They're Baaaaaack!

Several years ago, beavers (Castor canadensis) returned to the Francis Beidler Forest portion of Four Holes Swamp after being absent (due to trapping) for more than 100 years. The beaver is second only to humans in its ability to manipulate and alter its environment. Additionally, the beaver's feeding activity often girdles trees as it eats the cambium layer, which is the living tissue that connects the tree's leaves to its roots. Girdling the tree breaks that connection and prevents the tree from manufacturing and storing food, which leads to the tree's death. Naturally, the managers of Beidler Forest were concerned about how dead and dying trees along the boardwalk might affect a visitor's experience.

The issue of the beaver was discussed and it was decided that the human managers of the forest would do nothing as is usually the approach in the virgin, old-growth swamp. We might not like the result of the beaver's activity, but it was once part of this ecosystem and our mission statement clearly states that we are conserving natural ecosystems for birds AND OTHER WILDLIFE. That was in February 2005. In March of that year, another manager at the swamp overrode our decision and made a meal of the industrious beaver. Although not on the payroll, some would like to thank Mr./Ms. Alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) for his/her service to the community.

But wait...just as the cool weather has sent the alligators into their winter inactivity, at least one beaver is baaaaack! The master naturalist group spotted the beaver (center of image) in Goodson Lake as it was swimming and generally disrepectfully smacking its tail in the face of the cool and lethargic alligator. We're predicting that, come spring, the alligator will invite his 40+-pound friend to dinner.

Mystery Twig

Over the last month, we have found numerous branches like the one shown in the first image. We have been mystified by what may be the cause of the unusual cut discovered at the end of the branch (next two images). We added it to our list of "Things We Must Find Out If We Are To Continue Calling Ourselves Naturalists." However, we had not yet investigated the issue as it remained low on the larger list of "Things We Must Do To Keep The Center Operating."

You do not need to leave your room.

Remain sitting at your table and listen.

Do not even listen, simply wait.

Do not even wait, be still and solitary.

The world will freely offer itself to you

To be unmasked, it has no choice.

It will roll in ecstasy at your feet.
- Frantz Kafka

Well, if putting the issue on the back burner is the same as remaining "still and solitary," then that's what we did. The answer did not "roll in ecstasy" at our feet...rather it arrived in the large form of Tony Mills, education director at the Lowcountry Institute. Tony was one of the instructors during Monday's master naturalist field trip and he found a similar branch on the bluff above Mallard Lake. He enlightened us by describing the twig girdling work done by the female longhorned beetles of the family Cerambycidae.

In September through October, the female beetle lays an egg below the bark of a live twig between 1/4" - 1/2" in diameter. The last image shows the striations where the eggs have been deposited. Once the female is finished depositing her eggs, she will chew most of the way through the twig. The final image shows the girdled twig with only the center portion left unchewed. The twig will eventually die and fall to the ground. The eggs will remain in the twig until the following August when they will hatch. The larvae will feed and pupate within the twig and then emerge as an adult to begin the process anew. Only one generation occurs each year.

The damage to the trees is usually minimal, though the extra leaf and twig debris in the yard might not be appreciated by the yard-clearing child labor force.

Master Naturalists

Yesterday, individuals attending the Master Naturalist course at Spring Island (near Hilton Head) and their instructors, Dr. Chris Marsh and Tony Mills, spent one of their twelve field trips at the Audubon Center at the Francis Beidler Forest experiencing the virgin, old-growth cypress/tupelo swamp.

From the Master Naturalist webpage: What is a Master Naturalist?
A Master Naturalist is a person who has undergone specific training and who regularly volunteers time toward various projects. Typically, Master Naturalists seek to make a difference in helping to maintain the quality of our native ecosystems through training designed to help ‘read’ the landscape of the state. This includes understanding the underlying geology, specific inhabitants (birds, plants, mammals, etc.), ecology and the impacts of humans on the landscape including how we conserve our amazing natural environments. Once trained, Master Naturalists volunteer in a variety of projects. In essence, the Master Naturalist program aims to turn out volunteer citizen scientists who can positively impact the natural resources of the state.

