Pinckney Island National Wildlife Refuge
Pinckney Island National Wildlife Refuge | |
---|---|
IUCN category IV (habitat/species management area) | |
Location | Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States |
Nearest city | Hilton Head Island, South Carolina |
Coordinates | 32°14′38″N 80°45′55″W / 32.243768°N 80.765305°W |
Area | 4,053 acres (16.40 km2) |
Established | 1975 |
Visitors | 400,000 (in 2004) |
Governing body | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service |
Website | Pinckney Island National Wildlife Refuge |
The Pinckney Island National Wildlife Refuge is a 4,053-acre (16 km2) National Wildlife Refuge located in Beaufort County, South Carolina between the mainland and Hilton Head Island. Named after Major General Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, it was established to provide a nature and forest preserve for aesthetic and conservation purposes.
The refuge is one of seven refuges administered by the Savannah Coastal Refuges Complex in Savannah, Georgia. The complex has a combined staff of 31 with a fiscal year 2005 budget of $3,582,000.
History
Pinckney Island NWR is
Historic artifacts indicate that small scale, impermanent settlements were made on Pinckney by French and Spanish groups in the 16th and 17th centuries. Permanent settlements did not occur until 1708 when Alexander Mackay, an Indian trader, obtained title to 200 acres (0.81 km2) of present-day Pinckney Island. By 1715, Mackay had acquired the rest of the island, as well as most of the other islands which comprise the present refuge. In 1736, Mackay's widow sold the islands to Charles Pinckney, father of General Charles Cotesworth Pinckney.
General Pinckney was a commander during the
The plantation flourished until the
US Army records reflect that black troops were recruited for the Union Army from the area. Five military (
After the war and late century agricultural recession, the plantation did not prosper. By the 1930s, it was virtually abandoned. In 1937, after more than 200 years of Pinckney family ownership, the plantation was sold to Ellen Bruce, wife of James Bruce, a New York banker who used the property as a
In 1954 Edward Starr and James Madison Barker, a distinguished MIT alumnus and early leader in the field of international business, purchased the islands. They continued to manage them as a game preserve. In 1975, they donated the islands to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service to be managed exclusively as a National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) and as a nature and forest preserve for aesthetic and conservation purposes. The Pinckney Island NWR was established on December 4, 1975.
Topography
The 4,053-acre (16 km2) refuge includes Pinckney Island, Corn Island, Big Harry and Little Harry Islands, Buzzard Island and numerous small
Wildlife
Wildlife commonly observed on Pinckney Island include waterfowl, shorebirds, wading birds, raptors, neo-tropical migrants, and
.Facilities
There is no visitor center at the refuge. However, there are opportunities for hiking, cycling, photography and wildlife observation.
Each year the refuge holds a one-day quota deer hunt to ensure that population numbers remain in balance with the surrounding habitat. However, fishing is prohibited from the land portions of the refuge.
Trails
There are 10 miles (16.1 km) of hiking trails on the refuge and nine recommended hikes:
- Ibis Pond - 1.2 miles (1.9 km), round trip; one and a half hours walking at a leisurely pace
- Shell Point - 4.6 miles (7.4 km), round trip; four hours and 15 minutes
- Wood Stork Pond - 2.7 miles (4.3 km), round trip; two and a half hours
- Osprey Pond - 3.0 miles (4.8 km), round trip; three hours
- Nini Chapin Pond - 3.6 miles (5.8 km), round trip; three and a half hours
- Bull Point - 5.0 miles (8.0 km), round trip; five hours
- Dick Point - 7.4 miles (11.9 km), round trip; six and a half hours
- Clubhouse Pond - 6.2 miles (10.0 km), round trip; five and a half hours
- White Point - 7.8 miles (12.6 km), round trip; seven hours