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Chapter Sanctuaries

McAlhany
The Charleston chapter manages the McAlhany Nature Preserve. This beautiful 318 acre property on the Edisto River near St. George, SC was donated to the Charleston Natural History Society (CNHS) in 1986, and it was dedicated as a nature preserve in honor of Marvin McAlhany on January 18, 1987.

CNHS entered a conservation easement agreement with the Lowcountry Open Land Trust on December 19, 2001 to ensure that McAlhany remains undeveloped. Over the past several years the chapter has renewed its commitment to the management of the preserve. For a relatively small piece of land it includes an incredibly diverse array of habitats, beginning with 1.5 miles of frontage on the Edisto River and a nine-acre oxbow lake. Some other notable features include: a mixed Mesophytic hardwood bluff (great for spring wildflowers); a beech, magnolia and spruce pine hammock – a possibly unique plant association; upland oak-hickory forest; bottomland hardwoods forest (including many acres along Cattle Creek); freshwater marsh; a low water limestone outcrop; and of course the cabin and picnic area near the lake. There is a major long-term longleaf pine and native grass restoration project in progress in old field area across Wire Road and members have begun to make improvements to the trail system (and hope to add new trails in the future).

The chapter hosts occasional barbeques as well as nature walks and working fieldtrips to the property. In the fall of 2007 they will mark the 20th anniversary of the property’s dedication with a picnic gathering and some brief remarks.