While learning about the geography and characteristics of the swamp, the participants were also practicing the tree and plant identification skills they had learned during previous field trips. The images show the group once it moved from the boardwalk to the bluff overlooking Mallard Lake, which is approximately two miles downstream. The high bluffs have underlying limestone near the surface giving rise to a plant community called the calcareous forest.

From Richard Porcher's and Douglas Rayner's A Guide to the Wildflowers of South Carolina: The calcareous forests occur on bluffs, slopes, or moist flats that overlay calcareous substrates. The substrate is either marl or limestone that was laid down as marine deposit when the ocean covered the coastal plain. The calcium from the underlying substrate is a major factor shaping the diversity and composition of the vegetation. Certain species of plants, referred to as calcicoles, thrive in a basic to circumneutral soil that results from the presence of calcium ions. These species generaly are mixed with the flora of the surrounding community to form a diverse community. Classification of the various calcareous communities is not well developed; however, we do recognize two well-developed types. (One is the calcareous bluff forest which the group visited at Mallard Lake).

Evening Roost

Where do the White Ibis (Eudocimus albus) go once the sun starts to set? Well, if they are any where near the Waterwheel Fishing Lake, they appear to head for the two cypress trees growing in the middle of the pond. They don't have the benefit of our Global Positioning System (GPS) or Google Earth, but they find their way there every evening. If in Google Earth you type 279 Water Wheel Drive, you will zoom right to the pond. The image shows the two trees in the middle of the pond, in which the birds are roosting.

As dutiful Audubon South Carolina employees, we are doing what we can to reduce our carbon footprint by carpooling from our homes in Summerville to work at the Francis Beidler Forest. With the end of daylight savings time, our commute home has placed us at the fishing pond after sunset and after the birds have moved into the trees within the pond. The tree begins to look like a white Christmas tree once the birds fill branches. We decided to leave work a few minutes early on Friday (due to the "dutiful" thing, don't tell the boss) to get our camera set up before the mini-migration from the high, sunlit trees rimming the pond to the two trees in the middle of the pond. The series of images shows how during the hour from 4:45 pm to 5:45 pm EST, the birds relocated themselves. The first image shows a lone ibis doing its best imitation of the Christmas angel atop the tree. As the sun set in the west and the sunlight slowly crept up the trees surrounding the eastern edge of the pond, birds headed to the cypress in the middle of the pond to begin jockeying for prime roosting spots. The birds high in the trees rimming the pond remained until even those perches were beyond the sun's warming reach. Then too, they launched into a glide towards the lower cypress trees in the pond while appearing to "honk" their displeasure at the quality of roosting options remaining. We're not sure, but the returning ibis comments appeared to translate as, "You snooze, you lose."

Why expend the energy to fly to one communal roosting location? In The Birder's Handbook: A Field Guide to the Natural History of North American Birds, the authors (P. R. Ehrlich, D. S. Dobkin, & D. Wheye) note, "One possibility is that older, more experienced birds are better able to find food; hence younger birds roost with them in order to follow their elders to better foraging grounds. The older birds accept this social parasitism because they tend to be dominant, and are able to appropriate more central and therefore safer positions in the roosting crowd. As long as the costs of increased competition are outweighed by the benefits of increased safety from predators for the older birds, and the benefits of locating rich food supplies for the young outweigh reduced nighttime safety for them, roosting should be communal."

If you like the I SPY series of books, "Two Great Egrets with bills of yellow taller standing than the Ibis fellow."

The images were taken from the public road. If you visit, please respect the owner's property rights.

Poisonous or Not

Is the snake in the image a poisonous or non-poisonous one? Pat yourself on the back if you said, “Neither.” There are no poisonous snakes, only venomous snakes. Next question, “Is the snake in the image a venomous one or not?”

