Tidal lands go private, suit by suit
More than 9,000 acres in Charleston County already affected
It's shellfish season and the mud gleams with shell beds of salty, slurpy oysters, a Lowcountry delight that has been treated as a public trove for generations.
But not all of it is. The state or a king deeded away untold acres of the tidal flats a long time ago. Now, the title holders of centuries-old grants are taking them back, one lawsuit at a time. The most recent suit lays claim to nearly 300 acres of marsh, hummock islands and mud flats just off the Mount Pleasant shoreline out to Inlet Creek.
That's just a plop in the oyster bucket. All through the rest of that reed-swept vista from the causeways to Isle of Palms or Sullivan's Island are the latest staking grounds for development in the Lowcountry.
So far, 9,338 acres of tidal lands in Charleston County have been claimed by private holders of a king's grant or legislative grant, deeds issued by the king of England when Charleston still was a colony and later by state legislators, partly so the holders could harvest oysters exclusively.
The 9,000-plus acres are nearly 5 percent of the county's tidal lands. Around the Inlet Creek acreage are a handful of other large-acre, privately held "grant" marshes. Nearby title holders are looking into the possibility they might hold a grant claim, too. Ownership of the shellfish flats would be a big bonus to property that often has little high ground to develop, one of them said.
Nobody wants to guess how much more marsh might be claimed by someone researching land grant titles.
"We definitely do not want to speculate, especially with a lawsuit pending," said Mark Plowden, communications director for the state Attorney General's office, in an e-mail.
Oysterman Toby Van Buren said the 9,000-plus acres could hold as much as 20 percent of the harvested oyster beds.
"I'm just concerned about the future of the marsh land. What are we going to leave to the next generation, a marshland carved up into kings grants and subdivisions?" said Van Buren, who leases beds from the state in the waters nearby.
Private ownership doesn't necessarily mean an end to shellfish harvesting; some private owners lease their flats. A lot of the productive oyster beds in the Lowcountry already are exclusive, leased by the state to licensedharvesters.
The concern of waterman like Van Buren is also for degradation of the crop if the marshes are developed, anything from boat wakes breaking up shell beds to rain runoff pollution closing off beds. Shellfish harvesting behind Isle of Palms or Sullivan's Island already is closed at times after heavy rains.
The Inlet Creek lawsuit was filed by James Southard Jr., of North Charleston, to quiet title for the property he bought in 2007 and whose Bay Light Inc. has listed for sale for $2.1 million. The suit claims "presumptive title to all of the State's tidelands and marshlands below the mean high water mark, including marsh islands."
The attorney general has challenged the claim, saying the state has simple title to the tidal lands as a public trust. The state is in trouble here. It's already lost that fight a few times, including a five-year court battle in the 1980s with Milton Felger, a former Charleston resident, for tidal rights to 490 marshland acres he owned near the Inlet Creek tract.
"The state said they owned it and were leasing the oyster beds. I couldn't get them off my land," Felger said in a recent interview.
Southard and other grant holders, though, don't think that grant claims will be able to take too much of the tidal land from the state. No matter how many were grants were issued, not too many of the papers have survived.
"We're talking about something the state sold before the Civil War and they're not selling any more," Southard said. "These things are very rare. Most were lost during the Civil War."
Reach Bo Petersen at 745-5852 or bpetersen@postandcourier.com.
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Comments
Neponset (anonymous) says...
Where is inlet creek. I have eaten a lot of oysters from here and else where and I like the low country oysters the best.
October 6, 2008 at 5:36 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
zoomru (anonymous) says...
Its NOT the shellfish that is valuable !!!!
COME ON ...PEOPLE !!!
Guess what it IS !!! It is the WIND that sweeps over it !!!
Can you imagine all that marshland as a WINDFARM !!!
There is NEW technology that has been developed to harness the WIND with OUT damaging the MARSH !!!
Most conservationists will try to stop this .!!
WHY ?? You ask ?!?
To keep us Hostage to COAL and OIL !!
WAKE UP !! ...People !!
October 6, 2008 at 6:31 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Neponset (anonymous) says...
Z
Just scanned the P&C weather page which reports 6 mph, for the official forecast, but most of the other weather stations reports calm or very low wind velocity. Folks will be getting ready for work soon and there is little potential for generating power at this time - which is one of the peaks of the day. I question the viability of wind farms here in the low country. Can you imagine wind farms in the back yards of million dollar homes.
October 6, 2008 at 6:49 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
counterpoint (anonymous) says...
zoomru, please don't mix Pickens Kool-Aid with your coffee, it kind of freaks us out in the morning.
October 6, 2008 at 7:15 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Cid95 (anonymous) says...
I don't think the Lowcountry is a particularly windy area on average. However, having said that, wind and solar farms don't have to produce at the exact moment power is needed. Power can be stored for use at the demand periods.
