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Stories in South Carolina

The Story of Sandy Island

About the people who saved The Nature Conservancy’s largest preserve in South Carolina

Sandy Island Slideshow 8
Sandy Island Image of sunset over water, with a photographer taking a picture on Sandy island, a small island that The Nature Conservancy owns. © John Moore

Once the roar of the boat engine cuts out, it could be 2016 or 1916. Not much has changed on Sandy Island Preserve, the largest protected freshwater island on the east coast and, at 9,165 acres, The Nature Conservancy’s largest preserve in South Carolina. This is the story of the people who saved it.

Sandy Island Timeline

The
1800s
Early morning on a trail at Sandy Island in South Carolina.
Sandy Island Early morning on a trail at Sandy Island in South Carolina. © Tanya Ackerman
The
1800s

The Pee Dee and Waccamaw rivers’ make Sandy Island ideal for growing rice.

Following the Civil War, freed slave Phillip Washington purchases hundred acres of island land, now known as Sandy Island Village. Today, the village is still populated by descendants of those enslaved Africans.

Circa
1950
Sandy Island Steward Furman Long is pictured here at the island as a young boy,
A Lifelong Love Sandy Island Land Steward Furman Long is pictured here as a young boy with a mudfish he caught on Sandy Island in 1950.
Circa
1950

Nature Conservancy Land Steward Furman Long grows up hiking and fishing on Sandy Island.

From the photo: “I saw a swirl and threw the jigger up there and caught him. He broke my cane pole, too. That is a rod I picked up just to enhance the picture.”

The Threat
1993
Red-cockaded woodpecker pecking at a tree.
Protecting The Birds Sandy Island is home to endangered red-cockaded woodpeckers. © Ralph Pace
The Threat
1993

Businessmen file for a permit to build a bridge from the north end of Sandy Island.

Their stated goal is to harvest timber, but the proposal quickly raises concerns about future development. Objections from residents and conservationist lead the state to issue a conditional permit.

The state’s permit was contingent on a study of the bridge’s environmental impact on the island’s endangered red-cockaded woodpeckers. The delay opens a short window for advocates to find a way to protect the island.

1995

Public opinion turns against the bridge, thanks in part to coverage from The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post and local news outlets.

An updated application still fails to address the bridge’s full impact on the woodpeckers. The permit is denied by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the state Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management. 

 

1996, Success

After nearly three years of meetings between Milliken, Webel, Beach and then-Conservancy State Director Pat Morgan, Sandy Island Preserve is officially protected for $11 million:

  • $10M

    The South Carolina Department of Transportation contributes $10 million, creating a mitigation “bank” to offset the environmental impact of future road construction.

  • $1M

    The Nature Conservancy contributes $1 million, agreeing to steward the land and take full ownership once SC-DOT uses up its bank credits.

  • -$1M

    Businessmen Roger Milliken and E. Craig Wall, Jr. agree to forego $1 million of the $12 million appraised value.

2000

The $3 million Winyah Bay Bioreserve Endowment is created with a spectacular $1.2 million closing gift from Diane Terni and The Diebold Foundation, in honor of Dorothy R. Diebold. The endowment funds a full-time land steward for Sandy Island and a project director for Winyah Bay.
 

2011

The South Carolina Department of Transportation officially transfers Sandy Island Preserve to The Nature Conservancy.
 

2014

On a sunny day in September, the Conservancy opens the Larry Paul Trail, a new, two-mile hiking trail funded by the Frances P. Bunnelle Foundation and named in honor of longtime Sandy Island supporter Larry Paul. Paul cuts the ribbon to welcome the trail’s first 40 hikers.

Larry Paul
Honoring Longtime Supporters Larry Paul and daughter Tiffany at the Larry Paul Trail opening. © Emily Kaufman

2015

The Nature Conservancy’s most recent red-cockaded woodpecker survey finds 45 active family groups on the island, a 20 percent increase over a baseline survey conducted in 1997.

The birds nest in the island’s native longleaf pines. The pine forests are kept healthy through frequent controlled burns that eliminate competitive trees and encourage new longleaf seedlings to germinate.

In 2016, thanks to the generous support of our members and volunteers, Sandy Island Preserve reaches a landmark 20th anniversary!

Sandy Island steward Furman Long.
© Tom Dooley/The Nature Conservancy

Beyond

The freshwater that made Sandy Island ideal for growing rice are becoming brackish as rising sea levels push saltwater upstream. While the island’s plants and wildlife will eventually change, its history and the legacy of those who saved it is here to stay.