New towers at Huntington Beach State Park, Tom Yawkey Wildlife Center, and Clemson University represent crucial developments in understanding the intricate patterns of bird migration through South Carolina and the Atlantic Flyway.
“Our position has been, and continues to be, that any planned development should be sited and scaled in such a way that negative impacts to wildlife, wetlands and the natural environment are avoided or at the very least minimized,” said Tim Evans, director of land conservation at Audubon South Carolina, in response to news of the letter. “The planned development at Cainhoy does neither.”
“When we talk about population growth and people coming to South Carolina, we have to remember why they’re coming,” Tim Evans, ASC said. “They’re coming because of the climate and the natural history and the live oaks with the Spanish moss hanging in them, and the natural surrounding that they didn’t have where they came from. We can’t destroy the things that the people are coming for, in order to accommodate the people that are coming.”
This conservation property, operated by Audubon South Carolina, borders the Savannah River approximately 20 miles south of Aiken. Not surprisingly, birds abound on the property and 215 species have been documented to date.
For a state that is so proud of its natural resources, providing safe haven for the red knot is becoming increasingly difficult.
