2022 Wounded Nature Veterans / Sunken Boat Removal at Bennett's Point

Sunken boat raised and hauled off by Wounded Nature

The Wounded Nature nonprofit group, founded by Veterans, aims to clean up the coastal environment one project at ta time. They provide opportunities for other veterans to join in these rewarding work projects and they invite partners such as state agencies and private business to join in. Their most recent effort took place on August 16 in coastal Colleton County, near Bennett's Point boat ramp where a sunken boat was blocking the waterway.  SC Senator Chip Campsen volunteered to join Tow Boat US and SCDNR to raise the boat and float it onto the Wounded Nature trailer at the boat ramp, showing how conservation is best served when a coalition of willing partners work together. 

SC Senator Chip Campsen at the helm 

The ACE Basin watershed consists of the Ashepoo River, Combahee River and Edisto Rivers and Bennett's Point is a central to this area. The ACE Basin National Estuarine Research Reserve monitors this area constantly, and welcomes citizen groups like Wounded Nature to provide the manpower that helps keep the environment pristine. Recreational anglers, commercial shrimpers, cruising boaters and naturalists all rely on the sustainability of these natural resources, and value protected properties like South Fenwick Island. If anyone can identify an area in coastal S.C. with need for clean-up, the Wounded Nature group is based in Charleston.

Colleton County Game Warden J.P. Jones

2022 S.C. Plantation Managers meet in Sumter / Shaw AFB

Artist Grainger McKoy with Jason Hewett,
SCPMA Past President 2014 - 2021

The annual meeting of the S.C. Plantation Managers Association (SCPMA) took place on Thursday August 4 at a protected property in Sumter County. A rural farm consisting of 694-acres has been purchased and put under conservation easement and now serves as a buffer to Shaw AFB. A new building has been built overlooking Booths Pond and a plaque reads - The Sumter Community built this facility to honor and benefit the women and men of Shaw Air Force Base. And yes, the 'Sound of Freedom' can be heard there loud and clear.

Turkey mount with superb shed antler display 

Discussions about wildlife and habitat management are the main topics that meeting speakers address, but in 2022 Sumter-native Grainger McKoy served as keynote speaker to speak as an outdoors enthusiast. SCPMA President Brad Pettus welcomed everyone on behalf of Duck Bottom Plantation, and ushered in a series of speakers including Patrick Wightman who spoke about turkey populations, Paul Grimes from Tall Timbers spoke on quail management, and Emery Tumbleston spoke on youth involvement in the outdoors. 

When McKoy took the stage he shared that he had worked on this rural farm when he was 15-years old, making a wage of $15 a week for tractor work, and that fishing in the pond was a benefit. McKoy is a die-hard quail hunter and he joked that Quail are an indicator species for him, and that if you liked to quail hunt too, then that was a good indication that you could be friends. On a serious note, he challenged the managers to think about the legacy they can leave on the lands they serve, noting that others had the job before you and someone else will hold that position after you. He cited scripture, told stories from his life, and led us in a closing prayer. For more on Grainger McKoy, click on Friends of Nemours.

Monument to Shaw Air Force Base

To view past blog entries from SCPMA click on 2021 Cherokee Plantation - 2016 Hobcaw Barony - 2015 / Walterboro - 2014 Spring Island - 2011 / Brosnan Forest - 2010 Nemours Plantation - 2009 Poco Sabo Plantation