— Hundreds of people visited the Audubon Center and Sanctuary at Francis Beidler Forest on Saturday to learn the history of maroon communities — groups of people who escaped slavery by taking refuge inside swamps, including Four Holes Swamp, during the antebellum period.
— This month, Audubon South Carolina and The Nature Conservancy of South Carolina marked the 50th Anniversary of a conservation partnership that helped establish and protect the Francis Beidler Forest in Harleyville.
— A federal foundation has granted $700,000 to the effort to save Crab Bank — a jolt of cash organizers sought and needed to pull off a $1.4 million fundraising effort.
— Mike Dawson is retiring after 38 and a half years working at the Francis Beidler Forest near Harleyville. Over the decades his role evolved from naturalist to center director and manager at the National Audubon Society’s 18,000-acre bird and wildlife sanctuary.
— The Land and Water Conservation Fund is the nation's most important conservation program, and it is set to expire this September without action by Congress.
— Memorial Day weekend heralds the traditional start of the summer tourism season on beaches along the South Carolina coast, but it also presents perils for some creatures enjoying the sand: shorebirds.
— The Trump administration and some members of Congress are ready to industries a free pass to kill birds with impunity by gutting the Migratory Bird Treaty Act--the nation’s most effective bird protection law.
