If you’re a fan of this blog then you know that our favorite topic concerning Parris Island is refuting the doom-peddlers and undereducated naysayers who like to insist the “Cradle of the Marine Corps” will be sinking under the waves of rising sea levels any day now despite the revolutionary methods Parris Island is taking to protect itself. However, today we shift our eyes from Parris Island’s groundbreaking actions and give a well-deserved spotlight to our other favorite local Marine installation, MCAS Beaufort, which was recently awarded a large grant to battle sea water rise and coastal flooding.
MCAS Beaufort is a sprawling installation covering more than 6,900 acres between two sounds of the Atlantic Ocean. The location is naturally susceptible to sea level rise and flooding and the installation has taken various small-scale measures over the past decade to limit its environmental vulnerability. The recent push by the Department of Defense for base resiliency provided a perfect opportunity for MCAS Beaufort to partner with The Nature Conservancy of South Carolina and receive grant funding for a wider-ranging effort.
The grant awarded to The Nature Conservancy and MCAS Beaufort is a total of $6.2 million dollars, all to be used for various efforts in support of “living shorelines” in the Beaufort Area. The largest project is slated to be at the Laurel Bay housing area of MCAS Beaufort and consists of the installation of a 2,000-foot oyster-castle reef – what will be the biggest oyster-based living shoreline in South Carolina. Other efforts include accelerating smaller living shoreline efforts across underserved communities across the Lowcountry and funding the development of a 10-year vision plan for South Carolina’s coastal resilience.
Obviously, this grant has massive benefits for Beaufort County in the immediate term. The state-of-the-art oyster reef will ensure that the Laurel Bay community continues to support MCAS Beaufort and overlooked areas of Beaufort County will also have access to funds to protect themselves from sea level rise. But beyond those immediate results, Beaufort will also gain construction jobs and all the other intangible value that comes with an investment of this size and scope. A fully funded planning effort to map South Carolina’s strategy for its coastal lands is also a major benefit to countless communities and should not be understated.
The Lowcountry should be proud that this effort was accomplished through the civil-military coordination that remains a highlight of the Beaufort area. With continued efforts such as these environmentally friendly resilience projects, we look forward to hearing the jets of MCAS Beaufort and the marching cadences of Parris Island for many more years to come.
