The SPA’s Pledge for Growth program is finally moving forward with the goal of improving their land management practices.

Some steps they are taking include:

1. Offsetting the direct impact to aquatic resources and wetlands by contributing $3 million to restore 22 acres of tidal marsh along the southern tip of Drum Island in lower Charleston Harbor. The project will restore more than double the acreage that will be affected by development of the new terminal.
2. The Port is also dedicating $1 million to assist the Trust for Public Land (TPL) in preserving Morris Island, the site of a major battle in the Civil War, and $1 million to help the Cooper River Initiative, which is seeking to protect more than 15,000 acres of land – focus is the quality of the entire Cooper River Watershed, notably the Francis Marion Forest.
3. The Port is donating a three-acre parcel of land – valued at $975,000 – for the benefit of the Clemson University Restoration Institute, with an intent to provide water access to the Clemson facility (something I’m sure they’ll love).
4. With increased recycling, the Port’s contributions to local landfills are being drastically reduced.

The SPA’s land management
endeavors are widespread.
Credit: Pledge for Growth

It’s amazing what you can find out there if you just look in the right places. I just read a report on the EPA’s website about sea-level rising and it’s impact on us right here in S.C.

Some highlights:

• * Rising water levels are already an important factor in submerging low-lying lands, eroding beaches, converting wetlands to open water, and exacerbating coastal flooding. All of these effects will be increased if the rate of sea-level rise accelerates in the future.
• * Most coastal wetlands in the mid-Atlantic would be lost if sea level rises one meter in the next century. Even a 50-cm rise would threaten most wetlands along the Eastern Shore of Chesapeake Bay.
• * Possible responses to sea level rise include seawalls, bulkheads, and other shoreline armoring; elevating buildings and land surfaces (including beaches and wetlands); and allowing shorelines to change and moving structures out of harm’s way. Those three approaches have very different environmental and social impacts.
• * Preparing now can reduce the eventual environmental and economic impacts of sea level rise.
• * Some governmental and non-governmental organizations are already starting to prepare for sea level rise.

You can read the full report at Coastal Sensitivity to Sea-level Rise.