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Thread: Tom Yawkey and Duck Hunters= Pandering by Activist Groups

  1. #1
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    Default Tom Yawkey and Duck Hunters= Pandering by Activist Groups

    https://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/ne...229825934.html

    So hold on to your hats, people actually want to hunt ducks on state land. What? This article reads like Tom Yawkey was a hunter turned tree hugger. The debate will rage on but nothing will change unless it gets defunded. Anyway, it was/is great when someone of such means gives a gift of nature to the public, I just wish there was a better use plan in place. MG

    https://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/ne...229825934.html


    Boston Red Sox owner left land to protect ducks. But hunters want to shoot them


    The Tom Yawkey Wildlife Center near Georgetown, S.C. was left to the state as a sanctuary for birds and other animals in the will of the late Boston Red Sox owner, who died in the mid 1970s.
    The Tom Yawkey Wildlife Center near Georgetown, S.C. was left to the state as a sanctuary for birds and other animals in the will of the late Boston Red Sox owner, who died in the mid 1970s. PHOTO BY SAMMY FRETWELL/THE STATE
    COLUMBIA, SC
    When Boston Red Sox owner Tom Yawkey died in 1976, he left three large coastal islands to the state of South Carolina for protection as a wildlife sanctuary, free of hunting and the disruptions caused by sportsmen.


    Now, a little known plan in the state Legislature would allow hunting on part of the Yawkey Wildlife Center, a 20,000-acre complex of islands, marshes and maritime forests near Georgetown that make up one of the most significant nature preserves in South Carolina.

    The change would be a big deal, because if approved by the Legislature in the state budget, it could drive away thousands of ducks, ruin world-renowned alligator research — and, ultimately, cause the state to lose control of a natural area it has managed since the baseball club owner’s death, say critics of the budget plan.


    “It is a bad idea,’’ said Phil Wilkinson, a Georgetown alligator researcher who managed the property for Yawkey before the state took control. “Hunters could go in there and blow that place apart. Mr. Yawkey managed and gave it as a gift to the state of South Carolina, but it had to be protected.’’


    Yawkey’s will left the land to South Carolina, but only as long as the state complied with conditions of the will. Those conditions specifically banned hunting, and designated one island a wilderness area, where “no activities detrimental to its primitive wilderness character shall be permitted,’’ according to the will.


    If the state ever breached that agreement, the property would revert to a New England trust that he set up in his will to oversee how the property is managed. The S.C. Department of Natural Resources manages the land.

    “That would devastate us’’ if the DNR lost the land, agency director Alvin Taylor said. “Yawkey is one of our crown jewels. We take a lot of pride in management there.’’


    Taylor said he hopes concerns about hunting on the land can be resolved through a series of meetings that include Yawkey Trust officials.

    State Sen. Stephen Goldfinch, a Georgetown Republican who is pushing to allow some hunting on the preserve, said critics are raising undue alarms. He met with a top DNR official Tuesday afternoon and was told the agency would allow some hunting and fishing on the lower end of a creek, near the Santee River, if the Yawkey Foundation approved it.

    Goldfinch said he’ll continue to push his legislative plan until the DNR follows through on those plans. He argues that the DNR allowed some hunting and fishing in that area years ago, only to close it off — a point former DNR officials dispute. Goldfinch said limited hunting in that area would not have a big impact on wildlife at the Yawkey Center.

    “I’ve never in my life heard of a state agency getting permission from a private foundation’’ to make a decision about use of public property, Goldfinch said. “If they feel the need to go to Yawkey and get the blessing from Yawkey, I hope they do it in the very near future. I’m ready to act on it.’’

    Efforts by The State to reach the Yawkey Trust this week were unsuccessful. But Wilkinson and others familiar with the issue said they doubt the trust members would welcome hunting on the land.


    The Tom Yawkey Wildlife Center is among a string of wildlife refuges between Georgetown and Charleston left to the state decades ago by wealthy northern landowners.

