Black River Initiative: Connecting People To The River

Connecting People To The River

story by Jennifer Howard

THE BLACK RIVER INITIATIVE

The Pee Dee is defined by rivers. Flowing around working farms and forestlands, through cities, and under highway bridges, they serve as a silent reminder that we were all once a part of the ocean to which our rivers flow. They moved goods and people and gave rise to economies that now exist only as tidal waters among earthen dikes. Tucked between the massive basins of the Santee and the Great Pee Dee, the Black River runs 150 miles connecting Sumter, Lee, Clarendon, Williamsburg, and Georgetown Counties as a thin blue line on a map, flanked by bottomland forests and row crop fields. Locals – and a few others - know that there is more to the tannin-stained waters of the Black than can be seen on a map. In its glassy stillness, ancient cypress trees reflect a water-color self-portrait, occasionally shadowed by the soaring of a swallow-tailed kite. And the river offers an eerie silence interrupted only by the chatter of invisible songbirds and the pileated’s precision drumming. These experiences are what conservation partners, state agencies, and local governments are working to share through a grassroots effort, the Black River Water Trail and Park Network. “The Black River initiative is about connections. It’s about connecting people to the river and it’s about connecting sites along the river,” remarks Pee Dee native, Dr. Maria Whitehead who is leading planning on behalf of the Open Space Institute and the broader conservation partnership. A 70-mile stretch along the river, designated a State Scenic River twenty years ago, will provide a network of boat landings, parks, and preserves designed to support communities by increasing access and creating economic opportunities through nature-based tourism.

“As a local land trust, supporting the Black River is personal to us,” remarked Lyles Cooper, executive director of the Pee Dee Land Trust. “Our families swim, fish, and paddle this river and we all reap the benefits of the private landowners who so generously choose to protect these precious resources on their properties through permanent conservation easements.” In addition to conservation

To learn more about lending your voice to this initiative and take a few minutes to complete the public engagement survey, visit openspaceinstitute.org/blackriver.

Philip White Photography

easements along the river, Pee Dee Land Trust was an integral partner in a new riverfront park in Kingstree. The Water Trail and Park Network connect privately conserved lands with publicly accessible properties, such as the one in Kingstree and others farther downstream, slated to become destination points along South Carolina’s newest river trail. The initiative is so significant that it has garnered millions in funding from state, federal, local, and private funding. South Carolina Conservation Bank Executive Director Raleigh West notes, “The breadth of the partnership reflects not only the ecological importance of the Black River, which is certainly the highest quality, but also the innovative nature of public and private partnerships between government agencies, conservation groups, non-profits, and private landowners. I believe the Black River will become one of the hallmark conservation successes of our state and provide substantial economic development opportunities for rural communities through nature-based tourism.” Whitehead leaves us with a reminder of the healing powers of the river, particularly during this extended period of social distancing. “Having grown up visiting my grandfather’s fishing cabin on Mingo Creek, a tributary of the Black River, I have memories of sitting on the dock and watching wild turkeys heave themselves into the tall pines to roost at dusk. Places like the Black River offer more than wildlife habitat, clean drinking water, and a sponge for floodwaters, they offer a powerful salve for the human mind, body and spirit and a place to be restored during times of stress and uncertainty.” Perhaps the early settlers who made the clarion call to head “down to the river to pray,” were on to a peace that has now transcended generations. Whether you’re seeking time to play with your family, a place to be restored, or the salvation to which early choirs alluded, the time to get down to the river is now.

The Black River Master Plan Steering Committee is seeking input from local and river enthusiasts from across the Southeast. A series of public meetings will be held during May in communities along the river.

Dana Beach Photography

Dana Beach Photography

Maria Whitehead Photography