| Fast Facts |
location
30 miles south of Charleston
ecoregion
South Atlantic Coastal Plain
project size
350,000 acres
preserves
Bailey Island
public lands
ACE Basin National Estuarine Research Reserve, ACE Basin National Wildlife Refuge, Bear Island Wildlife Management Area, Donnelley Wildlife Management Area, Edisto Beach State Park, Hunting Island State Park
partners
private landowners, Ducks Unlimited, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, S.C. Department of Natural Resources, Lowcountry Open Land Trust, Nemours Wildlife Foundation, Mead Westvaco Corporation
natural events
loggerhead turtle nesting, late spring and early summer; wood storks arrive in March, peak numbers in spring and summer | |
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Private landowners continue a tradition of land and water stewardship at this large, pristine estuary, known fondly as “the Pearl of the Low Country.” |
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Moonrise, Edisto River.
© Tom Blagden/Larry Ulrich Stock |
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With its meandering blackwater rivers, dense cypress swamps and teeming estuary, the ACE Basin recalls a fertile Southern coast that, well over a century ago, fueled dreams of glory for ambitious rice plantation owners. Men like Nathanial Heyward, who owned 17 plantations in the basin, led a rice boom that fed much of the nation from 1850 to 1860. When the boom ended, wealthy individuals purchased the decaying estates, restored the rice fields and water management systems to attract waterfowl, and created private hunting retreats.
The ACE Basin remains one of the largest undeveloped estuaries on the East Coast. Formed by the confluence of three undammed and free-flowing rivers—the Ashepoo, Combahee and Edisto, thus the name “ACE”—the basin encompasses a remarkable web of ecosystems, from upland pine forests to bottomland hardwoods, from barrier beaches to freshwater marshes. |
Wood storks on nest.
© Tom Blagden/Larry Ulrich Stock |
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A wealth of wildlife abounds: alligators, endangered loggerhead turtles, bobcat and mink. During the early 1980s, the ACE Basin played a critical role in the recovery of the southern bald eagle and the wood stork. With the help of biologists, their populations rebounded from just a handful of nests to more than 100. | |
Private landowners have led the effort to conserve this special place. Voluntary conservation easements have protected some 64,000 acres of private property. The Nature Conservancy holds 20 percent of these easements. We also helped charter the ACE Basin Task Force, a coalition of businesses, landowners and private organizations taking the lead to promote traditional land uses like farming and forestry while protecting the estuary and the shoreline from strong development pressure.
Learn more about The Nature Conservancy's work in South Carolina. |
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| Conservation Profile |
targets
migratory waterfowl, wood stork, southern bald eagle, loggerhead turtle; maritime, longleaf pine and bottomland hardwood forests
stresses
incompatible residential and commercial development
strategies
acquire land, secure conservation easements, promote compatible development, build conservation alliances
results
150,000 acres in conservation management; ACE Basin Task Force launched | | | | |
