Wilderness Lost
Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge
South Carolina Lowcountry Refuge Complex
South Carolina
Lowcountry Refuge Complex
Waccamaw NWR
22,859 Acres
Santee NWR
12,483 Acres
Cape Romain NWR
66,287 Acres
Ernest F. Hollings
ACE Basin NWR
11,836 Acres
Total Acres = 113,645
South Carolina Lowcountry Refuge Complex
Management Team
South Carolina Lowcountry Refuges
Photo by Garry Tucker
Cape Romain NWR
Class 1 Wilderness Area - Est. 1975
29,000 Acres
Starting at the line of mean
high tide, not including the
water
South Carolina Lowcountry Refuge Complex
Not designated wilderness
South Carolina Lowcountry Refuge Complex
National Wildlife Refuge System
• Wilderness Areas on 26 Coastal Refuges in
Lower 48 - 123,645 Acres
• Wilderness Acres on Cape Romain – 29,000
23%
Cape Romain
Coastal Refuges
77%
South Carolina Lowcountry Refuge Complex
Cape Romain NWR
Wilderness Management
Challenges
• Staffing Levels Reduced by Downsizing and Complexing
• Labor Intensive Recovery Program
• 1 ¼ LE Officers for 4 geographically distant refuges
• Habitat Impacts
• Erosion
• Submersion
• Conversion
• National Register Historic Lighthouses
SC Lowcountry Refuge Complex
Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge
Workforce Before and After Downsizing
Cape Romain NWR
Project
Refuge Santee NWR
Leader
Manager ACE Basin NWR
Waccamaw NWR
Office Assistant Deputy Refuge
Refuge Manager
Manager
Team Leader
Maintenance
Park Ranger Wildlife Biologist Biologist
Maintenance Maintenance
Worker Worker
Park Ranger
Perm Part Time
Range Tech
Bio Tech
Park Ranger
Temp
Laborer Temp Biological
Summer STEP Temp Biological
Summer SCEP
Maintenance
From Stimulus $$
Tech from Stimulus $$
Tech
Worker
Temp Biological Temp Biological
Tech Tech
South Carolina Lowcountry Refuge Complex
Cape Romain’s Salt Marsh
• Extends 22 miles along SC coast
• 45% of Refuge land base
• Supports SC oyster, shrimp, crab industries
• Foundation of food web for shorebirds,
seabirds, loggerhead sea turtles,
wading birds
• Rich productive estuaries and tidal creeks
• Moderates storm surges, prevents mainland
erosion, filters sediments and
toxicants from water
Photo by Steve Hillebrand
SC Lowcountry Refuge Complex
The Rate of Sea Level Rise near Cape Romain
South Carolina Lowcountry Refuge Complex
Wilderness Designation
from the
Mean High Tide Line
Future Acreage
Current Acreage
SC Lowcountry Refuge Complex
Sea Level Rise = Habitat in Motion
Photo by Steve Hillebrand
South Carolina Lowcountry Refuge Complex
The Loss of
Sandy Point
1875 US Coast Survey
SC Lowcountry Refuge Complex
1994 to 1997 – Raccoon Key retreated 27m/year on average. Ref Walter
Sexton, Ph.D. of Athena Technologies.
2000
SC Lowcountry Refuge Complex
February, 2009
2006
SC Lowcountry Refuge Complex
Historic, Current
Nesting on Sandy Point
Black Skimmers
1993 228
2008 0
100% Decline
Least Tern
1990 144
2008 26
92% Decline
South Carolina Lowcountry Refuge Complex
Cape Island
South Carolina Lowcountry Refuge Complex
Cape Island Shoreline Erosion
1999 2006
In 7 years – 180 feet of shoreline lost
SC Lowcountry Refuge Complex
Cape Island
Topography
South Carolina Lowcountry Refuge Complex
Bulls Island
Shoreline Lost Since 1875
Since 2000 225 ft.
Non Wilderness Area:
Since 1964 870 ft.
