A Partnership with Nature

by Dick Wildermann

Similar to other barrier islands along the southeast coast, Seabrook Island’s natural  environment is characterized by several prominent and distinct ecosystems, including  the beach and dune system, salt marshes, and maritime forest. 

The naturally wooded areas of our island are beneficial in several ways. They provide important habitat for wildlife,  and their extensive root systems reduce erosion by  stabilizing the island’s sandy soils. As we experience  more frequent and extensive king tides, those soils act as a sponge, soaking up water, while natural ground cover  slows runoff, which reduces flooding onto roads and  adjacent properties. The island’s maritime forest has  gradually diminished in size as roads, homes, golf  courses, and other amenities have been constructed over the past five decades. Protecting as much of our remaining woodlands as possible will prolong the many benefits they provide to our community Because of the importance of the natural environment to  the long-term vitality and sustainability of the island, the  

Seabrook Island Green Space Conservancy has permanently protected forty-two  properties totaling about thirty acres. The Conservancy will continue those efforts as  long as undeveloped parcels are available. Homeowners can help as well by leaving  some of their property in its natural state. Doing so can reduce the fragmenting of  habitat into small, isolated patches that are less able to support wildlife than larger,  connected natural areas.

We value salt marshes for their beauty and for the critical  role they play in the life cycle of many marine organisms.  A healthy salt marsh is an irreplaceable nursery for many  marine fishes. They also serve as vital buffers between  land and sea. Barrier island salt marshes mitigate flooding by absorbing water during storms and extreme  tidal events. They also reduce erosion where the marsh  transitions to dry land and limit damage to properties by reducing the energy of tidal flooding and storm surge. 

An important way to protect salt marshes is to retain the  natural vegetation along their edges. This transitional  zone, called the marsh-upland ecotone, provides  important habitat for a variety of animals that occupy the adjoining ecosystems and filters out pollutants and excess nutrients that could drain into  the marsh from roads and landscaped properties. 

Sand dunes and especially beaches are the least stable, most dynamic ecosystems of a barrier island. Historically Captain Sam’s Inlet to the north and the North Edisto River Inlet to the south have been the primary physical oceanographic features that continuously twist and reshape the ribbon of sand that forms our shoreline. Development along the island’s oceanfront brought about a need to tame these forces. Captain Sam’s Inlet migrates downcoast (southwestward) naturally. Starting in 1983 the inlet has been relocated three times to maintain natural accretion along north beach with sand from the waters off Kiawah Island.  Once the first homes and club facilities were built near the water’s edge at the southern end of the island in the 1970s and early 80s, Seabrook was committed to a cycle of periodic beach  replenishment in that area. At that time sandbags, seawalls, and rock revetments were  used to protect property, but those devices often exacerbated erosion by interfering with  natural ocean processes. Since then, so-called “soft-engineering solutions” are  preferred. These methods, which cause less long-term disruption to sea turtles, birds,  and marine organisms, involve moving sand from the intertidal or shoal areas  immediately south of Captain Sam’s Inlet to the eroded areas further to the south.  Because of the highly dynamic nature of our oceanfront, these or similar methods will  have to be repeated indefinitely.  

More frequent and extensive king tides as well as rising sea level will complicate efforts  to confine a naturally shifting shoreline to a boundary imposed by development. For  some time waves have regularly pounded the face of the seawall and rock revetment by  the beach club, scouring sand from in front of it. More recently, however, waves have  been breaching those barriers and washing out sand from behind them. The 2019  Comprehensive Beach Management Plan acknowledges the additional challenges  posed by sea level rise and notes that the Seabrook Island Property Owners  Association is taking steps to address these concerns along the entire beachfront. 

Safeguarding our natural environment benefits all of us. Seabrook Island’s designation  as an Audubon International Sustainable Community attests to the commitment of our  residents to responsible management of natural resources and to advancing the overall  sustainability of the community. A number of Seabrook organizations continue the  important work that helped gain us that recognition. As our increasing population  generates more services and amenities, the need to continue to protect the environment  will only be greater.

The long-term viability of the island is largely dependent on a balance between human  and natural dynamics. Development diminishes the effectiveness of the natural  processes that shape the landscape, which then requires greater human intervention to  compensate. Build out of Seabrook Island will inevitably deplete more of our wooded  areas, further weakening the island’s natural defenses. To gain the most benefit from  our partnership with nature, a primary focus of all of our activities should be to sustain  robust ecosystems.  

When we view our relationship with our barrier island from a holistic perspective, we  come to appreciate the challenges we face as well as the opportunities we have to  ensure the resilience and sustainability of our idyllic but fragile home. 

photos by Dick Wildermann