How does the safety rhyme go? “Red on yellow can kill a fellow…red on black a friend of Jack.” The only Jack we know is deathly afraid of spiders, so we don’t think any snake will be a friend of his. Maybe the rhyme is, “Red on yellow is a friend of a fellow…red on black means take a step back.” Frankly, we can never remember the rhyme when we are safely in our office, so we doubt that we’ll remember it when faced with possible death! We prefer to keep it simple and use brain cells already filled securely with useful safety information. When you are driving and the light is yellow, you know that the next color will be red and that means stop…even if you thought the correct answer was “mash the accelerator.” Therefore, if the snake has yellow next to red, STOP! This would be the venomous Eastern Coral Snake (Micrurus fulvius). As you can see, the snake in the image has red next to black, so it is the non-venomous Scarlet Kingsnake (Lampropeltis triangulum elapsoides), which is a subspecies of the milk snake.

Scarlet Kingsnakes are secretive and rarely seen crawling about during the day. They are active at night, and spend the day hidden below ground or behind the bark of trees, so their bright colors are not a liability. These snakes eat mostly lizards, especially skinks, but will also eat small snakes and rodents.

Photo by Jeff Mollenhauer

Aiken Driving Club at Silver Bluff

On Sunday, November 4, Silver Bluff Audubon Center & Sanctuary hosted the Aiken Driving Club for its annual fall pleasure ride.

Nearly 30 horse and carriages participated in the event, with some arriving from as far away as Colorado and Florida. A trail route that was over 8 miles in length featured views of the Savannah River, majestic longleaf and loblolly pine forests, hardwood bottomlands, and open fields. The image shows Dr. Joan Gariboldi driving her team.

A potluck luncheon was served afterwards along with remarks by Norman Brunswig, Dan Connelly (shown in image), and Paul Koehler of Audubon South Carolina. Perfect weather was an added blessing to this extraordinary day that showcased the beautiful property and the program opportunities at Silver Bluff.

Images and text by Paul Koehler

A Sand County Almanac

A Sand County Almanac written by Aldo Leopold and published by the Oxford University Press in 1949 is a wonderful read for anyone that enjoys the natural world. Aldo Leopold was a founding member of the Wilderness Society and is credited with founding the profession of game management.

The book contain essays that cover Aldo Leopold's weekend retreats on his Wisconsin farm, his early concerns regarding the preservation of the land and its resources, his views on the relationship between humankind and nature, and ending with his views on the fallacy of conservation for purely economic grounds when the issue is a philosophical issue of ethics.

Unfortunately, is appears few people have read the book and taken to heart the message. Although written in the 1940s, many of the issues could be ripped from the headlines of any current newspaper, especially in the Lowcountry!

Harvesting Wiregrass Seeds

Five volunteers joined Collis Boyd and Norman Brunswig, Audubon South Carolina staff at the Francis Beidler Forest, to harvest seeds from Wiregrass (Aristida stricta) for replanting on other Longleaf Pine (Pinus palustris)/Wiregrass restoration sites. The tract harvested today will continue to be a seed nursery for other Longleaf Pine/Wiregrass restoration projects. One team cut the seed heads off of the Wirgrass while the second team applied herbicide directly to invading hardwoods.

In a mature Longleaf Pine ecosystem, hardwoods would not get a foothold due to the periodic fires that burned through the forest. The fires would consume the pine straw and kill the hardwoods that are not adapted to fire like the thick-barked Longleaf Pines. However, the slower growing Longleaf Pines do not grow quickly enough to establish a Longleaf Pine forest before hardwoods can establish dominance. This is why the native Longleaf Pine forests did not reestablish themselves once they were clear-cut by European settlers and later by lumber companies in the 19th and 20th century. Additionally, cleared longleaf stands were replanted with faster-growing Loblolly Pine and Slash Pine. Audubon South Carolina, along with other private and governmental agencies, contine to work towards restoring the native Longleaf Pine forest with its associated plant and animal communities.

Fly Like a Bird!

Jeff Mollenhauer, Director of Bird Conservation, has been a busy man this week! He reports on his bird's-eye view:

Today, I was lucky enough to fly over Mead Westvaco's East Edisto area in a small plane. I knew that the East Edisto area was big, about 72,000 acres, but seeing it all from the air really puts its enormous size in perspective. The area is a mosaic of habitat types including loblolly pine plantation, bottomland hardwood forest, and clear cuts.