• Actions involve the improvement of
Since 1926 1,885 ft.
freshwater habitat management
Since 1875 2,950 ft.
capability to offset the loss of the
Avg Pond Perimeter Levee
Jacks rate of loss 20 to 25
ft/yr
• $750K in Stimulus will fund the work 1852-1875
1852-1875
1920-1926
1920-1926
1962-1964
1962-1964
2000
SC Lowcountry Refuge Complex
Boneyard Beach
Maritime Forest Lost
South Carolina Lowcountry Refuge Complex
Island-Building Sediment Supply
Short-stopped in 1940’s
• Historic Annual Mean: 18,500 cfs
• Impounded 1940’s
• Current flow 10,900 cfs
• Coarse sand and sediment drops
Cape Romain NWR
out in lakes
South Carolina Lowcountry Refuge Complex
Cape Romain’s Wilderness Area Lighthouses
• Circa 1827, 1858
• National Historic Register
• Remote low-lying island
• Accessible during low tide only
• Significant work needed
• Wilderness Area prohibitions
• Maintenance costs prohibitive
• Safety issues
Photo by Steve Hillebrand
South Carolina Lowcountry Refuge Complex
Cape Romain NWR SLAMM Report
Open Ocean Undeveloped Land
10% 3%
~29,820
Acres
Estuarine Water Salt Marsh
35% 45%
Estuarine Beach
2%
Undeveloped Land Swamp Inland Fresh Marsh
Transitional Salt Marsh Salt Marsh Estuarine Beach
Tidal Flat Inland Open Water Estuarine Water
Open Ocean Brackish Marsh
South Carolina Lowcountry Refuge Complex
2050 - 2100
41% loss of Salt Marsh Acres
-12,116
Acres
Open Ocean Undeveloped Land Undeveloped
13% 3% Land Salt Marsh
Open Ocean
2% 8%
Estuarine Beach
17% 1%
Salt Marsh Tidal Flat
31% 11%
Estuarine Beach
Estuarine Water 1%
44% Tidal Flat
3% Estuarine Water
58%
Undeveloped Land Swamp Undeveloped Land Swamp Inland Fresh Marsh
Transitional Salt Marsh Salt Marsh Estuarine Beach
Inland Fresh Marsh Transitional Salt Marsh
Tidal Flat Inland Open Water Estuarine Water
Salt Marsh Estuarine Beach Open Ocean Brackish Marsh
Tidal Flat Inland Open Water
Estuarine Water Open Ocean
Brackish Marsh
SC Lowcountry Refuge Complex
Cape Romain NWR
29,820 Acres (45%) Salt Marsh
SC Lowcountry Refuge Complex
2050
18% Loss of Salt Marsh (-5,367Acres)
SC Lowcountry Refuge Complex
2100
41% loss of Salt Marsh Acres (-12,226 Acres)
SC Lowcountry Refuge Complex
Cape Romain NWR Wilderness
Vital Habitat for Shorebirds
American Oystercatcher • Annually supports majority of shorebirds in South
Carolina - 18-22 species
• 30% of total wintering population of American
Oystercatcher, 56% of the nesting population
• Largest population of Marbled Godwits on Atlantic
Coast, peaking at 960 birds during southbound
migration
Marbled Godwit • Critical habitat for Piping Plover – only 6,400 left
on the planet
• Nesting by Least Tern: Redlist Species on
Audubon’s Watchlist
• 1 of only 20 WHSRN Sites of International
Importance in North and South America
Piping Plover
• Nesting areas posted closed Feb
15 – Sep 15
• Law Enforcement Oversight
• Population monitoring partnership
with DNR
Photo by Steve Hillebrand
SC Lowcountry Refuge Complex
Nesting Habitat for Loggerhead Sea Turtles
Photo by Steve Hillebrand
SC Lowcountry Refuge Complex
Loggerhead Sea Turtle
Threats to nesting success: loss
of suitable nesting habitat,
predation, rising temperatures
• Sexual maturity at 25-30
• Females nest where they were hatched
• Egg laying 1-7 times every 2-3 years • Refuge supports 23% of N. subpopulation
• Clutch size: 100-126 • Nest ID, relocation if necessary,
• Female departs and eggs are untended predator control, monitoring
• Incubation period averages 60 days • Refuge recovery program spans 30 years
• Chance for survival 1 in 1,000 hatchlings • May – October, 7 days a week
• Annual Cost 2008 = $194,000
Photo by Steve Hillebrand
SC Lowcountry Refuge Complex
Relocated Nests on Cape Island
Nursery on Cape Island
Photo by Steve Hillebrand
SC Lowcountry Refuge Complex
Cape Romain NWR
Loggerhead Sea Turtle Recovery Program
• Purpose: mitigate impacts of
beach erosion and nest inundation
on incubating eggs; prevent
predation
• Majority of nests on Cape Island,
where we are losing 25 ft. of
shoreline a year
• Females interbreed with FL males.
