Preserve vast natural area

Regional planning is now a reality. Prominent on its agenda must be the protection and stewardship of the vast natural area that reaches from the Santee River on the north to the Wando River on the south, and from Lake Moultrie on the west to the Atlantic Ocean on the east. Contained within this area are the Francis Marion National Forest, Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge and the Santee Coastal Reserve, as well as thousands of acres of well-managed private forest lands, all of which exist in a symbiotic relationship.

The Post and Courier/Staff

A lily flower rises above a hidden wetland in the 260,00-acre Francis Marion National Forest.

Francis Marion (260,000 acres) contains an amazingly rich diversity of wildlife habitat, including four major wilderness areas. Some of the last sightings of the only native parrot on the North American continent, the Carolina Paroquet, were reported from this area. The ivory-billed woodpecker was reported to have been in the area as late as 1935.

Wild turkey and white-tail deer had been eliminated from the Upstate for decades until they were reintroduced from stocks within Francis Marion.

Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge (60,000 acres) is a designated wilderness of pristine marshland, islands and estuaries. Thousands of waterfowl and shore birds nest or stay the winter in this refuge every year. It has been called the most important refuge in the state and one of the most important on the entire Atlantic Seaboard.

Santee Coastal Reserve (24,000 acres) is noted in the comprehensive book "South Carolina Bird Life" by noted ornithologist Alexander Sprunt. He wrote: "The great egret rookery on the property is probably the oldest in continued use in the country."

The area has been and continues to be a Mecca for naturalists and biologists. Roger Tory Peterson, famous for his "A Field Guide to the Birds" made numerous trips to Cape Romain and Francis Marion to study bird life.

Strong and enduring regulation will be necessary to limit the negative impact of the predicted hordes of people migrating into the vicinity. To adequately ensure its future, this special place must be recognized for its true value and defined by boundaries and governed as a separate entity (a conservation district).

Poor stewardship by this generation will earn the contempt of those who follow.

The familiar is often taken for granted. Take this pre-eminent natural area for granted and one of the nation's greatest natural treasures will be lost forever.

JAMES O. McClellan III

Pinckney Street

McClellanville