. Coast watch. Marine resources; Oceanography; Coastal zone management; Coastal ecology. Preserving a unique environment BY SARAH FRIDAY Carol Mayes turned just in time to see an alligator facing her on the other side of the creek. She'd been col- lecting plants when a sudden splash diverted her attention. Photo by Scott Taylor. Salt marsh makes up 9,000 acres of the Smith Island complex Luckily, the reptile had another meal on its mind. The legs of a raccoon were wriggling in its mouth. Such incidents on Bald Head were rare for Mayes, director of stewardship for the Nature Conservancy. B
. Coast watch. Marine resources; Oceanography; Coastal zone management; Coastal ecology. Preserving a unique environment BY SARAH FRIDAY Carol Mayes turned just in time to see an alligator facing her on the other side of the creek. She'd been col- lecting plants when a sudden splash diverted her attention. Photo by Scott Taylor. Salt marsh makes up 9,000 acres of the Smith Island complex Luckily, the reptile had another meal on its mind. The legs of a raccoon were wriggling in its mouth. Such incidents on Bald Head were rare for Mayes, director of stewardship for the Nature Conservancy. But the balancing acts of nature continue there everyday. Now people who want to preserve the wildlife and natural surroundings of Bald Head have become part of another kind of balancing act. Naturalists, developers, homeowners and tourists are weighing the need for change against the need for conservation. To them, Bald Head's environment is like no other—so different that some people believe it's a mistake. "South Carolina should have started just north of Bald Head," says Lundie Spence, Sea Grant's marine education specialist. "Bald Head represents a subtropical environment in a temperate state. The obvious evidence for this is palm ; Temperatures range from 25 F to 92 F, mirroring the climate of Myrtle Beach. And there's a reason. Bald Head is the northernmost of a chain of islands, the Sea Islands, that lie off the coasts of northern Florida, Georgia and South Carolina. And since water surrounds Bald Head, the ocean moderates the weather so it's cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter. The nearby Gulf Stream also warms the air. Bald Head's balmy climate—and a clever entrepreneur- lured tourists to the rustic resort in the 1930s. Before that, the island was a hideout for pirates and a lookout for Civil War troops. And it made fertile ground for pig farms and logging camps. Years later, the setting is much the same. A maritime forest, shrub
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookcollectionunclibra, booksubjectoceanography
