South Carolina Traveler living the Outdoors~
Improvements at Santee National Wildlife Refuge Continue to Enhance the
Local Community
Santee National Wildlife Refuge will begin an improvement project to the
Visitor Center parking area beginning on August 29, 2011. The improvements
follow on the heels of the Visitor Center renovations project conducted in
2007/2008, which included a complete rehabilitation to the refuge’s
Visitor Center/Headquarters facilities. The Visitor Center will remain
open to the public during this time; Tuesday – Saturday 8:00 am – 4:00 pm.
The building and parking area was first constructed in 1981 as the main
contact area for visitors to the refuge and offices for Santee National
Wildlife Refuge personnel. After 30 years, a much needed facelift has been
accomplished in phases; first the rehabilitation of the visitor center and
now the resurfacing/rehabilitation of the parking area. The refuge is
proud to be able to accomplish this and many of the recent rehabilitation
projects using local contractors to complete the jobs. “Supporting local
businesses is important to our community and our staff” states Refuge
Manager Marc Epstein. “The refuge supports the local economy not just
through contracted work but also through the visitation attracted to the
refuge because of the visitor opportunities here.”
The visitor center is located on the Bluff Unit of Santee National
Wildlife Refuge, within one-mile of I-95. Visitors from across the United
States and abroad come to the refuge to go bird watching, fishing, or to
simply visit this peaceful area while taking a break from their travels.
Although not always a final destination, many visitors express that it is
now part of their routine to stop at the refuge as they are traveling up
and down the eastern seaboard. This year the refuge reports 40,000 more
visitors than was reported in 2001 with a total of 181,000 visitors; the
visitation has doubled since 1994. Visitors come from as far away as
Germany, England, and India, as well as from 42 of our country’ states;
these visitors are not just using the refuge but also the local area
businesses. Improvements to the refuge are significant to the facilities
in this entire area, our community, and all of Santee Cooper Country.
Santee is also proud to announce an addition to the hiking trails at the
Dingle Pond Unit of the refuge. During the summer of 2010, a 15 foot high
observation tower was constructed along the current hiking trail at Dingle
Pond to provide visitors a “tree-top” view of a Carolina Bay, a unique
wetland that provides habitat for a diversity of plants and animals. The
refuge also completed the first phase of an elevated boardwalk, which will
increase the trail’s length by over a quarter mile. This addition will
include over 500 feet of boardwalk through flooded cypress-tupelo swamp
when completed. Other projects completed by local contractors this summer
include 2 road projects and 3 waterfowl habitat projects. The habitat
projects marked a significant improvement for waterfowl and wetland
species of the refuge.
Santee National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1941 as a sanctuary for
migratory birds. The refuge encompasses approximately 13,000 acres of
habitat along the banks of Lake Marion in four separate units, and has
approximately 39 miles of shoreline to maintain. The refuge visitor center
as well as the Santee Indian Mound and site of Fort Watson are located on
the Bluff Unit, 7 miles south of Summerton on Hwy 15/301.
The mission of the National Wildlife Refuge System is working with others
to conserve, protect and enhance fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats
for the continuing benefit of the American people.
For more information on our work and the people who make it happen, visit
www.fws.gov.
National Wildlife Refuges…Where Wildlife Comes Naturally!
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NORTH CAROLINA, SOUTH CAROLINA AGREE TO JOCASSEE GORGES ACCESS SOLUTION Agencies in North Carolina and South Carolina have agreed on a solution to the problem of accessing the Jim Timmerman Natural Resources Area at Jocassee Gorges through North Carolina. The Jocassee Gorges was purchased by the S.C. Department of Natural Resources (DNR) in 1998, and certain sections can only be legally accessed over roads in North Carolina. The South Carolina DNR secured an easement across certain roads to ensure public access in 1998. In 1999, the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources bought the property that supports those roads and established Gorges State Park. South Carolina DNR and the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources have differed in opinion as to how the easement roads will be managed and used by the public. Access to Crossroads Mountain for the fall and winter of 2008 will be on the old Auger Hole Road, which starts on Frozen Creek Road, at the North Carolina Gorges State Park’s Frozen Creek access point in Transylvania County, N.C., near the town of Rosman. The Auger Hole gate and road will remain open until Gorges State Park completes construction activities at its main entrance, near Sapphire on NC Highway 281. Once construction is complete at the Sapphire location, permanent access will then be provided from the point on NC Highway 281, through Gorges State Park and down Grassy Ridge Road. Interested visitors may contact South Carolina DNR’s Mark Hall at (864) 878-9071 or North Carolina’s Gorges State Park at (828) 966-9099. |
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