Bear, Coral Snake, and the American Eel.
Restoration
Volunteers & partners work together to install a demonstration pollinator garden.
Habitat restoration projects are vital as cities expand, and wildlife lose habitat. This year, there were 409 newly Certified Wildlife Habitats, and 2 new communities certified in our state: Moss Creek and Greer. SCWF staff focused efforts in the Pee Dee region, planting 1,000 native trees in Britton’s Neck to combat flooding, as well as installing a demonstration pollinator garden with the help of community members and project partners.
Education
Our classes are back in full swing! We reached 2,585 people through in-person and online learning opportunities. Our instructors travelled around the state to offer a variety of in-person classes and programs including, Academics Afield hunter education program at Clemson University, Artemis outdoor recreation events, naturalist trainings, Palmetto Pro Birder classes, and teacher workshops in the nationally certified Project WILD curricula. We were thrilled to host 203 women at the Palmetto Outdoors Women’s Retreat (POWR) at Hickory Knob State Park in October.
Corina Newsome, NWF
There is no place on Earth like the Southeastern United States to discover wildlife. From montane forests to the coastal plain, South Carolina and its neighbors are bursting with biodiversity, from salamanders to plants to birds. As an ornithologist, I’m most amazed by the birds.
My bird conservation research took me to coastal Georgia, home to 100 miles of some of the most undeveloped coastline on the Eastern Sea board, and a third of its remaining salt marsh— the ecosystem in which I conducted my research. I remember the first time I walked into the saltmarsh, which, from a distance, appears to be just a wide expanse of grass. Immediately upon walking in to the grass, however, I knew that the salt marsh was far from homogenous. I saw tens of thousands of fiddler crabs brilliant with color, heard the calls of willets as they flew circles around me and saw my first seaside sparrow nest: a small, cup-shaped nest made of dead grass, attached inconspicuously to long, bright green blades of Spartina.
Paired with the amazement I experienced from being immersed in an ecosystem full of life and diversity is the sobering reality that our coasts and the birds that inhabit them — seaside and saltmarsh sparrows, red knots and piping plovers — are in trouble.
Such threats as habitat degradation and fragmentation, which are also being compounded by increased flooding from climate change, put these species at risk of extinction. But we know from experience that investments in conservation can bring birds back from the brink of disappearing forever.
The bald eagle, waterfowl of all kinds and even the United States’ largest bird, the California condor, all bear witness to this reality.
A new report is a wake-up call about the precarious state of America’s bird populations. A landmark research study found that in the past 50 years, we have lost 3 billion birds— an enormous loss for our biodiversity heritage and for future generations — and 70 species of birds are at a tipping point, requiring urgent action to prevent further declines or even extinctions.
The downward trends can be seen across species and across the country, with all the deadly impacts of the climate crisis— droughts, floods, changing temperatures — leaving such species as the seaside sparrow in danger.
But there is also good news in this research, which shows that when dedicated, targeted investments are made to recover and support bird populations, they can not only rebound, but thrive. Take waterfowl, like ducks, for example. Successful national policies such as the North American Wetlands Conservation Act and the U.S. farm bill have helped support and stabilize water fowl populations. And perhaps one of the most famous success stories is that of the bald eagle, which was nearly declared extinct decades ago due to illegal hunting and pesticide use.
Through a ban of the chemical that weakened bald eagle eggshells and the support of the public, this iconic bird has made such a recovery that it is no longer considered endangered or even threatened, and can be seen soaring across the skies here in the Southeast.
Such success stories demonstrate how we can leverage the power of federal policy and public-private partnerships to help recover other beloved and crucial bird species. Legislation such as the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act, which passed the U.S. House with a bipartisan vote and is awaiting a Senate vote, would provide funds to take conservation action before species end up on the Endangered Species List. The bill is a once-in-a-generation initiative designed to fund proactive, collaborative and locally led efforts to protect birds, other wildlife and plants.
Birdwatching is an exercise in patience and curiosity. To spot a red-bellied woodpecker on a long stroll, or hear the call of a blue jay outside your window, is a gift for those of us who call the South home. But in addition to protecting their unique beauty for generations to come, ensuring a healthy future for birds will have benefits that extend into the ecosystems they depend on — which include our human communities.
Birds often serve as a warning sign — their declines sound an alarm about the fate of other species and the ecosystems we share. By investing in their recovery, we can help recover plants, other pollinators and the ecosystems we all rely on to thrive into the future.
All of us can take action today. We can call our federal representatives and senators to support such policies as the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, support commonsense measures that limit the threats that birds face in our cities, such as window collisions, and support native plants in our communities and back yards that act as rest stops for migrating birds on epic journeys for generations to come.
Corina Newsome is a scientist with the National Wildlife Federation.
