Pinckney Island National Wildlife Refuge

United States National Wildlife Refuge in South Carolina

Pinckney Island National Wildlife Refuge

IUCN category IV (habitat/species management area)

Pinckney Island National Wildlife Refuge

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 / 32.243768; -80.765305
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[edit]

Pinckney Island NWR is archaeologically rich, with 115 prehistoric and historic sites identified. Analysis of the prehistoric sites indicate human occupation dating from the Archaic Period (8000-1000 BC), with intensive use during the Mississippian Period (1000-1500 AD).

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 Revolutionary War, a signer of the United States Constitution, and, in 1804 and 1808, a presidential candidate for the Federalist Party. After he inherited the islands from his father, Pinckney was an absentee landowner until 1804, when he moved to the island and began managing the property. The Pinckney family developed the islands into a plantation, removing much of the maritime forest and draining and tilling the fertile soil. By 1818, the Pinkneys owned over 200 enslaved people who produced long-staple Sea Island Cotton on 297 acres (1.20 km2); by 1840, that number had increased to 300.

The plantation flourished until the American Civil War, when it was occupied by Union troops and the enslaved people were liberated. Small skirmishes took place on Pinckney Island. The most significant incident occurred on August 21, 1862, when the Confederate Beaufort Light Artillery/11th Infantry attacked the camp of Company H, Third Regiment, New Hampshire Volunteers, killing four Union soldiers and wounding ten men (eight Confederate, two Union).

US Army records reflect that black troops were recruited for the Union Army from the area. Five military (U.S. Colored Troops) headstones are located in a cemetery on the northwest side of Pinckney Island. It is possible that the U.S. Army had recruited slaves from those owned by the Pinckneys.

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 hunting preserve. The Bruces planted hardwoods and pine, built ponds to attract waterfowl and provide for irrigation, and placed 70 percent of the farm fields back into cultivation.

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[edit]

Aerial view, seen from the west

The 4,053-acre (16 km2) refuge includes Pinckney Island, Corn Island, Big Harry and Little Harry Islands, Buzzard Island and numerous small hammocks. Pinckney is the largest of the islands and the only one open to public use. Nearly 67% of the refuge consists of salt marsh and tidal creeks. A wide variety of land types are found on Pinckney Island alone: saltmarsh, forestland, brushland, fallow field and freshwater ponds. In combination, these habitats support a diversity of bird and plant life.

## Wildlife[edit]

Wildlife commonly observed on Pinckney Island include waterfowl, shorebirds, wading birds, raptors, neo-tropical migrants, and white-tailed deer, with large concentrations of white ibis, herons, and egrets. Other species include the American alligator, flatwoods salamander, nine-banded armadillo, bald eagle, and the wood stork.

## Facilities[edit]

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[edit]

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

## See also[edit]

* List of National Wildlife Refuges

## External links[edit]

* Pinckney Island National Wildlife Refuge homepage
* FWS profile of Pinckney Island NWR

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* t
* e

Protected areas of South Carolina

Federal|

| National Parks|

* Congaree

|

National Historic Sites
and Historical Parks|

* Charles Pinckney NHS
* Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie NHP
* Ninety Six NHS
* Reconstruction Era NHP

National Military Parks
and Battlefields|

* Cowpens NB
* Kings Mountain NMP

National Historic Trail|

* Overmountain Victory

National Forests|

* Francis Marion
* Sumter

National
Wildlife Refuges|

* Cape Romain
* Carolina Sandhills
* Ernest F. Hollings ACE Basin
* Pinckney Island
* Santee
* Savannah
* Tybee
* Waccamaw

National Estuarine
Research Reserves|

* Ashepoo Combahee Edisto Basin
* North Inlet-Winyah Bay

Wilderness Areas|

* Cape Romain
* Congaree
* Ellicott Rock
* Hell Hole Swamp
* Little Wambaw Swamp
* Wambaw Creek
* Wambaw Swamp

Wild and Scenic River|

* Chattooga River

State|

| State Parks|

* Aiken
* Andrew Jackson
* Baker Creek
* Barnwell
* Caesars Head
* Calhoun Falls
* Cheraw
* Chester
* Colleton
* Croft
* Devils Fork
* Dreher Island
* Edisto Beach
* Givhans Ferry
* Goodale
* H. Cooper Black Jr. Memorial Field Trial and Recreation Area
* Hamilton Branch
* Hickory Knob
* Hunting Island
* Huntington Beach
* Jones Gap
* Keowee-Toxaway
* Kings Mountain
* Lake Greenwood
* Lake Hartwell
* Lake Warren
* Lake Wateree
* Landsford Canal
* Lee
* Little Pee Dee
* Myrtle Beach
* Oconee
* Paris Mountain
* Poinsett
* Sadlers Creek
* Santee
* Sesquicentennial
* Table Rock
* Woods Bay

|

State Historic Sites|

* Charles Towne Landing
* Colonial Dorchester
* Hampton Plantation
* Musgrove Mill
* Oconee Station
* Redcliffe Plantation
* Rivers Bridge
* Rose Hill Plantation