I was particularly interested in seeing some of the remaining tracts of bottomland hardwood forest, which are important foraging and nesting areas for birds such as Swallow-tailed Kites and Wayne's Black-throated Green Warblers. Equally as interesting were the isolated wetlands or "gum ponds" that are found througout the East Edisto area. These small wetlands are scattered like tear drops amidst the pine plantations and clearcuts. These isolated wetlands serve as important areas for many species of ampibians and reptiles, as well as Audubon WatchList species such as Wood Thrush, Prothonotary Warbler, Kentucky Warbler, and Swainson's Warbler. Finally, we flew over some corridors of older lobolly pines which looked like good habitat for WatchList species such as Brown-headed Nuthatch and Bachman's Sparrow.

Mead-Westvaco's East Edisto project covers their developing plan to shift 72,000 acres from pine production into other uses. Some news coverage includes The State, the South Carolina Statehouse Report, and The Post and Courier. Mead-Westvaco continues to solicit public input regarding their plans for the site.

Birds of Interest

Jeff Mollenhauer, Director or Bird Conservation, noted today:

Two sightings of interest today at Beidler Forest Audubon Sanctuary near Harleyville, SC. A Gray-cheeked Thrush (Catharus minimus) was observed for about 10 minutes feeding on dogwood berries behind the visitor center this afternoon. The late date for GCTH is listed as Nov. 2 in “Status & Distribution of South Carolina Birds”. Interestingly about 10 days ago, we had a GCTH fly into the window of the visitor center. It was a little stunned and wobbly for about 5 minutes, but eventually recovered and flew away. I’m wondering if the GCTH we saw today is the same one that hit our window.

An American Woodcock (Scolopax minor) has been seen repeatedly at the base of the Chestnut Oak sign near #2 on the boardwalk. This is a great opportunity for those who are hoping to photograph or get a good close-up, day time look at a Woodcock. The bird usually sits completely motionless in the leaves within 5 feet from the boardwalk. It is amazing how well-camouflaged these birds are in this environment! You really have to do a thorough search before you can find it. I saw the Woodcock in this area on 9/24, 10/29, and 10/31. I am pretty confident that it is often in the area, but usually overlooked because of its ability to blend in with the leaves. Also observed today were good numbers of Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers, Eastern Phoebes, Ruby-crowned and Golden-crowned Kinglets, Winter Wrens, and a couple Hermit Thrushes. For more information about Beidler Forest Audubon Sanctuary (including directions and hours of operation) please visit http://www.beidlerforest.com/

Mercury in SC Fish

The special report "The Mercury Connection" that appeared in today's The Post and Courier was no surprise to the staff at the Audubon Center at Francis Beidler Forest, especially the fact that all the fish pictured as mercury-tainted and not safe to eat carried a caption noting "especially" in Four Holes Swamp. In fact, we've conducted a program to inform the men and women that fish in Four Holes Swamp about the dangers of mercury-tainted fish and noted the subject on our blog in January.

The coal-burning power plants in our region contribute greenhouse gases that cannot help cool an atmosphere that is undoubtedly warming by whatever means, natural or human-induced. Additionally, the coal-burning power plants are introducing high levels of mercury into our environment. The desire to build additional coal-burning power plants in our state is driven by the increasing demand for electricity.

As citizens of South Carolina and stewards of our environment, we need to acknowledge our part in this issue and take ACTION to reduce our negative role. There is no shortage of webpages or resources, both governmental and private, that provide information to help consumers reduce their energy consumption. Many of the common-sense suggestions can be easily and painlessly instituted. Additionally, citizens need to contact their local, state and federal representatives as well as their power provider and demand that technological upgrades be applied to reduce the harmful emissions from coal-burning plants. These demands should be made with the understanding that the upgrades will come at a cost to the consumer. However, any increase in the cost of electricity per household can be offset by a reduction in consumption and we all benefit! Even inaction has a cost (poisoned waterways, poisoned fish, poisoned family members, increased health care, etc.) and it is infinitely less pleasant than a few pennies per kilowatt/hour.

