JANUARY 2006 South Carolina Audubon Newsletter

8/9/2019 JANUARY 2006 South Carolina Audubon Newsletter

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STATE NEWSLETTER: JANUARY 2006

The mission of AudubonSouth Carolina is to

protect and enhance habitat for birds and other

wildlife, and to educatepeople and involve com-munities in conservation

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Racing to ProtectBeidler Forest . . . . . . . 1 &

Endangering the Act . . . . .

The Oily Bird getsthe...Drilling?. . . . . . . . . . .

Conserving Our Forest-lands. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

Special Pull-Out Calendarfor Audubon Events2006 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 & 5

Donor Recognition. . . Inser

Celebrating a Century ofConservation. . . . . . . . 6 & 7

Members DoingTheir Part . . . . . . . . . .BACK

The California Condor, one of the most

successful endangered species recoveryefforts to date.

RACING TO PROTECT BEIDLER FOREST

By Norman Brunswig

On November 7, 2005 our dream that Beidler Forest was safe from the threat of a race-track was turned into a nightmare by a ruling from the Circuit Court.

n 2003, in a victory for Audubon and others who oppose the track, the DHEC Boardruled that their staff must conduct a consistency review of the permit for the racetrack

a review that should have been conducted tenyears ago. On November 7th, however, theCircuit Court Judge ruled that the DHECBoard erred when it made that decision.

The Judges position was that even thoughthere has never been proof that a review hadbeen conducted if the first judge who heardthe case, an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ),believed that one had been done, then thatwas good enough.

The most galling aspect of this situation is re-alizing that if DHEC staff had been allowed toback up and conduct the review in the first

place this matter would have been resolved long ago. Because of the developers ap-peal however, we are no closer to answering that question than we were ten years ago.

After our hearing on November 7 th the attorney for the developers made the statementthat the developers are free to start moving dirt on this project, which is simply untrue.

Continued on Page 2

ENDANGERING THE ACT

Endangered species are Americas weak-est and most vulnerable wildlife. Whengovernment fails to honor its responsibilityto protect the weak and the vulnerable, infavor of the rich and powerful, the weakand the vulnerable eventually die. Thisquote was made by Audubon PresidentJohn Flicker a day after the U.S. House ofRepresentatives passed the Extinction Billof 2005.

Sponsored by Rep. Richard Pombo of Cali-fornia, the bill guts one of Americas mostsuccessful and important environmentalaws, the Endangered Species Act (ESA).n its 30 years of existence, the ESA has

successfully provided the framework forthe survival of Americas vulnerable wild-ife. Only 9 out of the 1,800 species listedas threatened or endangered have goneextinct.

The bill heavily favors development inter-ests and ties the hands, both financiallyand procedurally, of the agency chiefly

responsible for protecting endangeredspecies, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Ser-vice. Among other things the bill:

No longer protects critical habitat for the re-covery and survival of endangered speciesan essential element for recovery;

Exempts all pesticides from compliance withthe ESA for at least five years, ignoring thefact that pesticides have been a significantfactor in the historic decline of species;

Authorizes unlimited payments by the FWS tolandowners and developers for any interfer-ence with development plans;

Prohibits the use of scientific informationabout a species learned after a conservationplan is completedmuch like prohibiting adoctor from using medical information learnedafter the patient is admitted to the hospital.

This legislation, co-sponsored by Repre-sentative Henry Brown of the 1st Con-gressional District, must now be ap-proved by the U.S. Senate. At presstime, the Senate had not taken up thebill. Audubon members should contacttheir Senators and tell them to preserveAmericas most important wildlife protec-tion and reject the Pombo Extinction Bill.


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CONSERVATION FOR THE COMING YEAR

AUDUBON South Carolina, 336 Sanctuary Road, Harleyville, SC 29448-3324, (843) 462-2150, [email protected]

RACING TO PROTECT BEIDLER FOREST (continued from Page 1)

Racetrack opponents can take comfort in the fact that in 2001 the developers signed an agreement with Berkeley County. that agreement they promised to abandon the project if the County allowed them to change the sites zoning classification.

Since the zoning change was granted and despite this recent ruling, the developers are legally bound to their agreement withe County. Audubon will remain vigilant for any zoning requests that would allow the construction of the racetrack.