State Forests|

* Harbison
* Manchester
* Poe Creek
* Sand Hills
* Wee Tee

Heritage Preserves|

* Aiken Gopher Tortoise
* Altamaha Towne
* Ashmore
* Bald Rock
* Bear Branch
* Belvue Springs
* Bennett's Bay
* Blackwell
* Botany Bay Plantation
* Brasstown Creek
* Bunched Arrowhead
* Buzzard Island
* Buzzard Roost
* Capers Island
* Cartwheel Bay
* Cathedral Bay
* Chestnut Ridge
* Childsbury Towne
* Clear Creek
* Congaree Bluffs
* Congaree Creek
* Crosby Oxypolis
* Daws Island
* Ditch Pond
* Dungannon Plantation
* Eastatoe Creek
* Eva Russell Chandler
* Fort Frederick
* Fort Lamar
* Forty Acre Rock
* Glassy Mountain
* Gopher Branch
* Great Pee Dee River
* Green's Shell Enclosure
* Henderson
* Janet Harrison High Pond
* Laurel Fork
* Lewis Ocean Bay
* Lighthouse Inlet
* Little Pee Dee
* Little Pee Dee State Park Bay
* Long Branch Bay
* Longleaf Pine
* Lynchburg Savanna
* Nipper Creek
* Old Island
* Pacolet River
* Peachtree Rock
* Peters Creek
* Poinsett Bridge
* Rock Hill Blackjacks
* Savage Bay
* Savannah River Bluffs
* Segars-McKinnon
* Shealy's Pond
* South Bluff
* St. Helena Sound
* Stevens Creek
* Stoney Creek Battery
* Stumphouse Mountain
* Tillman Sand Ridge
* Tom Yawkey Wildlife Center
* Victoria Bluff Heritage Preserve
* Waccamaw River
* Wadakoe Mountain
* Wateree
* Watson-Cooper
* Woods Bay

Wildlife Management Areas|

* Bear Island
* Belfast
* Bonneau Ferry
* Campbell's Crossroads
* Canal
* Causey Tract
* Cliff Pitts
* Clinton Reservoir Tract
* Crackerneck
* Donnelley
* Draper
* Edisto River
* Fant's Grove
* Gray Court Tract
* Hamilton Ridge
* Hatchery
* Herbert Kirsh
* Hickory Top
* James L. Mason
* James Ross
* Jim Timmerman
* Keowee
* Landsford Canal Forest
* Liberty Hill
* Marsh
* McBee
* McCalla
* McConnells Tract
* Moultrie Hunt Unit
* Nine Times
* Oak Lea
* Palachucola
* Pee Dee Station
* Samworth
* Santee Coastal Reserve
* Santee Cooper
* Santee Cooper Tract
* Santee Dam
* Santee-Delta
* Thurmond Tract
* Turtle Island
* Webb
* Wild Turkey
* Woodbury
* Worth Mountain

Seabird Sanctuaries|

* Bay Point Shoal
* Bird Key - Stono
* Crab Bank
* Deveaux Bank
* Joiner Bank
* North Santee Bar

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National Wildlife Refuges of the United States

* Alabama
* Alaska
* Arizona
* Arkansas
* California
* Colorado
* Connecticut
* Delaware
* Florida
* Georgia
* Hawaii
* Idaho
* Illinois
* Indiana
* Iowa
* Kansas
* Kentucky
* Louisiana
* Maine
* Maryland
* Massachusetts
* Michigan
* Minnesota
* Mississippi
* Missouri
* Montana
* Nebraska
* Nevada
* New Hampshire
* New Jersey
* New Mexico
* New York
* North Carolina
* North Dakota
* Ohio
* Oklahoma
* Oregon
* Pennsylvania
* Rhode Island
* South Carolina
* South Dakota
* Tennessee
* Texas
* Utah
* Vermont
* Virginia
* Washington
* West Virginia
* Wisconsin
* Wyoming

* American Samoa
* Guam
* Puerto Rico
* U.S. Minor Outlying Islands
* U.S. Virgin Islands

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The Lowcountry of South Carolina

Counties|

* Beaufort County
* Colleton County
* Hampton County
* Jasper County

Major communities|

* Beaufort
* Bluffton
* Estill
* Hampton
* Hardeeville
* Hilton Head Island
* Port Royal
* Ridgeland
* Sun City
* Walterboro
* Varnville
* Yemassee

Sea islands|

* Callawassie Island
* Daufuskie Island
* Edisto Island
* Fripp Island
* Harbor Island
* Hilton Head Island
* Hunting Island
* Lady's Island
* Port Royal Island
* St. Helena Island

History & culture|

* Historic places
* Beaufort
* history of
* historic district
* Cuisine
* Gullah culture
* Port Royal Experiment
* Sea Islands Hurricane

Military installations|

* Laurel Bay
* MCAS Beaufort
* MCRD Parris Island
* Beaufort Naval Hospital

Natural areas|

* ACE Basin
* Pinckney Island NWR
* Savannah NWR
* Sea Islands
* State parks
* Colleton
* Hunting Island
* Lake Warren

Other articles|

* BJWSA
* Hargray
* Sea Pines
* TCL
* USC-Beaufort
* RBC Heritage

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Pinckney Island National Wildlife Refuge.

Authority control databases |

* VIAF

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