Concerns about Kiawah development

Although I certainly don't know all the details and can only write about it from an emotional (i.e. preservation) or sentimental point of view, it's pretty clear that battle lines are being drawn over plans to develop one of the last areas of Kiawah Island that remains in raw, pristine condition: Capt. Sam's Spit.

Located at the southwestern terminus of the island, the spit is connected to the main body of Kiawah by a narrow isthmus and is otherwise flanked by the Kiawah River, Capt. Sam's Inlet and the Atlantic Ocean. (Who was Capt. Sam? Don't know other than his being a pirate with a far-reaching reputation, influence and personal holdings.)

On the one hand, you have developers holding on to a very expensive property while looking for a new revenue stream in a tight economy -- property that was bought for development as a return on investment. If you're the developer, the idea of being forced into a no-go situation might strike you as sickening and infuriating with no possible way out other than giving the land away for a huge tax write-off. Any reasonable person can understand that.

On the other hand, if you're interested in preservation, you're equally sickened and infuriated by what has happened to some of our barrier and inland islands, whether it be James Island, what's starting to happen on Johns Island, the Wild Dunes section of the Isle of Palms, parts of Folly Beach, Kiawah, Seabrook, Hilton Head, or what have you. The ACE Basin offsets some of that frustration, of course, along with preservation efforts on the Santee Delta, Wadmalaw, Edisto and other places.

If Kiawah and Seabrook were presently undeveloped, it's reasonable to wonder if, during this day and age, the extent of development that we see now would be permitted. Either way, in this day and age, it's not unreasonable to wonder why a relatively small spit of land of unquestioned beauty and ecological diversity shouldn't be preserved as a token reminder of what once was a natural Sea Island paradise. Or do we just want development margins that surround everything?

I was out in the boat a couple of weekends ago and was amazed by the vibrancy of life on the spit and surrounding waterways: multiple species of shorebirds everywhere, the waters teeming with shrimp and bait fish, porpoise swimming every which way, wild sweetgrass waving lustily in pink.

And the human element very much enjoying the nature's bounty either on foot at the spit or aboard various small watercraft.

Protest literature distributed by the folks at Rosebank Farms (and also at www. KiawahRiver.org) paint a dark picture: a beach clubhouse and up to 50 houses on the narrow strip known as Capt. Sam's Spit. Access to the spit would be via Beachwalker Park, which is not owned by the county, but leased from developers, who plan to extend Beachwalker Drive through the current Beachwalker parking lot.

This could mean that the park will be moved nearer to other buildings and away from the beautiful natural landscapes of the river and its inlet. The parking lot no longer would be next to the Kiawah River, and traffic density would be significantly increased.

Most disturbing, the natural bank of the Kiawah River forming the northwest border of the spit would be covered over by a half-mile-long bulkhead, thus disrupting habitats for birds (including the endangered piping plover), fish, the dolphin who feed on them (in the fairly rare manner of driving and stranding them on the bank) and the diamond-backed terrapin, whose numbers have already sharply dropped.

Now, granted, this is a one-sided presentation, but there are few places around here that offer such a multifaceted look at wildlife over a relatively small amount of area. As a friend of mine observed, it's almost like looking at the Grand Canyon. Words don't capture it, and neither does a photograph or the canvas. You have to smell it, feel it, hear it and observe it in order to understand it.

And that's why some people are "concerned."

Another friend of mine, Walter Duane, says he enjoyed the column about camellias and writes (in part), "To me the most overlooked flower is the four o'clock, which comes out promptly at six o'clock. It blooms all summer, has a sweet smell, and doesn't need any care. It dies down in the winter but comes back in the spring.

"The four o'clock comes in many colors. As children we would pick them and place them on strings to make Hawaiian-like leis. Only when we got bigger were we allowed to kick tomato cans in the street or play 'Fox and the Goose.'

"Shelley put it best when he said, 'I bring fresh showers for thirsty flowers.' I get upset when I hear some folks complain about the rain. I will always accept some flooding in return for the beautiful gardens Charleston has.

"May Charleston always be in flower!"

Edward M. Gilbreth is a Charleston physician. Reach him at edwardgilbreth@comcast.net.