So why did the developers appeal the DHEC Boards decision if they cannot build a racetrack? Why indeed?

The DHEC Board is a group of concerned citizens who are charged with protecting the environmental health of South Carolina. They have a particularly heavy responsibility for our fragile coastal zone. They set policy, oversee its implementatioand hear appeals of DHEC permits, as in the case of the racetrack. And that is the crux of this matter.

Powerful advocates for the Administrative Law Judges (ALJ) want to remove the DHEC Board from hearing appeals involing their agency and place complete authority with the ALJs. Legislation has been introduced that would do exactly that.

The General Assembly gave the Board authority over their agencys appeals for good reason. This volunteer group of cizens have the particular interest and knowledge of the issues that come before them on appeal necessary to make informedecisions. The vast majority of DHEC environmental permits never face appeal. Thousands of such permits are issued denied each year without ever coming before the Board. For the handful that do, six or seven each year, the Board peforms the vital function of guaranteeing that their agency has made the correct decision on contentious permits. They are thright people to perform that function and they should continue to do so.

While nothing is ever certain, I do not believe that Interstate Speedway will ever be built on the site near Four Holes Swam

thanks in part to the courageous efforts of the DHEC Board. They chose to fully implement their agencys own policieThey protected the rights of the citizens who live around Four Holes Swamp and Beidler Forest and it is time for us to stanup for the Board. Changes can be made to speed up the appeals process but the elimination of the DHEC Boards appellafunction is short-sighted and strictly political.

Please call (843) 462-2150 or e-mail [email protected] to join our action list for this issue. If you join, this will be thonly issue you receive alerts on. Help protect a citizens right to preserve their communitys environment by fighting any zoing change in Berkeley County and by protecting the DHEC Board.

THE OILY BIRD GETS THE...DRILLING?

The latest round of energy and budget discussions at the fed-eral level have included proposals to lift the federal ban onOuter Continental Shelf (OCS) oil and natural gas drilling. Ul-

timately, according to the proposal, the decision to drill wouldlie in the hands of each state legislature and some localelected officials have begun making early plans to sign up.

South Carolinas coastal areas represent the most fragile en-vironment found in our state and should remain hands off todrilling. Heres why:

Killing the Golden Goose: Onshore oil and gas facilitiescan harm coastal economies that rely on tourism, a $14.6 bil-lion industry in South Carolina.

Business As Usual: Within a decade over 3 million gallonsof oil were spilled in 73 incidents. An offshore platform gen-erates more than 69 tons of air pollutants and 38 tons of vola-

tile organic hydrocarbons every year.Hurricane Alley: Hurricane Katrina caused 9 major oil spillstotaling more than 7 million gallons.

Who Needs Marsh: Pipelines crossing coastal wetlands inthe Gulf of Mexico have destroyed more acres of saltmarshes than the total amount of marshland found from NewJersey to Maine.

According to the Department of Interior, most oil and gas re-serves are not covered by the continental shelf ban and arealready open to exploration80% of oil and 75% of naturalgas reserves. Curbing the impacts of oil spills on wildlife can consume

enormous financial resources and manpower.

At press time, the provision to allow OCS drilling was included in the Senate version of the Federal budget bnot the House version. The two have yet to be recociled. Please take a minute to contact your federal an

state elected officials and say no to opening the Carolincoast to drilling.


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CONSERVATION FOR THE COMING YEA

AUDUBON South Carolina, 336 Sanctuary Road, Harleyville, SC 29448-3324, (843) 462-2150, [email protected] 3

TO OUR MEMBERS: The placement of vast amounts of forestlands on the real estate market and their subsequent development will f

ever alter the face of the state. Audubon South Carolina has joined with The Nature Conservancy and many of the other conservation

ganizations of the state to play our part to help protect the long-term future of natural South Carolina. Over the next year, we will

upon you, your friends and family to help achieve this goal. Lobbying state and federal elected officials for special one-time state fun

for the purchase of these lands and protecting full funding for the South Carolina Conservation Bank will be our major common goa

Please take the time over the next few months to visit your legislators when they are in their district, write them, call them, take a tri

Columbia to talk with your State Senator or Representative. It will be our job to make this a priority for not only the conservation com

nity but for all South Carolinians. Contact us at (843) 462-2150 for more information or assistance in your efforts.