Caterpillars

There were not any caterpillars out today unless they were SCUBA qualified. As happened last year (see the entry), rain appeared (yes, we're in a drought) on the first day of Boo in the Swamp and washed it out. Tomorrow, the promised sunshine should return and all will be spooky in the swamp!

Earlier this week, visiting students spotted a variety of caterpillars. This was a big deal for us, because we haven't seen many caterpillars this year. Normally, the outbreak of Eastern Tent Caterpillars defoliate large sections of the swamp and rain frass down on unsuspecting students and visitors. Frass is the scientific word for poop and caterpillars manufacture large quantities of the tiny, black pellets. However, this year we had a late frost just as the 1-inch caterpillars were making their initial assault. Since that frost, caterpillars have scarcely been seen.

The caterpillars shown are: the Purple-crested Slug (Adoneta spinuloides), which is the small green, slug-like caterpillar; Red-humped Oakworm (Symmerista canicosta), which has the red humps; the Pale Tussock Moth (Halysidota tessellaris), which has the black tussocks (hair-like projections); and the yet-to-be-identified orange caterpillar, which appears to be a type of dagger moth. Soon these caterpillars will create a cocoon (or a chrysalis if they are a butterfly) and overwinter in anticipation of their metamorphosis to a flying adult in the spring.

GLOBE Training

On October 30th, Audubon at Francis Beidler will become a U.S. GLOBE partner and Director of Education, Mark Musselman will become a certified GLOBE trainer. The GLOBE Program (Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment) is a worldwide hands-on, primary and secondary school-based education and science program that unites students, teachers, and scientists from around the world in study and research about the dynamics of Earth’s environment. Over a million GLOBE students in more than 19,000 schools located in over 100 countries are taking important environmental measurements, using their data in their own research and also making it available to scientists around the world. Over 16 million student measurements are recorded on the GLOBE Web site!

The goals of the GLOBE program are:

• To enhance the environmental awareness of individuals worldwide.
• To increase scientific understanding of the Earth.
• To improve student achievement in science and mathematics.

Many of the GLOBE measurement are part of ongoing scientific investigations selected through the National Science Foundation’s peer review process. Scientists have developed measurement protocols and instrument specifications to ensure that the data collected by the students are accurate and consistent. Investigation areas in which students collect data are: atmosphere and phenology, hydrology, land cover/biology, and soil. Students use global positioning system (GPS) receivers to accurately locate all sites where they collect data. There are several measurements conducted under each investigative area. Many scientists and their teams continue to review GLOBE data reports in the archive for use in their research as well as for quality control purposes.

GLOBE is an interagency program funded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the National Science Foundation (NSF), supported by the U.S. Department of State.

As a U.S. GLOBE Partner, Audubon at Francis Beidler Forest will recruit teachers into the program, provide training for these teachers so that they may teach students to carry out GLOBE investigations and data collection in a consistent and accurate manner agreed upon by the international environmental science community, and help provide teachers and their schools the support and guidance they need to ensure the sustainability and growth of the program in the years to come.

We will do this by implementing GLOBE protocols during school field trips to Beidler Forest, during summer camps, and during teacher-training workshops hosted here in the swamp.

For more information on the GLOBE Program go to http://www.globe.gov/

Boo in the Swamp!

The weather looks like it will be anything but scary this year. The forecast has it dry and cool (but not cold) both Friday and Saturday nights. Even if the temperature drops below the forcasted 60F, there will be hot coffee and cocoa along with hotdogs and a bonfire for warming toes and melting Smores!

FRANCIS BEIDLER FOREST

OCTOBER 26TH AND 27TH
Walks begin every 15 mins. from 7 – 9 pm

Cost - $10/adult, $6/child (6-18)

Get BOO’D on the boardwalk leading deep into Four Holes Swamp, while learning what it’s like to be a swamp critter living in the dark of night.

Reptile DEMO* Weenie roast/S’mores * Gift Shopping while you wait.

Space is limited, so please…
CALL TO REGISTER!! 843-462-2150

How Well Do You Know Your Red Fruit?

Although wildlife can eat all the red fruit shown in the images, humans should heed the "red means stop" warning! See if you can match the plant description with the image before you peek at the answer shown at the end of this entry.

