2018 Kiawah Island Resort Expansion and Marsh Conservation

Transforming Kiawah Island Golf Resort's Amenities

The coastal island resort known for great golf courses and spectacular beaches chose March of 2018 to announce milestones regarding both conservation and development. The Kiawah Conservancy and Kiawah Partners just completed protection of the extensive marsh system of 1,850-acres between the Kiawah River and Kiawah Island. The Kiawah Island Golf Resort announced plans to build a new beachfront hotel, one with deeper porches and a more relaxed feel that suits the Lowcountry.

            

Golf Resort President Roger Warren was in high demand

The new Kiawah 2.0 development plans were announced at the Sanctuary Hotel, during a special media event organized by Golf Resort public relations director Bryan Hunter. In attendance were the architects, engineers, general contractors and interior designers that are ready to begin what will be a transformation process ahead of the 2021 PGA Championship golf tournament at the Ocean Course. The wide-ranging plans include two four-bedroom cottages on the Ocean Course, which are sure to be in high demand.

            

Golf Resort PR Director Bryan Hunter is on point

The President of Kiawah Island Golf Resort, Roger Warren, spoke to the crowd about each of the building projects that are to be completed simultaneously. “We are talking about adding beautiful buildings here at Kiawah, but the mission is still to provide great service to our guests,” said Warren. “While we are proud of Cougar Point golf course, we see the need for improved facilities so Kiawah 2.0 includes a brand new clubhouse for Cougar Point. The clubhouse will become just a part of a new cluster of amenities including a new waterfront hotel with ocean view restaurants and a convention center, all connected by a boardwalk to enhance the public experience.”

To view the entire feature article in the newspaper click on Colletonian.

To view blog entries from the PGA Championship click on 2017 Quail Hollow - 2012 Ocean Course

To view past blog entries about golf click on Barsnley Resort - Forest Hills 

Most recent tract of Kiawah marsh protected forever

2018 Bassmaster Classic - Jordan Lee Defends 2017 Title

Back-To-Back Champion for 2017 and 2018

History is repeating itself in the world of professional freshwater bass fishing. The Bassmaster Classic fishing tournament, known as the Super Bowl of Bass Fishing returned to South Carolina’s Lake Hartwell for the second time in three years, after the 2015 event. Then angler Jordan Lee of Alabama, won the 2018 Bassmaster Classic weigh-in in downtown Greenville, defending his 2017 title from Lake Conroe in Texas and becoming a back-to-back champion. Lee started fishing on the Carhartt collegiate series, became a pro on the bassmaster series in 2015, and the 2018 Bassmaster Classic win brings his career earnings past one million dollars.

            

Jason Christie Led after Day One and Day Two,
but finished in third place.

The best freshwater bass anglers come from all around the country, with a strong contingent of young men from the Southeast, to compete in the Bassmaster Classic. The fact that the B.A.S.S. organization chose to return to Greenville, S.C. again shows the respect they have for the fishery at Lake Hartwell. That first tourney ended with S.C. native Casey Ashley winning the 2015 BassmasterClassic, and Ashley competed again this year, but did not weigh enough bass to claim a second title on home waters. When Ashley was on stage during Saturday’s weigh-in he urged the hometown crowd to cheer hard for all of the visiting anglers on Sunday.

            

Another great showing for Greenville fans

There was little drama after Day One fishing on Friday, and Day Two fishing on Saturday with angler Jason Christie of Oklahoma weighing in the heaviest bag of bass both days. All Christie would have to do is go out on Sunday and add another solid bag of bass to his weight total and he might claim his first ever Bassmaster Classic title. While a few anglers were in striking distance of Christie, Jordan Lee started Day Three in sixth place, and was just sort of hanging around after a lackluster Day One bag of bass. But that position proved to be good enough for back-to-back titles in 2017 and 2018.

B.A.S.S. is 50 in 2018 - Congrats!

To view the entire feature article in the newspaper click on Colletonian.

 To view past blog entires about Bass Fishing in S.C. click on FLW Tour / Forrest Wood Cup. 

2018 Coastal Geology at Edisto / Botany Bay WMA

SCDNR's Bess Kellett and Katie Luciano

Long before the creation of Botany Bay WMA in 2008, the shoreline on the northern end of Edisto Island has been undergoing changes due to environmental conditions. The Edisto Island Open Land Trust invited South Carolina Department of Natural Resources geologist Katie Luciano to address their Back To Nature event on Saturday March 10. Aerial photos leave little doubt that the shoreline is receding at Botany Bay WMA, which is a normal cycle in barrier island geomorphology.

            

ACE Basin map

The coastal geology lecture was held in the meeting room at the Edisto Beach State Park Environmental Learning Center. Right beside the meeting facility is the Bache Monument Trail, where a historical marker from the 1850 U.S. Coast Survey by Alexander Dallas Bache is located. Bache was the grandson of Benjamin Franklin, and supervised placing survey markers to aid accurate measurements of changing coastlines in the future. There is a series of Bache monuments on Edisto with the West End located on the State Park and the East End located on Botany Bay WMA.

Bache was Grandson of Benjamin Franklin

“Barrier Islands are very young in terms of geology,” said Luciano. “We date much of Botany Bay WMA coastline to the Holocene era which is just 11,000-years old. Shorelines can shift very rapidly, especially under the influence of hurricanes. In general, coastal geology is constantly dynamic, and sea level rise is a new factor which could accelerate erosion. We are already seeing old marsh and sand deposits being exposed on Botany Bay WMA, which can harden due to the oxidation process.” The Shoreline Change Project, creating digital shoreline datasets primarily from historical aerial imagery, is also able to utilize scientific monitoring data from the larger ACE Basin National Estuarine Research Reserve.

To view the entire feature article in the newspaper click on Colletonian.

To view blog entries from 2018 at Edisto click on Grits Cook Off - Spring Events Calendar

To view past blog entries from the Edisto Chamber Business of the Year click on 2017 - 2016

To view past blog entries from Edisto Island Open Land Trust click on 2017 Oyster Roast - 2017 Lowcountry Landscape Lecture - 2017 Tomato Open - 2017 I Love Edisto Auction- 2016 Oyster Roast - 2014 Oyster Roast - 2014 Spring Birding - 2013 Oyster Roast - 2012 ACE Basin Mtg. - 2009 Spring Birding

To view past blog entries from 2017 at Edisto click on Edisto Music Festival - Lions Club Bingo - Business of the Year - Jim Bost Tourney - Summer Activities - Edisto Billfish Tourney - No Rules Tourney

To view past blog entries from 2016 at Edisto click on Jim Bost Memorial - Dolphin Slam - Cobia Tourney - Spring Shorebird Synergy - Bovine Bones on Beach - Edisto River book - 2016 Edisto Billfish Tourney - Coastal Discovery Cruise