CONSERVING OUR FORESTLANDBy Mark Robertson, Executive Director

The Nature Conservancy of South Carolina

Major timber companies are the largest private landowners in South Carolina. Due to global industry changes the major copanies are going through mergers and downsizing. There is great pressure to increase stock prices and pay dividendsshareholders and many companies have made the decision to sell forestland. This is a historic change in land ownershipSouth Carolina. Three companies International Paper (IP), MeadWestvaco and Plum Creek own about 1.5 million acin our state. That is about the same acreage as the total of all public and protected lands in South Carolina. IP alone owabout 600,000 acres and have announced that they intend to sell ALL of their lands within 12 to 18 months.

Simultaneously, a new group of businesses have sprung up that are buying these tracts. These are Timber Investment Magement Organizations (TIMOs) and Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and billions of dollars have poured into the

over the last four years. Many forestland buyers acquire large tracts, break them up into smaller tracts and immediately sell them. The net result is that large tracts become many small par-cels that are cut on short rotations and not managed as large blocks.

This situation creates an extremely urgent challenge and an OP-PORTUNITY - for the conservation community. Many forestlands arebeing snapped up by developers willing to pay high prices for quickconversion to development. The ongoing battle over the Ashley RiverHistoric District, where about 8,500 acres were sold, exemplifies this.One development, Watson Hill, could tip the balance of urban sprawlfor the entire region. Another example is the Keystone tract within theboundary of the Francis Marion National Forest. It was sold to devel-opers and if not protected, its future development could jeopardizethe investment of the Forest Service and DNR to protect irreplaceable

natural lands in the national forest and Bonneau Ferry.Our challenge is to respond to this change in ownership and use offorestland at the scale at which it is taking place. Not all forestlandbeing sold is valuable for conservation, but many areas are importantnatural lands, and the large blocks have been critical for wildlife, wa-ter quality and South Carolinas quality of life. The challenge is to findthe financial resources to respond to this historic challenge and op-portunity. It is an urgent situation. There are several keys:

SPECIAL FUNDING: DNR, The Conservation Fund and The NatureConservancy, are trying to acquire these key lands. Expenditures arerequired, and I think they should be viewed as investments. To dothis will require special one-time funding from the state legislature, inthe form of a line item in the budget or a revenue bond. It wont be

easy to convince the legislature but this is a historic and unique op-portunity.

CONSERVATION BANK: Second, we have to sustain full funding for the South Carolina Conservation Bank. I think we mhave some real problems in the House but we have to make sure funding for the Conservation Bank is not cut in 2006.

FEDERAL FUNDING: We are also going to have to secure additional funding from federal sources, such as Forest Legaand the Coastal Estuary Land Protection program of NOAA. Unfortunately, federal funding for land protection has beshrinking and this, too, will require real effort.

All of these will take a united effort to respond to this unique challenge. For that reason, I am particularly grateful that all ofhave decided to work together for the good of South Carolina. It will take a unified effort to respond to this challenge. BSouth Carolinas land, water, wildlife and our citizens quality of land will be better for it, and future generations will be tbeneficiaries.


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AUDUBON SOUTH CAROLINA CALENDAR OF EVENTS 2006


BEIDLER FORESTS CANOE TRIP

SEASON RESUMES ON MARCH 3, 2006!Call (843) 462-2150 to make your

reservations today!!

BEIDLER FOREST NIGHT WALKS 2006

JANUARY 7, 2006 @ 5:00 P.M.

FEBRUARY 11, 2006 @ 5:30 P.M.

MARCH 11, 2006 @ 6:00 P.M.

APRIL 8, 2006 @ 7:30 P.M.

MAY 6, 2006 @ 8:00 P.M.

JUNE 10, 2006 @ 8:30 P.M.

JULY 8, 2006 @ 8:30 P.M.

AUGUST 5, 2006 @ 8:00 P.M.

SEPTEMBER 2, 2006 @ 7:30 P.M.

OCTOBER 7, 2006 @ 7:00 P.M.

NOVEMBER 4, 2006 @ 5:30 P.M.

DECEMBER 2, 2006 @ 5:00 P.M.

