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Subcommittee approves seasonal closure of DeBow Bank seabird sanctuary
Summary
The Regulations and Administrative Procedures subcommittee approved a seasonal closure of DeBow Bankthe intertidal zone between March 15 and Oct. 15 to protect nesting seabirds; DNR says erosion has reduced the island's usable habitat from about 80 acres to roughly 18.
The House Regulations and Administrative Procedures subcommittee voted 9-0 to approve a regulation that closes DeBow Bank the intertidal zone between the low-tide line and the high-tide line from March 15 to Oct. 15 each year, the seabird nesting season.
Will Dillman, a Department of Natural Resources wildlife official who the subcommittee identified as present to explain the regulation, said the measure would bar landing and beach use of that intertidal area during the closure. "This is a relatively small island. It went down from about 80 acres in totality prior to Hurricane Nadalia down to only 18," Dillman said. "There the portion we typically left open during nesting has basically eroded away, so there's no place where people can safely land and not provide disturbance to these birds."
The regulation applies to DeBow Bank, located at the mouth of the North Edisto River in Charleston, which DNR officials described as a seabird sanctuary protected since February 2006. Dillman told the subcommittee the site supports more than 27 bird species and "thousands of nests," and that birds flush easily when people land near nesting sites, leading to nest failures. He said public use had been maintained where possible in past years, but the island's current condition no longer allowed a safe buffer between people and nesting birds.
Representative Pat Taylor, serving as co-chair for environment and natural resources during the meeting, asked for questions and then moved the recommendation. The roll call recorded the following votes: Mr. Alexander (yes), Mr. Bradley (yes), Mr. Gaffey (yes), Mr. Harts (yes), Mr. Long (yes), Mr. Martin (yes), Mr. Nies (yes), Mr. Taylor (yes), and Mr. Teeples (yes). Subcommittee leadership announced the tally as 9-0 and said the regulation was approved.
Dillman said DNR will continue to assess the site annually and monitor sedimentation and accretion. "If there's time when accretion for the land mass would grow, we'd continue to assess that," he said. The subcommittee noted the closure had previously been implemented under an emergency regulation and that the permanent regulation reiterates that approach while establishing an annual review.
The subcommittee did not identify any parallel or additional legal references beyond the prior emergency regulation and the sanctuary designation noted by DNR.
The regulation directs closure of the intertidal area only during March 15 to Oct. 15; people in boats who remain in the water at low tide would not be inside the closed zone, DNR said. The committee recorded no conditions or amendments to the regulation when it passed the measure.
DNR told the subcommittee it had worked with local communities on prior closures and that alternative public recreation areas exist, though Dillman warned "there's not a lot of other places for these birds to go."
