Ecological Health Report (2nd Annual) 2022 | Page 3

• To improve by creating and or recreating healthy habitat and encouraging growth of locally native plant life to ensure that native animal populations and pollinators flourish .
• To advocate by taking public positions and issuing behavioral statements that address what we evaluate as harmful to island habitat and wildlife .
• Environs includes watersheds which encapsulate areas that influence the ecosystems of Kiawah Island and the Kiawah River .
Having studied habitat conditions on Kiawah Island for several decades through ongoing land conservation efforts , the Conservancy sought to initiate efforts to provide comprehensive reporting on the status of our ecosystem . To accomplish the goals and objectives outlined in our 2030 Strategic Plan , the Conservancy established the Ecological Health Initiative . In 2022 , the Conservancy published its first report on the Ecological Health of Kiawah Island to outline our strategies for the Ecological Health Initiative . This report provides a holistic , collaborative approach which is essential to assessing the ecological health of Kiawah Island and its environs :
• Assess ecological health based on scientifically based measurements .
• Work with scientists , researchers , and other leading environmental groups .
• Identify and work collaboratively with other entities on the island to mitigate natural and human threats to ecological health .
• Create and deliver a recurring Ecological Health of Kiawah Island Report to provide updates on the status of the ecosystem .
This is the second report on the Ecological Health of Kiawah Island under this initiative . It continues this work by providing the first status report of natural habitats within the Kiawah River Watershed . Included within the report is our analysis of changing conditions from baseline assessments to the most current conditions within each of the five identified natural habitats .
Ecological Health of Kiawah Island 2022 2