2nd ANNUAL SILVER BLUFF AUDUBON CENTER &SANCTUARY TRAIL RIDE

MARCH 18, 200610:00 A.M. - 3:00 P.M.

$20.00 PER RIDERLUNCH PROVIDED

Join us for a fun-filled day of horseback riding as we explore themiles of trails at our Silver Bluff Center near Aiken, South Carolina.This family event was a great success last year!

Original current negative Coggins required! There will beabsolutely No Exceptions! No dogs or alcohol. Absolutely no

smoking allowed on the trail. Space is limited so registerearly to save your spot!

REGISTRATION AND PAYMENT DEADLINE: MARCH 13, 2006

CALL (843) 462-2150 TO REGISTER OR VISITWWW.BEIDLERFOREST.COM TO DOWNLOAD FORM

FREE ADMISSIONTO BEIDLER FOREST

FOR AUDUBONMEMBERS DURING

JANUARY 2006!One member and one free

guest allowed permembership.

Must present membershipcard at check-in.

9TH ANNUAL GREATBACKYARD BIRD COUNT

February 17-20, 2006Participate at your home or a

natural area near you

Join us for the Silver BluffAudubon Center GBBCCount on Feb. 19, 2006!

(803) 471-0291

APRIL 29, 2006

Support Augusta-Aiken Audubon and Silver Bluff by participator donating to the 2006 Birdathon!

(803) 471-0291


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GREET THE BIRDS OF SPRING!JOIN AUDUBON FOR OUR SPRING

BIRD MIGRATION COUNTS.

Beidler Forest Audubon Center CountHarleyville, South Carolina

(843) 462-2150

Silver Bluff Audubon Center CountJackson, South Carolina

(803) 471-0291

May 13, 2006 @ 7:30 a.m.All skill levels are welcome

WINE & WARBLERS

Join expert birdwatchers for an evening on the boardwalk andexplore the wide variety of songbirds that travel to Audubons

Francis Beidler Forest each Spring. Enjoy hors doeuvres andwine tastings as you explore the ancient swamp forest. Proceeds

benefit Audubon and the SC Wildlife Federation.

April 29, 2006Walks begin at 5:30 P.M.$25.00 PER PERSON

Reservations are required. Event is limited to 75 people.Call (843) 462-2150

&

FAMILY SWAMPOLOGY DAY

FRANCIS BEIDLER FOREST

APRIL 22, 2006

Celebrate Earth Day by joining Auduboneducators for our Family Swampology Day! Spend

a day on the Boardwalk with friends and family enjoyinthe swamp and learning what makes it tick.

Learn about the chemistry, geology and biology of anold-growth swamp the hands-on way.

GENERAL ADMISSIONRATES APPLY

$7.00 FOR ADULTS$3.50 FOR CHILDREN (6-18)

3RD ANNUAL STORKS AND CORKS

AN EVENING WITH ANENDANGERED SPECIES

August 12, 20066:00 - 9:00 P.M.

Join Audubon and the SC Wildlife Federationfor an evening of observing the endangeredWood Storks at the Silver Bluff Audubon

Center near Aiken, South Carolina.

Participants will enjoy a sampling ofwines and hors doeuvres following the

viewing of the Wood Storks.

Reservations and pre-payment arerequired. Call (843) 462-2150 today

to reserve your spot!

VISIT OUR WEBSITE ATWWW.BEIDLERFOREST.COM

TO STAY UP TO DATEON THE LATEST AUDUBON

EVENTS AND NEWS

BOO IN THE SWAMPOCTOBER 27 28, 2006

Francis Beidler Forest(843) 462-2150

AUDUBON SOUTH CAROLINA CALENDAR OF EVENTS 2006


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AUDUBONS CENTENNIAL: A YEAR OF CELEBRATION


A special thanks to all ofAudubon South Carolinasvolunteers.

