2016 Visit to Tom Yawkey Wildlife Center

Four roseate spoonbills in seclusion near Summer Duck Pond

Mature uplands meets pristine wetlands

In 2015 I made my initial journey onto the coastal islands that comprise the Tom Yawkey Wildlife Center in Georgetown County. This property is owned and run by the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, a gift of 20,000-acres from the late Tom Yawkey. During the prior visit the mission was to look for shorebirds so we stayed put at one or two ponds, but this visit ran the gamut from front beach to upland pines during a rambling four-hour bus tour of Cat Island and South Island.

            

Jim Lee has been with SCDNR for 30 years and serves as the Education and Outreach Coordinator for the property. Lee met our group at a dock on the Intracoastal waterway and shuttled us over to the property via pontoon boat. A brand new swing bridge to the island was installed in 2015, but wasn’t in use this day, but the real purpose of the new bridge is to allow logging trucks access to the island for the first timber harvesting in decades.

            

Unique Management Formula

These free educational field trips are offered by SCDNR throughout the year, since the two-fold mission at the Yawkey Center is scientific research and public outreach. When the property was founded in 1976, public access to the property was extremely limited, but social media and changing times have opened up much more opportunity for SCDNR to share how they are stewarding the marsh, uplands, swamps and beaches. The Georgetown Lighthouse is also located on North Island, a 4500-acre uninhabited wilderness area.

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

White Pelicans overflew our position

To view past blog entries on Yawkey Center click on 2015 Visit - Shorebirds with Manomet

To view past blog on avian conservation click on Cornell Lab of Ornithology - International Crane Foundation

Hurricane Matthew Reveals Weakness in Laurel Oaks

A grand laurel oak, 

damaged by Hurricane Matthew,

 and plant disease

As a lifelong Lowcountry resident my point of view as a naturalist and amateur weather observer combine here I as revisit the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew. Electing to ride out the storm on James Island at a waterfront property, I surely had a front row seat to gauge the storm intensity and to relay how a century old laurel oak was layed low, while surrounding live oaks swayed without much ado. The legacy of Hurricane Matthew across the larger Lowcountry landscape is similar with many laurel oaks damaged, while the live oaks live on.

            

Close Up of Tree Clinic equipment,
reveals true size of our grand oak

All tropical systems have different characteristics, which serve to define their legacy. Hurricane Matthew morphed into a Category One storm as it passed through the Lowcountry, leaving a large surge of saltwater in its wake along the coast.  A wide swath of territory stretching inland to I-95  saw ten inches of rain and winds strong enough to topple many large hardwood trees, particularly in swamps. No wide scale damage affected area pine trees, and the live oaks of the Lowcountry proved again they are deserving of their accolades, bending but not breaking.

But in the storm's aftermath, the Dennis family's grand laurel oak was dismasted and destroyed It’s long arms and natural cavities offered a home to a variety of Lowcountry wildlife. Despite the injuries, we wanted to inquire about saving the tree, and reached out to The Tree Clinic, specializing in sick and diseased trees. Paul Mulkey Jr. is a certified arborist and horticulturalist with The Tree Clinic, and when he came out to assess the venerable tree, we learned how laurel oaks are currently under stress across the Lowcountry. “Plant diseases are specific to their hosts, and laurel oaks are being attacked now by basil and root rot disease,” said Mulkey. “Phytophthora Cinnamomi is Latin for plant destroyer and this begins in the tree roots and slowly progresses up the tree.”

Our grand laurel oak was hardly recognizable

“This is a soil born water mold, and not a fungus, that is translocated into the tree,” said Mulkey. “What we are seeing is that during periods of wet weather such as over the past three years this process is sped up as trees utilize this natural resource. The inner wood vascular system becomes clogged with the disease and begins to decline and die, and the rate of healing for a large tree becomes less than the rate of decline.” In fact, when we cut into the large limbs already on the ground, some of the inner wood was soft, which also means it was no longer strong enough to bear the load of a far reaching limb. The ultimate prescription was removing the damaged laurel oak.

A young naturalist at work,
when our laurel oak was vibrant

It was the backside winds of the storm that caught many large hardwoods by their canopy, and toppling them over. All corners of the Lowcountry are reporting similar damage to bottomlands, and this will ultimately be the legacy for Hurricane Matthew. While many large oaks are already on the ground, this winter will see a fair amount of damaged limbs coming down, so outdoor enthusiasts should keep safety in mind and keep an eye to the sky while traversing the woodlands.

To view the entire feature article in the newspaper click on Charleston Mercury.

To view past blog entries on trees click on Dendrochronology - Pine Straw Baling - S.C. Tree Farm