A. Flowering Dogwood (Cronus florida) is a fast-growing, short-live tree whose white petal-like bracts contrast the many colors of the non-native azaleas blooming around town in the spring. According to Richard Porcher's Wildflowers of the Lowcountry and Lower Pee Dee, "The berries are an important source of food for wildlife but are poisonous to humans. The hardness of its wood makes it excellent for shuttles in the textile industry; also used for mauls, mallets, wedges and pulleys. The powdered bark of the dogwood was one of the most important sources of drug during the Civil War. The drug was used as a substitute for quinine that became unavailable due to the blockade by Union forces. The twigs of the dogwood have been used as chewsticks to clean teeth."

B. Mock or Indian Strawberry (Duchesnea indica) is a low, trailing, perennial herb whose fruit is not harmful to humans but is tasteless. It is not a true strawberry and "according to some sources (e.g., Strausbaugh and Core, 1977) this species was introduced from India." (Porcher)


C. Partridge Berry (Mitchella repens) is a low, trailing perennial whose berries are edible though bland. "Native American women made a tea from the leaves as an aid in childbirth." (Porcher)


D. Strawberry Bush or Heart's-a-bustin (Euonymus americanus) is common throughout South Carolina and found in a variety of forests. "The seeds are a strong laxative, and the fruits are toxic, causing coma if consumed in sufficient quantity." (Porcher)










Answers: A3, B, C2, D1

Trashy Attitude

What is it about some middle school children that compels them to throw their nametag into a hollow stump as James did, or write their name on the sink cover like Miss Green did, or carve their name into the boardwalk like Lulu did, or transfer wrappers from their candy directly to the swamp?














We don't have any answers...only questions. However, when you work at a place like this, it is difficult to win the sympathy of others when trashy individuals do not respect or appreciate the uniqueness of this unmolested, old-growth swamp. We can always take a walk beneath its canopy, enjoy the peace, and wonder at the diversity of life within reach of the boardwalk.


Today's example deals with trash too. This decomposer is Laetiporus sulphureus, which is edible, also goes by the name "Chicken of the Woods." We assume it tastes like alligator...er chicken. The cooked young rosettes or the white margins of older specimens apparently have a mild taste and a texture like cooked chicken. Again, we'll defer to the experts as we enjoy the livers with which we were born.

Copperhead Cuisine

The 4th graders from Northside Baptist Church School had a treat today. They observed a Southern Copperhead (Agkistrodon contortrix) dining on some hapless prey. Unfortunately, we were not able to see the prey until it was nearly consumed, but it appears to be a large caterpillar from the family Nymphalidae based on the light-green spines and numerous setae (hair-like projections). The orange area may be the head of the caterpillar. Large insects, especially cicadas, are part of the Copperhead's diet as are mice, small birds, lizards, snakes and amphibians. Feel free to email us if you can identify the Copperhead cuisine.

The last two images show the Copperhead's incredible camouflage. The head is obvious as the snake chokes down its hairy, dry meal, but the remainder of the snake disappears into the leaf litter. Copperheads are pit vipers and use the heat-sensing pits in front of their eyes to locate potential meals. The snakes are venomous (not poisonous) using fangs that fold up against the roof of their mouths to inject venom into their prey. Younger Copperheads, like Cottonmouths, have a yellow-green tail that they wiggle as a lure to bring their next meal within striking distance.

Old Cypress

Last week, a class of students from Eastern Kentucky University visited the Audubon Center at the Francis Beidler Forest to study the trees in the cypress/tupleo forest. The image shows Erin Reno, seasonal naturalist, standing next to a Bald Cypress (Taxodium distichum), which is listed as the second oldest Bald Cypress in eastern North America. The tree has been cored showing it to be 1246 years old, but as with many trees in the swamp, this tree is hollow. Extrapolating for the hollow inches, we estimate the tree to be over 1500 years old.

The list of the oldest trees in eastern North America can be found here. The list of the oldest Bald Cypress trees can be found here. Although the University of Arkansas Tree-ring Lab data only shows the oldest trees for each site, we have the notes taken during the actual coring at the Francis Beidler Forest. There are several trees directly off the boardwalk that are over 1000 years old.

