ACE BASIN NATIONAL ESTUARINE RESEARCH RESERVE

June 1, 2004 — The ACE Basin is one of the largest underdeveloped estuarine environments on the East Coast. It was named after the Ashepoo, Combahee and Edisto rivers, which meander past cypress swamps, historic plantation homes, old rice fields and abundant tidal marshes on their way to the South Carolina coast. The ACE Basin area was designated as a National Estuarine Research Reserve by NOAA in 1992 and is the third largest reserve in the nation. It is managed by the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. Located approximately 60 miles southeast of Charleston, the reserve encompasses more than 140,000 acres — characterized by approximately 50 percent estuarine wetlands, 43 percent open water and 7 percent freshwater wetlands and upland communities.

The ACE Basin NERR protects the natural beauty, abundant wildlife and unique cultural heritage of the area. Furthermore, it preserves habitat for many endangered or threatened species, such as shortnose sturgeon, wood storks, loggerhead sea turtles and bald eagles. Commercial fishermen and recreational sports enthusiasts also enjoy the resources provided by this area. (Click NOAA image below right for a larger view of the ACE Basin area map with protected lands. Click here for high resolution version, which is a large file. Please credit “NOAA.”)

Facilities to Support Reserve Efforts
Reserve staff work off-site at the SCDNR's Marine Research Division, in Charleston, and on-site at the Michael D. McKenzie Field Station for research and Edisto Beach State Park for education. The research field station is a 4,000 square-foot facility consisting of offices, wet/dry labs, a conference room and overnight accommodations for researchers. Docking facilities and boats are also available so researchers can conduct work in the heart of the ACE Basin. The new Edisto Interpretive Center is a 7,000 square-foot facility consisting of staff offices, interpretive exhibit galleries, laboratories, classrooms and a conference area. The center also has a dock that accommodates the 42-foot educational vessel, Discovery, a nature trail and public boat access to adjacent waterways.

ACE Basin NERR Programs
Like other NERRs, the Ace Basin program focuses on training, education, management, research and stewardship:

• Coastal Training Program: The ACE Basin NERR initiated its Coastal Training Program in 2002. The program is a collaborative effort between ACE Basin NERR staff and local communities, in which the CTP relies on the community to identify key coastal issues and serve on a CTP advisory board, along with representatives from state coastal programs, the South Carolina Sea Grant Consortium and academia.
• Education: The ACE Basin NERR education program, is based in the Edisto Interpretive Center. The program provides classroom and field experiences to students, teachers and the general public through a variety of programs designed to emphasize the importance of the ACE Basin watershed area and promote the sound stewardship of its estuarine resources. The reserve sponsors a summer lecture series, develops curriculum materials for teachers, offers a touch tank program for children and conducts educational cruises.
• Management: The management of ACE Basin natural resources involves the resources themselves (i.e., fish species, waterfowl, etc.) and the habitat the resources occupy. As a result, a high level of intra- and inter-agency cooperation and coordination is imperative to evaluate reserve management issues and coordinate activities.
• Research: Research directly related to the management of the reserve's resources is actively encouraged and is a high priority. More than 30 research and monitoring projects (including cumulative environmental impacts, contaminant assessments, population assessments and environmental stress indicators) have been conducted by government agencies, academic institutions and private organizations in or adjacent to the ACE Basin NERR. However, the primary focus of the reserve research program is to conduct long-term monitoring projects that provide spatial and temporal information about the physical, chemical and biological conditions in the ACE Basin. For example, the reserve has monitored water quality as part of the NERR System-wide Monitoring Program since 1995, and has conducted long-term biological surveys on the spatial and temporal distribution of plant and animal species in the reserve since the early 1990’s.
• Stewardship: The Stewardship program addresses past, present and future conditions that have affected or may affect the health of the estuarine ecosystem within the reserve and outside the reserve’s boundaries — to the extent feasible. Stewardship projects include land acquisition, habitat mapping, ecological restoration, resource inventories, biological monitoring, endangered species protection, prescribed fire management, recreation management and working with county planners on issues related to tourism and land planning.

Current Reserve Programs

• Invasive Species: In 1999, Phragmites australis (common reed) — a non-native species capable of displacing endemic marsh species — was documented in approximately one percent of the reserve. Color infrared aerial photographs and other imaging techniques were used to estimate when this unwelcome species established itself in the reserve. Another study found high densities of the Petrolisthes armatus (the green porcelain crab), invading oyster reef areas in the fall and winter months. This non-native species is believed to have recently expanded its range to the ACE Basin.
• Survey of Tidal Freshwater Fish Communities: The reserve staff, in collaboration with SCDNR's Inshore Fisheries Section, analyzed data collected during the first 18 months of a tidal freshwater electrofishing survey. Findings indicated that the number and weight of fish species was strongly correlated with water depth and salinity.
• Survey of Saltwater Intrusion in ACE Rivers: Drought conditions in South Carolina from June of 1998 to April of 2003 prompted staff from the ACE Basin NERR, the SCNRD and Clark Alexander, Ph.D. at the Skidaway Institute to conduct a salinity survey on the major rivers along the state's coast. Results indicated that drought conditions did contribute to the intrusion of salt water 14 to 17 miles farther upstream into the rivers than had previously been recorded. The reserve continues to monitor salinity levels at fixed stations along the rivers and has noted the return of fresh water during non-drought conditions.
• Habitat Restoration: SCDNR’s staff recently implemented a feasibility study to examine potential benefits of restoring a now defunct salt marsh creek near the Edisto Beach causeway in the ACE Basin. It is anticipated that this restoration project could benefit nearly 700 acres within the reserve by rebuilding the original spartina marsh and small creek areas, thus significantly improving water quality.
• Land Acquisition: ACE Basin NERR received $4,470,700 dollars in NOAA grant funding for the purchase of three maritime islands that are strategically located in the reserve. The islands — North Williman, Buzzard and Pine — encompass approximately 10,000 acres of diverse estuarine habitat and contain several threatened or endangered species.
• Stewardship: The ACE Basin NERR is getting “all tangled up” for its latest stewardship project, a Monofilament Recycling Program. Outdoor monofilament collection bins are being placed at fishing piers, boat landings and marinas in the area to keep the environment clean. The ACE Basin NERR staff is working with community and school groups to monitor the bins, collect data and promote the program.
• Workshops: The first ACE Basin NERR Coastal Training Program workshop, co-hosted by the reserve and South Carolina State University, was held in November of 2003 at the Edisto Interpretative Center, which was under construction at the time. The workshop provided an overview of historical and current land uses in the area and facilitated discussion about community concerns that could be addressed by the CTP.
• Donnelley Education Program: The Donnelley Educational Program was established in 2001 with funding from the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation of Chicago. The funds allow area teachers and students to take advantage of the educational opportunities in the reserve through land-based programs and educational cruises led by biologists.

Relevant Web Sites
ACE Basin National Estuarine Research Reserve (NOAA site)

ACE Basin National Estuarine Research Reserve (SCDNR site)

South Carolina Department of Natural Resources

CHARACTERIZATION OF THE ASHEPOO-COMBAHEE-EDISTO (ACE) BASIN, SOUTH CAROLINA (SCDNR report)

South Carolina Coastal Management Program

Media Contact:
Glenda Powell, NOAA Ocean Service, (301) 713-3066 ext. 191 or Ben Sherman, NOAA Ocean Service, (301) 713-3066 ext. 178