This year, our long running program, the Women’s Outdoor Retreat, was introduced with a new name, Palmetto Outdoor Women’s Retreat (POWR). At POWR, our goal is to empower women to have the confidence to try outdoor activities on their own after they have learned the basics from our experienced, nurturing instructors. Thank you to Bass Pro Shops & Cabela’s Outdoor Fund for sponsoring this year’s retreat.
Boating & Trailering was a popular new addition to the class offerings.
On October 7-9, we were thrilled to welcome nearly 150 women to Hickory Knob State Park for a full weekend of classes and activities. This year we welcomed several new instructors, and also offered new classes such as Boating and Trailering and Low Ropes. There were 29 classes to choose from.
We could not offer this wonderful weekend event without our incredible staff of 50 volunteer instructors. These instructors take time off of their busy schedules to provide quality instruction in outdoor activities that are their passion. When you are passionate about the outdoors, there is no greater feeling than helping others learn and find joy in the same way you do.
We are grateful to one of our long time sponsors, Cabela’s Greenville for support through their Bass Pro Shops/Cabela’s Outdoor Fund. We were pleased to have the support of several outfitters and organizations including the SC Department of Natural Resources, Artemis South Carolina, Earth Connection Outfitters, Angling Women, Clemson University Department of Parks, Recreation & Tourism Management, SASS (Surviving Assault Standing Strong), John De La Howe School, Clemson Sandhills Research Station, Three Sisters Essentials, Southern Appalachian Outdoors, Clemson University Fly Fishing, Savannah River Ecology Lab, and Nature Adventure Outfitters. These partnerships enabled us to provide a wide variety of activities conducted by a diverse group of expert volunteer instructors. A special thank you is due to the numerous individual volunteers who so willingly donated their time to share their knowledge and expertise. We thank them for their contributions to our event and encourage participants and others to support their businesses.
Event Co-chairs – BeBe Dalton Harrison & Dan Turpin
Check out all the great classes that we were able to offer with the help of our volunteer instructors!
Archery – Wes Ballard and Gina Spear
Backpacking – Glenn Gardner and Sam Poppleton
Backyard Habitat – Nancy Delph
Birding – Jay Keck
Boating & Trailering – Dennetta Dawson, Rhett Bissell, Treye Byars, Kendall Lownsbury, Bert Luper, Jim Shelton, and Elyse Wells, SC Department of Natural Resources
Camping – Cody and Trista Bishop
Canoeing – Don and Bettina George (thank you to John de la Howe School for canoes)
Coastal Crafts – Susan Dalton and Stefany Beals, Angling Women
EcoHiking – Tara Boone, Heather Bock, and April Rodgers , Three Sisters Essentials
Fishing – Bernie and Alice Clegg (thank you to SC Department of Natural Resources for fishing equipment)
Fish Cleaning & Cooking – Bernie and Alice Clegg (thank you to SC Department of Natural Resources for providing fresh fish)
Fly Fishing – Alex Hawley and Sean Crow
Geocaching – Rose Clawson
Hunting – Dennetta Dawson, SCDNR
Hypertufa Pumpkins – Harley Carpenter and Allison Pederson
Kayaking – Elizabeth Anderegg and April Childress (thank you to Clemson Sandhills Research Center for kayaks)
Lake Thurmond Paddle – Cindy Hekking
Low Ropes Course – Kinsley Miller, John De la Howe School
Map & Compass – Penny Ginn
Nature Spa – Beth Rivers, Maria Campbell, and Melissa Goudelock
Outdoor Cooking – Denise Froehle
Paddleboarding – Jimmy and Ginnie Smith, Earth Connection Outfitters
Photography – Allison Moore
Self Defense – Lisa Ewart, SASS Go (Surviving Assault Standing Strong)
SC Road Trips – Rose Clawson
Skeet Shooting – Hubert Cox, Bev Anderson
Snake Class – Jay Keck
Yoga, Outdoor Stretch and Relax – Jami Hawkins
Yoga, Outdoor Vinyasa Flow – Nicole Kish
Special Evening Presentation – Sean Poppy, Savannah River Ecology Lab
Behind the Scenes Lead Volunteer – Ginger Snelgrove
Raffle Prize Donors – Angling Women, Dan Turpin, Beth Rivers, Linda Harrell, Nature Adventure Outfitters, Three Sisters Essentials, Beverly Burton, Terri Wicker Gore, Stono Ferry Golf, Lowcountry Bohemian, Riverbanks Zoo, Rose Clawson, Pure Fishing, and Total Wine
SCWF Staff – Sara Green, Ari Hippensteal, Angi Fuller Wildt, Beverley Roberts, Jay Keck
Hickory Knob Staff – Chris Elswick, Jermaine Jennings, Jan Danner, Shalonda Starks
Scroll through our photos below from this year’s retreat!
We hope to offer more hands-on instruction in outdoor activities in the future so please stay in touch with us by visiting our website at www.scwf.org. Also, women can join the “Palmetto Outdoors Women” page on Facebook for additional offerings.