Jessie AdairCarlos Benefield

Rafael BenefieldLoretta BenefieldDawn BrewerCollis BoydSue Boyd

Beverly BrunswigTom Campbell

John CelyMac ChaplinMillie ChaplinHoward Costa

Jo Ann DawsonCarol EldridgeLarry Eldridge

Dennis ForsytheDonna ForsytheJoan GariboldiPolly HoldenHenry Knight

Melinda KnightShelley KnightBecky MackeyNikkie Mathus

Tammy MathusBilly McCord

Marylyn McLeodMargo McMicken

John MerkleMatthew Milligan

John MimsTracie Mims

Keys PhinneyShannon Schoenberger

Ron ShahidHowie SohmJulie SohmWill SohmBeth Smith

Michael StallingsWillie Taylor

Benjamin ThomasDalace VarnerPenny VarnerAlex VelascoAyla Velasco

Robin Velasco

Our Wine & Warblers event in April was a relaxing eveningbirdwatching from the Boardwalk

Audubon South Carolina staffs CentennialBirdathon explored bird life off

Hilton Head Island

The Silver Bluff Trail Ride brought families and riders froall over the state to explore the preserve on horseback

Charleston Mayor Joe Riley proclaims Aprilof 2005 as National Audubon Society

Month. Norman Brunswig of AudubonSouth Carolina accepts the Proclamation.

The endangered Wood Storks at Silver Bluff madefor a perfect evening at this years Storks & Corks

Volunteerstransformed

themselves foran evening of

fun and scaresat the first

ever Boo InThe Swamp at

FrancisBeidler Forest


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AUDUBONS CENTENNIAL: A YEAR OF CELEBRATION

Dr. Paul Cooler

Cabot CheeseCabot, Vermont

Allen Fordyce

Mr. Ks Piggly WigglySummerville, South Carolina

The New Ellenton Horse Club

Forrest Roberts

Skimmer ChartersHilton Head Island, South Carolina

Southern Wine and SpiritsColumbia, South Carolina

Sandy Tucker

Guests enjoy a fabulousevening celebrating SouthCarolinas women conserva-ionists during the Evelyn

Thayer Chace Awards heldat the Riverbanks Zoo inColumbia on October 8th

A special thank you to the companies andindividuals who donated goods andservices to the Centennial events of

Audubon South Carolina

Above: The Centennial Gala, held at the SouthCarolina Aquarium in April, allowed friends ofAudubon South Carolina to enjoy spectacular

views of the Charleston Harbor while celebrating100 Years of Conservation!

The Evelyn Thayer ChaceAward Winners: From left toright, National Audubon Soci-ety President, John Flicker,Ken Driggers, accepting anaward on behalf of AnneSprings Close, Mary ArringtonWalter, Harriet Keyserling,Angela Viney, Nancy Vinsonand Norman Brunswig, Execu-tive Director of Audubon SouthCarolina.

THE EVELYN THAYER CHACE AWARDS SPONSORS

Johnnie and Buff Chace The Close Family Congaree Limited PartnershipMr. and Mrs. John Winthrop American Forest Management

BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina Becca and Harry DaltonWilliam E. Dufford Duke Power


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336 Sanctuary RoadHarleyville, South Carolina 29448-3324

NON PROFIT ORG

US POSTAGE

PAID

PERMIT NO. 468

SUMMERVILLE,

SC

Please contact [email protected] name or address corrections.

MEMBERS DOING THEIR PART

Audubon members responded in a big way at the end of 2005 to help achieve conservation victries at the national and state levels. Heres a couple of good reasons to celebrate belonging toone of Americas greatest conservation organizations.

ARCTIC NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE: Audubon members from around the country made phone calls and wrote letterasking their Representatives to remove drilling in the Arctic from the national Budget. At the state level, members in Con-gressman Bob Inglis district helped deliver his vote for this important conservation issue. At press time, the Senate andHouse versions of the budget had yet to be reconciled so the threat of drilling remained, but Audubon members should takepride in our efforts to protect the Arctic. Please take the time to thank Congressman Inglis for his courageous vote if you reside in the 4th District.

FRANCIS MARION NATIONAL FOREST: When the Town ofMount Pleasant proposed to expand their planning area andextend water and sewer service to lands within the boundariesof the Francis Marion National Forest, conservationists re-sponded in a big way. Audubon joined with our conservationpartners and spoke out against any plans that would promotedevelopment in this critical habitat and Important Bird Area.Alerts were sent out and Audubon members living in MountPleasant responded by making phone calls, writing letters andattending public hearings. Mount Pleasant officials have nowcommitted to joining with other governments and coordinatingfor the future protection of the National Forest.

Documents

JANUARY 2006 South Carolina Audubon Newsletter