    The Yawkey refuge includes 12 miles of pristine beaches on North and South islands, which attract nesting loggerhead sea turtles. The preserve also includes managed rice fields that attract up to 30,000 ducks each winter; deep woodlands with underbrush so thick it is difficult for anyone to walk through; some of the northernmost Palmetto forests in South Carolina; a handful of historic buildings; and the state’s oldest working lighthouse. At least 200 species of birds, including bald eagles and the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker, are found on the preserve.

    Yawkey used the property as hunting land for himself and his friends, including legendary baseball players Ty Cobb and Lefty Grove. But Yawkey later decided that hunting should be curtailed and spelled that out in his will. At the time of Yawkey’s death, he had not hunted the property in years, Wilkinson said.


    Through the decades, the property has attracted scores of scientists to conduct research on wildlife. Weekly public bus tours also are allowed.


    A key concern to Wilkinson is the decades of alligator research conducted there. The area that would be open to hunting under Goldfinch’s legislative proposal, Mosquito Creek, contains some of the oldest and most studied alligators on the Yawkey Wildlife Center. Allowing hunting could allow sportsmen to shoot those gators, Wilkinson said. Mosquito Creek also is near vast areas filled with ducks that would be killed or leave the area if hunters start firing guns, others said.

    Bob Joyner, a former manager of the Yawkey center for the DNR, said allowing hunting anywhere on the refuge would defeat its purpose: to give ducks and other animals a place of refuge, where populations could recover from hunting nearby. The Yawkey Center is surrounded by duck hunting grounds.

    “It would render the area as a refuge non-functional,’’ Joyner said. “They need some area of refuge to get away from the guns.’’


    The plan, included as a proviso in the state budget, would bar the S.C. Department of Natural Resources from enforcing a “sanctuary agreement” that prevents hunting or fishing on navigable waters, or those accessible by boat. Navigable waters in South Carolina are publicly owned. The proviso is not final because the Legislature has not approved the budget.

    Goldfinch said the proviso — which is good for one year and would have to be renewed next year — focuses on the Yawkey preserve. He said he regularly receives complaints from hunters that he said are prohibited from using the Mosquito Creek area. Mosquito Creek is public water that people are free to use, so why should the state ban them from hunting from boats? Goldfinch asked. Goldfinch said the state DNR has expanded its authority into the Mosquito Creek area, a charge the agency denies.

    He said he’s not overly worried about the Yawkey Foundation’s concerns.


    “I want to be a good partner with Yawkey (foundation members) and want to keep them informed of what we are doing, ,’’ he said, ‘’but they are not our boss. Mr. Yawkey has been dead a long time. And from the grave, I’m not sure he should be dictating what the public does from public land and with public waters. That gives me real heartburn.’’

    The DNR’s Taylor said the issue needs to be resolved because the Yawkey center is special to South Carolina.

    “You don’t find these places very often,’’ Taylor said. “We love it so.’’
    Dum Spiro Spero

  2. #2
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    mergied in habitat and politics forum....
    Ugh. Stupid people piss me off.

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    Quote Originally Posted by 2thDoc View Post
    mergied in habitat and politics forum....
    I stay out of those forums, I am afraid my feelings getting hurt by mean people. MG
    Dum Spiro Spero

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    Mosquito creek was in fact once open to public hunting,as well as what we locals call,"behind the rocks"i personally hunted both during my high school years

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    Not sure how many years ago your talking Tallman, but probably close to 30 years ago, we ventured to a new spot, in the dark going blind, which happened to be mosquito creek. We knew why we had such a good morning after coming out that and seeing the NO HUNTING signs. We never went back and tried our luck again.
    Behind the rocks didn't have no hunting signs back then or they were destroyed. The few times we went in there scounting we only jumped a few ducks and never chose to hunt it. We always stayed outside in MNton but you better be leaving by the time the tide turned.
    Does the state PAY for any of the activities that take place on Yawkey? It always seemed back then there were alot of people headed over and they didn't appear to be researchers.
    Low country redneck who moved north

