By Jeff Dennis
Editor’s Note: This is part an ongoing story that The Press and Standard will continue to cover, as city officials create a master plan for the Walterboro Wildlife Sanctuary and the areas adjoining the sanctuary.
WALTERBORO - In the early 2000’s, officials with the City of Walterboro began consolidating tracts of land that became known first as the Great Swamp, an area in the middle of the city totaling 600-acres. The city used this area to create an outdoor recreational area for the public, complete with paved and boardwalk walkways. Now renamed the Walterboro Wildlife Sanctuary, the swamp also includes the Walterboro Wildlife Center educational facility and a kayak launch. Recreational use is bound to increase in the sanctuary as the Lowcountry continues to see population growth. This is why city officials say they are planning now to upgrade the facility and to improve its access points for the public.
But, maintaining these facilities provides a challenge for city officials, especially in recent years where Walterboro has been the victim of multiple tornadoes and named storms.
Jeff Molinari, manager of the City of Walterboro, says there is an existing action plan for the sanctuary. This was put into place in May of 2021, during the Walterboro City Council’s annual planning retreat.
“At our annual city council retreat in May, I asked our staff to develop a funding plan to replace all the boardwalks in the Sanctuary,” said Molinari. “Now that we have completed the Walterboro Wildlife Center project, we can turn our attention back to access issues.”
Part of this plan is to replace all of the existing wooden boardwalks with new ones.
This will be funded with city money allocated from the city’s budget, toward this project; however, no budgets or expenditures have been approved for the replacement of the boardwalks as of yet.
Molinari said city council wants to begin construction on new boardwalks in the sanctuary by June of 2022, but there is no funding in place for these plans, he said.
“The lifespan of the wood on our boardwalks is limited given the wet environment, and this likely won’t be the last time that we have to replace the wood. We do have paved pathways, and earthen trails, but the boardwalk access through wet areas is essential to connect them.”
Molinari says the city’s Parks and Recreation Department is also now authorized to do continuous repairs to the boardwalk, as necessary.
“However, a string of extreme weather events, including Hurricane Matthew, a tornado and flooding have left a swath of damage that is too big for a quick fix,” he said. “We have had an engineer inspect all of the boardwalks and they have endorsed both a short-term repair plan and a long-term repair plan for us to consider.
“In parts of the sanctuary, the boardwalk was uprooted from the ground and will require re-engineering. Our work crew can deal with a fallen tree issue readily, but larger issues take more time and resources to work around. To be sure, we are committed to the plan to replace the boardwalk, but the spike in lumber prices has created a financial hiccup,” said Molinari.
“So, when we got the original estimate to replace the boards, before the price spike hit, it looked more affordable,” he continued. “The good news is we are watching the lumber price closely now, and it seems to be dissipating, and like any consumer, we intend to buy the wood when the price drops.
“In the meantime, we will keep boardwalk access open as best we can.”
The most recent flooding event came from Tropical Storm Elsa, which struck the Lowcountry earlier this month and brought four inches of rain to the city.
With tropical weather season set to be increasingly active, these water level change ups can provide management issues when it comes to boardwalk access. But each boardwalk replacement phase brings improvements for the future learned from past trials.
“The Ireland Creek channel by the movie theatre is owned by The City of Walterboro,” said Molinari. “While it is not a part of the Sanctuary, we are aware of the recreational use this area receives as folks seek shade under the live oaks, coming to view the creek waters. We are looking at developing a master plan to possibly incorporate this area as a gateway to the Sanctuary, especially if it aids public access to and appreciation of the Walterboro Wildlife Sanctuary and the nearby Walterboro Wildlife Center.”
The sanctuary is now open to the public for use. The main entrance is located at the end of DeTreville Road, near the Live Oak Cemetery. This entrance includes a parking lot designated for people to use the sanctuary.
This entrance also leads to a paved pathway that runs through the sanctuary, to another entrance located on Washington Street. Here, there is side-street parking but no designated parking lot for sanctuary users.
A kayak launch ramp is accessible from the Ivanhoe Road entrance.
The sanctuary also features birdwatching and bike riding, from all entrances. Dogs are allowed inside the sanctuary if they are on a leash.
More details of the city’s ongoing restoration and improvement plan are not yet available, as the process is still ongoing. The Press and Standard will follow the city’s master plan on the Walterboro Wildlife Sanctuary and on the potential recreational uses of the space by the Ireland Creek channel.
