A proposed sandscraping project on the beach at Midway Inlet/South Litchfield could endanger sea turtles during nesting and hatching season and disturb migratory birds along the beach.
The project would place up to 75,000 cubic yards of sand – about the equivalent of over 6,200 dump trucks – in front of the Peninsula Community up to two times over the next five years.
These scraping events are proposed for August through October, during sea turtle nesting and hatching season. South Litchfield Beach has recorded observations of federally endangered and threatened sea turtle species, including Kemp’s Ridley, Green, and Loggerhead, as well as federally threatened and state-endangered Piping Plovers that spend their winters in South Carolina.
On Monday, April 7th, the Department of Environmental Services will host a public hearing on the proposal. If you are in the area, attend the meeting to tell DES to protect our sea turtles and shorebirds by carefully reviewing this permit application. If you can’t make the meeting, you can submit comments online until April 21.
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Peninsula POA, Midway Inlet Management Project Public Hearing Monday, April 7 at 6:00 PM Georgetown County Council Chambers 129 Screven St., Georgetown |
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How is this harmful to wildlife? The use of loud heavy machinery and equipment required for sandscraping may disturb and adversely affect migrating birds. This project could disrupt foraging, roosting and other normal bird behaviors along that beach. Birds may be forced to use valuable energy reserves to seek available habitat elsewhere. Beach scraping during sea turtle nesting season (May 1– October 31) would severely interfere with a turtle’s ability to nest successfully. It is imperative that DES is working with state and federal natural resource agencies to ensure our sensitive species that live, forage, and nest on our beaches are not harmed by nourishment projects. Pre-registration is encouraged and you can find more information on the project here. The Coastal Observer also ran an article on neighboring property owners’ and the Town of Pawleys Island’s concerns in February. |