BEACH
Kiawah Island is known world-wide for beautiful , pristine beaches that stretch for ten miles from the Stono River Inlet to the end of Captain Sam ’ s Spit at the inlet for the Kiawah River . Our beaches are feeding , resting and nesting sites for numerous seabirds and shorebirds such as Wilson ’ s Plovers , Oyster Catchers , Least Terns , and endangered Red Knots . Not only do these birds depend upon a healthy beach but so do the hundreds of sea turtles nesting here each year .
Recently the Town of Kiawah Island received its 2020 Annual Beach Monitoring Report produced by their beach consultant , Coastal Science & Engineering [ CSE ] ( 2021 ). The report showed that Kiawah ’ s beach remains one of the healthiest in the state of South Carolina even though over the past five years Kiawah has suffered direct impacts from several storms . Those include hurricanes Joaquin ( 2015 ), Matthew ( 2016 ), Irma ( 2017 ), Florence ( 2018 ), Michael ( 2018 ), and Dorian ( 2019 ). Despite these impacts , the beach has been in a state of recovery since 2016 . The report stated that the entire shoreline from Captain Sam ’ s Inlet to the Stono Inlet gained approximately 255,700 cubic yards of sand from November 2019 to November 2020 . Because new sand from the Stono Inlet is being deposited , Kiawah ’ s oceanfront beaches will keep pace with sea level rise for the foreseeable future ( see page 60 , CSE , 2021 ). While many South Carolina communities suffered significant property damage due to the many storms over the past five years Kiawah did not because of the building setback requirements and natural accretion of the beach ( CSE , 2021 ; Town of Kiawah Island , 2021 ).
Building setbacks , established early on , have saved our dunes , which in turn have protected not only our properties but also our wildlife . It is therefore of utmost importance to assess the environmental and ecological health of the dune system today and into the future . This valuable but fragile ecosystem where pioneer plants brave hot , dry , salty , and windy conditions to become established and stabilize the sand against erosion is vital . Recently the Kiawah Conservancy sponsored research on plants and invertebrates found in our dunes . This research , conducted by Dr . Eric McElroy at the College of Charleston , concluded that plant and animal biodiversity was important to maintain a healthy dune system ( McElroy , 2020 ). Walking on the dunes and development that extends near the beach over the secondary or back dunes disrupts this vital habitat , along with destroying shrubs and trees .
The Kiawah Conservancy will work with researchers and environmental experts to continually assess and monitor the ecological health of our beaches and dune system and to work collaboratively to mitigate any natural or human threats to their ecological health .
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