Meeting of the Ashley Scenic River Advisory Council (ASRAC)
Watershed Study – May 2019
Who cares about a little water?
Maybe a lot of people when it’s a lot of water.
That’s why at our meeting of the Ashley Scenic River Advisory Council we focused on that question by inviting two experts in the field: Dr. Fred Holland, the well-respected environmental scientist and landscape ecologist and retired professor from The Citadel, and Mr. Harold Clarkson, project director with the Wolpert Group hired by Dorchester County and County Planning Director Kiera Rienertsen to produce a watershed study for the Ashley River. Thanks to Cathi Conard and Kevin Szostak, IT wizards, we got the PowerPoints queued up at Summerville Chamber of Commerce.
While Dr. Holland’s presentation was more factual and derived from data comparing effects on our Lowcountry’s tidal creeks from forested, urban, industrial, and suburban environments, Clarkson’s focused more about how we translate such science into plans and policy. They were a good pairing, sparking lively questions.
Of special importance is that Holland and ASRAC members Rick Dawson, hydrologist, and Sharon Richardson, executive director of Audubon South Carolina, are on the SC Governor’s commission on floodwater management. There was an informed exchange among them.
In response to vice chairman Howard Bridgman’s and my question about a specific issue–the difference between a 50 foot and 100 foot vegetative buffer along a waterway–Holland explained that a 50′ buffer does little in providing a wildlife corridor while a 100′ buffer is much more effective. Fifty feet may not sound like much–but it is.
I urge anyone concerned about the future of our waterways and the life they support, including our own, to contact Hal Clarkson as well as Dr.Holland, as both provide wake-up calls for us all and the communities we live in.
Photos from behind the scenes — join us to make a positive and important difference in your community.
George W. McDaniel, Ph.D., is President of McDaniel Consulting, LLC, a strategy firm that helps organizations use history to build bridges within itself and to its broader constituents. The company’s tag line, “Building Bridges through History,” is grounded in McDaniel’s personal beliefs and his experience in site management, preservation, education, board development, fundraising, and community outreach. Rather than using history to divide us, he strives to help organizations use history, especially local history, to enhance cross-cultural understanding and to support local museums, preservation, and education. Dr. McDaniel led volunteer efforts with Emanuel AME Church and historical organizations in Charleston to use historic preservation to enhance racial reconciliation and healing. McDaniel is also the Executive Director Emeritus of Drayton Hall, a historic site in Charleston, SC, owned by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. He retired from Drayton Hall in 2015 after 25 years of distinguished service.
A frequent writer, speaker, and facilitator about such issues, he can be reached at gmcdaniel4444@gmail.com or through his website at www.mcdanielconsulting.net.
Header Image: ASRAC members listen intently to a new watershed study for the Ashley River.
All images courtesy of the author unless otherwise noted.
McDaniel Consulting LLC is a strategy firm that helps organizations use history to build bridges within itself and its broader constituents. 