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    Quote Originally Posted by mudflat View Post
    Not sure how many years ago your talking Tallman, but probably close to 30 years ago, we ventured to a new spot, in the dark going blind, which happened to be mosquito creek. We knew why we had such a good morning after coming out that and seeing the NO HUNTING signs. We never went back and tried our luck again.
    Behind the rocks didn't have no hunting signs back then or they were destroyed. The few times we went in there scounting we only jumped a few ducks and never chose to hunt it. We always stayed outside in MNton but you better be leaving by the time the tide turned.
    Does the state PAY for any of the activities that take place on Yawkey? It always seemed back then there were alot of people headed over and they didn't appear to be researchers.
    There are some private slams over there. That is probably the majority of people coming and going. The operations over there are 100% funded by the YF.

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    Mosquito Creek is a tidal, navigable creek that separates South Island from Cat Island. Yawkey never owned it. But in the old days, powerful men often claimed things anyway. Baruch claimed he owned most of the North lnlet marshes. His "No Trespassing" signs were all over every creek out there, even up to around 1980.

    DNR baited Mosquito Creek for years to keep people from hunting. Then, they posted it as a sanctuary. All of those signs are gone now. I think they'd have a hard time making a case stick.

    As for The SI complex proper, good luck getting the foundation to allow hunting.

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    They were shooting deer in the '70's and giving them to Tara, there were a lot of coats and ties going across on the ferry during hunting season, I guess they were going fishing. He tried to control Cat but it is or was owned by a man in Georgetown and I know they shot ducks.

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    Me and a buddy fed Tara two pretty sow hogs around Christmas time one year. We learned the laws about tidal creeks, high water lines, King Grant land, and several other things from Mr. Green Jeans that year.
    Low country redneck who moved north

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    it was indeed over 40 years ago, during and right after my high school day, im closing in on 59 now, it was an allday trip to cross the rocks,many black ducks and mallards came outta there, and it was all open water in MNor,right up till you could touch the rocks, cat island is private land, left to Mp Farris"s grand son, its mostly a mud hole now, and they do deer hunt it during the season, they are allowed to keep a vechile on the island side, but no longer cross on the ferry, my understanding of what the Foundation HAS done and is now wanting to do is extend the limits out to include more of the North Bay area and are enforcing the trespassing for even being on the PUBLIC beach and fishing in the interior waters, which I think is illegal

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    Cat Island and Black Out are both private, and both shoot ducks.

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    I have nightmares that 100 years from now our coast will be totally developed. It is moves like this proposed by Goldfinch that start the slippery slope for that to happen. Goldfinch does not appear to grasp that this a property law issue; not some Yankees telling us what to do.
    DILLIGAF

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    The days of lead shot and having to stop at 12. No cell phones, GPS that say all but hunt here, Hi Tides and Dura Crafts.
    Low country redneck who moved north

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    sometimes, we gotta do something we dont wanna do for the greater good.
    Ugh. Stupid people piss me off.

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    Pat Ferris was hunting Cat in the '70's when I was living in GTown and we would hunt in MC, Mother Norton, NI , the ditches of Arcadia outside the dies of other plantation and outside Santee Gun club.

    There were sme folks even hunted the water inside Brookgreen Gardens.

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    Mr. Bessinger didn't appreciate it, either.

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    Quote Originally Posted by rrconductor View Post
    There were some folks even hunted the water inside Brookgreen Gardens.
    I can vouch for this.



    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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    Who cares about a gator

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    Quote Originally Posted by 2thDoc View Post
    sometimes, we gotta do something we dont wanna do for the greater good.
    like wear red, skip work, and march on the state house.
    "Check your premise." Dr. Hugh Akston

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    Goldfinch has a point. The navigable creek should not be closed to sport. I know plenty who would like public sanctuary right up to their dikes.

    Maybe we can get fishing open and not hunting.

    I can try to amend back to the house version of budget. There needs to be some peace and quiet somewhere in this state.
    Last edited by Duck Tape; 05-02-2019 at 06:28 PM.
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