Old-growth...there's nothing better!

Fungus Amongus

At the Audubon Center at Francis Beidler Forest, we know our birds. The National Audubon Society was formed to help protect birds. With help from various experts we also have a good idea what plants (Dr. Richard Porcher), reptiles/amphibians (Dr. Julian Harrison) and mammals we have within the sanctuary. However, we lack comprehensive knowledge regarding the resident insects and fungi.

With the help of the current seasonal naturalists, we intend to catalog all the fungi that we can find. It will take some work because there is a whole lot of fungus amongus! We're thankful for the fungi because without it we would be buried beneath leaves, limbs, trees, and other organic material that accumulates daily on the forest floor. Fungi are part of the decomposer army that helps recycle nutrients back into the forest food web.

The images show a sample of the cataloging effort. The "toadstool" shows a Southern Toad (Bufo terrestris) next to the edible Russula xerampelina, which seems to be a favorite food for rodents, including squirrels. The blue fungi is Milky Indigo (Lactarius indigo), which is also listed as edible. Note to staff: Send memo to George Carlin regarding his statement that there is no blue food.
We would need the help of an expert mycologist with double five-star qualifications before we dine on any swamp fungus. The final specimen would never tempt us, but it sure attracted a crowd of insects. It smelled like a cross between a rotting carcass and something worse. We haven't identified it yet, but we quickly came up with several unprintable common name suggestions.

Photos by: Nicomas Dollar Red Horse

Wetlands Reserve Program Dedication

On a cool, sunny day conjured in the dreams of any event planner, USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Chief Arlen Lancaster (left) and National Audubon Society Chief Operating Officer Robert Perciasepe (right) joined other conservation-minded guest at the Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP) dedication at the Audubon Center at the Francis Beidler Forest.

The WRP easement will restore and permanently protect over 6,000 acres in the forest thereby adding an additional layer of protection to the Audubon property. The WRP plan will restore the natural hydrology to original pre-development conditions, before the construction of logging roads altered it. The large high-fill roads altered the hydrology by forming what amounted to dikes across sections of the floodplain. These roads were constructed to get at the valuable cypress trees deep in the swamp and were formed by piling up the spoil collected from the swamp floor alongside the road's path. Alligators now use those road-side, water-holding depressions when water is scarce elsewhere in the swamp.

The WRP restoration plan includes breaking through the old logging roads to restore the natural flow. Fords will be constructed in these breaks to allow vehicles to continue using the road as part of normal sanctuary operations, but water will be able to pass nearly unimpeded towards the Edisto River. Norman L. Brunswig, Executive Director of Audubon South Carolina, remarked, “The WRP is enabling NRCS and Audubon to repair the only significant hydrologic defects in the main body of the Francis Beidler Forest. It is a great day for conservation in South Carolina.”

After the dedication ceremony and remarks by Arlen Lancaster, Bob Perciasepe, and Norman Brunswig at the Meeting Tree, the Audubon South Carolina staff and guests retired to the outdoor classroom for a catered lunch of Lowcountry barbecue. We are happy to report that nobody left hungry and there was even some left over for lunch tomorrow! Another perk of working here...as if we needed something beyond what is outside our office windows! But wait...there's more.

After lunch, guests followed Stephen Schabel, education director at the International Center for Birds of Prey, to Mallard Lake for the release of a rehabilitated Osprey (Pandion haliaetus). The injured bird arrived at the center on or about the same day as the initial conversations began for the WRP easement. Arlen Lancaster accepted the opportunity to release the Osprey, which quickly gained altitude and headed east over Mallard Lake and out of view.

In his remarks, Arlen Lancaster stated that he thought of his children coming to the Francis Beidler Forest and standing under the same Meeting Tree (a cypress tree around which the boardwalk wraps) knowing that he helped protect the spot and its surroundings. In fact, Mr. Lancaster's great-great-grandchildren will have the same opportunity to visit and be awed by the virgin, old-growth forest that is the Francis Beidler Forest. There is no need to wait to have children or grandchildren, you can visit us any day except Monday!