20 years of coastal protection

The Coastal Conservation League caps its first 20 years with a heady list of achievements and an established reputation for tenacity. From its modest beginnings in Charleston, it has become the pre-eminent environmental advocacy group in the state.

Primarily, the League has been focused on countering unwarranted growth and development along the South Carolina coast. Its successes include tough regulations that limit the construction of bridges to marsh islands, thereby thwarting easy resort development on hundreds of islands now inhabited by birds and wildlife.

It was instrumental in halting the planned extension of I-73 to Charleston, despite major political support for the plan. The route of the interstate would have taken it through the Francis Marion National Forest.

The League has helped stop unwarranted development elsewhere in and around the national forest, as well as on Johns Island, in the historic district along Ashley River Road and on St. Helena Island in Beaufort County. Its successful effort to protect Sandy Island in Georgetown County ranks as a nationally important accomplishment.

In each instance, the League has stirred public sentiment against ill-considered proposals and has helped educate residents and their elected officials about the importance of protecting natural resources. The result has been stronger land-use regulations and green-space protections aimed at halting inappropriate resort growth and urban sprawl.

The brainchild of Dana Beach, a former legislative staffer for Rep. Arthur Ravenel, the League initially was a shoestring operation in a warren of cramped offices of the William Aiken House on King Street.

Today, the League also operates offices in Beaufort and Georgetown and employs two lobbyists in Columbia. It has a budget of $2.5 million, employs 30 staffers and its membership tops 4,000. The League's long record of success has made it a force to be reckoned with.

While focused on the coast, the League has had several major statewide achievements, as well. For example, it worked to keep factory hog farms and slaughterhouses out of South Carolina. The Legislature ultimately passed some of the strongest hog farm regulations in the nation.

The League has allies in other environmental organizations, charitable foundations and land preservation groups. This newspaper has editorially supported its work on many occasions.

The League has made enemies, too, particularly among those who otherwise might have expected to make a quick buck by despoiling some pristine coastal property.

But the growth in membership and financial support reflects the League's value to those who don't want to see South Carolina's coast developed beyond recognition.

May its good work continue.