October 6, 2008 at 7:16 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
tmh32 (anonymous) says...
since we won the Revolutionary War with England wouldn't that make ANY "King Deeded lands" null and void? That land would revert back to the state or to the fanily or families that were present on the property at the time?
October 6, 2008 at 7:47 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Neponset (anonymous) says...
Cid
True, while I am not familiar with current storage ideas, reverse hydro comes to mind ie reverse the generators (they become motors) to pump water back behind the dam, so it can be drawn thru the turbines later to gen power - this is an old idea and has been used, but our hydro systems would have to be converted to this function and it also cost money. The boys and girls with the sharp pencils will have to do the figuring to assess whether this is worth the capital investment.
October 6, 2008 at 8:05 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
zekemire (anonymous) says...
About time that the governments must give up ALL, ALL, land that has been taken from private owners! And, this country is not about public ownership or public access! For the State to be buying up tens of thousands of acres of private land to be used for the public, and, using taxpayer money to do so is absurd! It is fine to give a tax reduction or abatement to a private individual if they agree to put a conservation easement on their property but continue to own it! It is not fine for the state to keep buying property just to have public access! THIS IS NOT THE AMERICAN WAY!!!
October 6, 2008 at 9:01 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
ln1959 (anonymous) says...
Dang, so this mean I can't walk along the marsh lands and pick oysters anymore.
This can not be happening.
How am I going to get my share of the Afrodisiac?
October 6, 2008 at 9:56 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
desspec (anonymous) says...
Back taxes must come to a lot ....
October 6, 2008 at 10:55 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
HighDef (anonymous) says...
Wind farm ? I think the Texas flat lands have that market. T Boone made his oil money and is now reinvesting, he will strike it big with wind...smart guy, he has the capital and land right's all over Texas.
How this pertain's to Kings grant's , oyester beds... IDONTKNOW. Seems to me that SC isn't in any shortage of marshy public oyster/fishing holes ? Let the owners lease the marsh and pay taxes on it, simple.
October 6, 2008 at 12:43 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Neponset (anonymous) says...
Early
It is a moot point for me, since I can not afford water front property, from which to build a dock, as I suspect is the case for most of folks.
October 6, 2008 at 12:47 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
UrGatorbait (anonymous) says...
Thank you Early for that post. Very informative.
The right of eminent domain is another power the government is exercising over it's citizens. If the land belongs to someone else, why should any government entity take it to make a profit from it?
Thomas1776, why should I be concerned with the FBI contacting me? You apparently have no problem with government keeping some one else's private property though.
zoomie, sheesh dude, put down the crack pipe and take off your tin foil hat.
October 6, 2008 at 1:43 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
crankyyankee (anonymous) says...
I can see it now. Windmills from James Island to offshore Folly Beach and Mt Pleasant to offshore Isle of Palms. You folks would do anything to screw up paradise wouldn't you?
October 6, 2008 at 2:17 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Neponset (anonymous) says...
crank
Not me - I want to drill off shore and produced oil, gas and jobs.
October 6, 2008 at 2:27 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Cid95 (anonymous) says...
Has anyone proven that there is anything off the SC coast to viably drill? Even if there is, it's just passing the buck to the next generation if we don't do SOMETHING to get sustainable energy (wind, solar, hydroelectric, etc). Oil, gas, coal - they are all finite.
Even opening up new sources of US oil, we still need to import and that ties us to really cool and friendly places like Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Russia, etc.
October 6, 2008 at 3:28 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Neponset (anonymous) says...
Cid
Hydro? Over the last hundred or so years we have put dams across almost every suitable spot on our rivers and set up generating facilities - not much left. Enough of this smoke and mirror BS.
October 6, 2008 at 4:07 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
guidedbystewart (anonymous) says...
Great post Cid95!
October 6, 2008 at 4:09 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Neponset (anonymous) says...
Correction - 200+ years. If you want power for heating, cooling, big cars etc, you need big time power sources, not some wimpy sources, such as this pie in the sky BS - get over it and drill. Conserving energy would be also nice.
October 6, 2008 at 4:29 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
charleston1960 (anonymous) says...
Sorry, Can't comment right now. I am looking for the paperwork where a king granted my family the rights to the Atlantic Ocean 400 years ago. And when I find it...
October 6, 2008 at 4:56 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Neponset (anonymous) says...
charleston
Yes, the confluence of the Ashley and Cooper are the head waters of the Atlantic and if you can get your paper work together, you have title to it all and can charge all those Jap/Chinese fisherman a bunch.
October 6, 2008 at 5:15 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
zoomru (anonymous) says...
Neponset....
Its WINDY here on FOLLY !!!
I AM like you in that I am FOR ALL ...energy production !!
No HOLDS BARRED !!
Just because OIL is HIGH or when it is "cheaper" again someday due to market forces should not impede us from not putting all our energy EGGS in ONE basket as we have been doing!!
We have WIND here ....harness it !! Whether its five mph or 50 KNOTS !! or more ?!
October 6, 2008 at 6:39 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
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