The
Bluffton Blufft n Sun January 22, 2025 • Volume 28, Issue 2 • Complimentary • BlufftonSun.com
Novant Health plans major health care expansion in Bluffton and the South Carolina Lowcountry 10A
Celebrating young creativity: The 2025 Bluffton 8th Grade 21A Juried Art Show
Bluffton wetlands hang in the balance LETTER TO THE EDITOR BY JESSICA PALLADINO Contributor Development is inevitable. However, development can be done while protecting the community at large. On January 23 at 5 p.m., there will be a county meeting to vote on special use permitting to fill non-tidal wetlands for a 38-unit housing development located at 34 Ulmer Road. Not sure where it is located or if it will affect you? It’s the forest right across from the Rec center where citizens go to vote. This is a call to all Bluffton residents. Write to the council or attend the meeting. One of our last unprotected and irreplaceable ecosystems is at stake. This wetland forest has one of the last unfenced natural freshwater ponds in Bluffton, acting as a habitat corridor connecting fragmented habitats which allow
animals to move safely between them. Some of the creatures that live here include Blue Heron, Pileated Woodpeckers, Wood Storks, Anhinga, Osprey, eagles, geese, ducks, foxes, possum and deer. Symphonies of amphibians and owls fill its evenings. Plants such as endangered sundews grow in dappled patches of sunlight alongside wild old willows, elderberries and native blueberries. Per the plans, there is little to no space between the proposed homes, and less than an 800 ft. buffer between the lowest point of the PF01A classified wetland edge to be developed and the May River. Consequently, it is likely to increase water pollution in the May River. During the summers, the county requests us to limit water usage for irrigation. Occasionally, brown water comes out of our faucets. Reports of increasing pollution in the May River are not uncommon. In 2011
The Town of Bluffton passed the May River Watershed Action Plan to restore and implement preventative measures to protect the May’s water quality and shellfish industry from future degradation due to overdevelopment, a fantastic, proactive step. However, although Ulmer’s wetland
WETLANDS CONT. ON PAGE 3A
Alljoy residents, Beaufort County reps meet; Krause announced as liaison 31A
Lowcountry mothers have a new resource with the Balanced Birth and Wellness Collective 44A