South Carolina ACE Basin Waterfowl and Wetlands Management Workshop

YEMASSE – Waterfowl are important to the South Carolina ecological system and knowing how to properly manage their wetlands habitats can help ensure balance in the state’s ecosystem.

Clemson University’s James C. Kennedy Waterfowl and Wetlands Center is partnering with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, Nemours Wildlife Foundation and Ducks Unlimited to bring the ACE Basin Waterfowl and Wetlands Management Workshop to teach people about waterfowl management basics.

Ben Powell, Clemson Extension Service area forestry and natural resources agent, said participants also will learn the results of ongoing waterfowl projects at Nemours Plantation and across South Carolina.

“This is an excellent opportunity for people to learn about effective management practices they can use to help conserve waterfowl and wildlife habitats,” Powell said.

The workshop kicks off with registration at 8 a.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 30 at the Nemours Wildlife Foundation, 161 Nemours Plantation Drive, Yemassee, S.C. 29945. Cost is $20. Registration deadline is Oct. 23. The agenda is full of experts including Ernie Wiggers from the Nemours Wildlife Foundation. Rick Kaminski of the Kennedy Center will talk about habitat needs and management of waterfowl in the winter. Beau Bauer of the Nemours Wildlife Foundation and Kennedy Center will talk about the ecology and management of aquatic invertebrates in brackish wetlands, followed by Gillie Croft, also of the Nemours Wildlife Foundation and Kennedy Center, who will talk about wood duck and whistling wood duck nest box use in South Carolina.

Other presentations include a report on waterfowl abundance and locations in South Carolina by Nick Masto of the Kennedy Center, and updates on the new general permit for managed impoundments and updates on the rice field mapping project by Wiggers and Travis Folk of Folk Land Management. Clemson Cooperative Extension Service agent Jack Whetstone and South Carolina Department of Natural Resources agent Chris Page will talk about managing phragmites and other invasive species.

Participants also will learn about waterfowl regulations, the statewide waterfowl outlook and multi-species management, as well as waterfowl and wetland habitat conservation and easements in the Basin, the future of inland managed impoundments as related to sea-level rise, and moist-soil and brackish impoundment management for waterfowl from Alicia Farrell and Daniel Barrineau of the Department of Natural Resources, Jamie Rader with Ducks Unlimited, Bob Perry of Palmetto Natural Resources Management and Dean Harrigal of Folk Land Management.

The workshop concludes with a field tour of managed waterfowl habitats typical of the region. Participants can choose one of the following habitat types for the field tour:

1. Moist Soil and Brackish Water Wetlands at Bear Island
2. Brackish Water Wetlands with Emphasis on Invertebrates at Bear Island.
3. Field Crop Management at Clarendon Farms.

A complete agenda is available at https://tinyurl.com/ACEWaterfowlAgenda. To register, go to https://tinyurl.com/ACEWaterfowl.

For more information, contact Powell at bpowel2@clemson.edu, or 843.546.4481.

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