However if N. subpopulation
extirpated, will not be replenished
by regional dispersal
In 2008 – 1,431 nests, 54% relocated,
92,640 eggs
Photo by Steve Hillebrand
SC Lowcountry Refuge Complex
Erosion Destroys Erosion Exposes
Nesting Habitat Eggs to Predation
Photo by Steve Hillebrand
South Carolina Lowcountry Refuge Complex
Hot Chicks – Cool Dudes
• Temperature during incubation determines gender
• Pivotal temp 29.5 C (85.1 F)
• Some studies show that more females are being produced
today than 20 years ago
• Nesting is occurring 7-10 days earlier in the year, possibly
due to increased temperatures.
Photo by Steve Hillebrand
SC Lowcountry Refuge Complex
Recovery Program
Successes
• Hatch rate increased
from 25% to 78%
• Predation from 70% to 0.
• No significant difference
in temperatures between
in situ nests and
relocated nests.
• Females nesting on
refuge today may be
hatchlings we helped to
survive 30-years ago
South Carolina Lowcountry Refuge Complex
Recovery Program Challenges
Due to Sea Level Rise
• Suitable nesting beaches are eroding
• Refuge islands likely to destabilize,
fragment
• More nests are subject to inundation
then mortality
• More frequent storm events, each
creating escarpments that turtles
can’t navigate
• Rising global temps may affect
gender ratio
• Increased workload needed to
address above - not possible with
current staff
South Carolina Lowcountry Refuge Complex
Planning For a
Moving Target
• Comprehensive Conservation Plan
– 15 year view forward
• Currently developing goals and
objectives. Included are:
1. Inventory and Monitoring for Marsh Birds
and Shorebirds
2. ARC View/GIS Analysis of historic through
current habitats to predict, prepare
3. LIDAR Elevation data to improve SLAMM
model
4. Emphasis on land acquisition upslope
Photo by Steve Hillebrand
South Carolina Lowcountry Refuge Complex
Planning Ahead to Regain
Lost Habitat
• 3 tracts available within ME
Boundary, suitable as new
Wilderness Acres
• Mainland tracts:
1. From willing sellers
2. Undeveloped
3. Containing creeks, wetlands,
and natural habitats
4. Under development risk
Policy changes needed:
Streamlined land acquisition
processes
South Carolina Lowcountry Refuge Complex
Streamline Land Protection Processes as
a Solution to Sea Level Rise
• Prioritize refuge boundary expansions when sea level rise is a threat
• Add Climate Change factors to the LAPS scoring process
• Return appraisal services capability to the FWS to ensure that
appraisals are timely and responsive to acquisition needs
• Expand flexibility on funding options – i.e., Greenbelt dollars
• Allow a floating acreage target area rather than targeting specific
tracts
• Land acquisition processes take years. Tracts are disappearing from
the market and becoming subdivisions overnight. As sea levels rise,
developed land will not contain the habitat that is needed for
displaced species. Delays in acquisition reduce the availability of
suitable habitat
South Carolina Lowcountry Refuge Complex
South Carolina
Lowcountry Complex Actions Underway to
National
Park Service
Address Climate Change
Resource
Organizations
Dept. Health
Env. Quality Seeking Partners: For a landscape level,
NOAA multi-disciplinary partnership
Universities
Share information
National
Wildlife Federation •
Scientists
• Pool resources
• Identify solutions
Corps of Engineers
Nature
Conservancy
• Facilitate research
Dept.
Natural Resources • Increase awareness
USGS • Work together toward common goals
Savannah Coastal
Refuges Complex
Coastal
Conservation League
South Carolina Lowcountry Refuge Complex
Cape Romain NWR
Future Wilderness Area
Management Challenges
• Ominous SLAMM predictions
depict significant loss of
Wilderness Acres
• Insufficient baseline info on
species and habitats – to ID
what we had, have, will get
• Habitat and species impacts are
outpacing research and modeling
efforts
• Staffing levels prohibitive to
workload expansion
SC Lowcountry Refuge Complex
Positive Role of Cape Romain
Wilderness Areas in the
Climate Change Arena
• Climate Change is a new scientific
frontier – SEND SCIENTISTS
• Refuge offers a living laboratory
for scientific study of habitat and
species impacts
• Models that are currently being
developed can use real time data
from Cape Romain NWR to more
precisely measure species
vulnerability, timeline of habitat
transformations, shoreline losses
SC Lowcountry Refuge Complex
Questions?
Sunset Photo by Steve Hillebrand
South Carolina Lowcountry Refuge Complex