Feds acquire historic plantation for public use. Land full of wildlife, ricefields
BY SAMMY FRETWELL
MAY 30, 2020 11:55 AM , UPDATED MAY 30, 2020 01:16 PM
The federal government is buying a centuries old plantation that includes historic rice fields, expansive live oak trees and a long-leaf pine forest along the Pee Dee River on South Carolina’s northern coast.
Hasty Point Plantation, among a corridor of old plantations along the river in Georgetown County, will become part of the Waccamaw National Wildlife Refuge when the deal closes later this year, according to the U.S. Department of the Interior.
The $5 million acquisition, which relied on a combination of federal funds, is significant because it will substantially improve public access to the 34,000-acre Waccamaw refuge, established 23 years ago as development pressure grew in the Georgetown area south of Myrtle Beach.
While the Waccamaw refuge has steadily grown since designated in 1997, access to the property has been limited mostly to people with boats who tour the refuge from rivers that run through it.
Now, people will be able to see more of the refuge by driving to the Hasty Point area. Plans now are to allow parking in the Plantersville area off U..S. 701 and to establish hiking trails or biking trails through Hasty Point to the Pee Dee River, about a mile away.
The Hasty Point land includes 772 acres west of Murrells Inlet and Pawleys Island, popular tourists spots. It is across the Pee Dee River from Sandy Island, a 9,000 acre island with no bridge that developers tried to build on in the 1990s. But Sandy Island was saved from development before they could do that.
Craig Sasser, the Waccamaw refuge’s manager, said Hasty Point Plantation will be a gateway to the refuge. The plantation has a corridor of massive live oak trees and historic buildings associated with the area’s past rice culture. One of those buildings could be developed into an interpretive center for visitors, he said.
The property, which had been protected by its private owners but was not routinely open to the public, also has a boat dock across from Sandy Island and about 50 acres of wetlands that have been managed to attract ducks. Limited hunting for youth will be allowed in the duck impoundments, he said.
“Our hope is we can try to incorporate some sustainable ecotourism opportunities in that area that will benefit the county, benefit the locals and give us an access way to Sandy Island,’’ Sasser said, noting that the “public access component and interpretive opportunities’’ are significant.
The property includes a long-leaf pine forest, a type of woodland that was decimated by timbering and development. Black bears wander through the area on their way from Horry County to south of Georgetown.
Hasty Point Plantation is said to have gotten its name as a result of Revolutionary War fighter Francis Marion, who frequented the area with his troops. The troops would make a hasty retreat through the area after launching guerilla-style attacks on the British, according to the website SouthCarolina-Plantations.com.. But that’ s a point of dispute among historians, Sasser said.
Waccamaw National Wildlife Refuge Manager Craig Sasser explains the purpose and future goals of the Waccamaw National Wildlife Refuge in protecting the natural resources along the Waccamaw and Pee Dee rivers. BY JASON LEE
The government’s acquisition results from a deal with the Schofield family, conservationists who have been active in protecting land along the northern South Carolina coast, Sasser said. The money used to acquire the land includes a national wetlands grant and money from the federal migratory bird conservation fund. The U.S. Department of Interior made the announcement this past week..
Bob Perry, a retired S.C. Department of Natural Resources biologist who worked for years in the area, said the addition of Hasty Point is a significant acquisition for natural resources in South Carolina.
“From a cultural and historical standpoint, that is an incredible site,’’ Perry said.
https://www.thestate.com/news/local/...243099096.html
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