There was a lot of activity to be seen on a late afternoon boat ride into the Harbor River from Russ Point on Hunting Island, SC even as the day came to an end.
From the beach near the dock a fisherman was casting into the river.
A Bald Eagle watched over the river and surrounding marsh from a dead tree.
A pod of Dolphins was all around us as we set out, probably fishing for the last meal of the day.
Off in the distance it was raining.
The Harbor River is at the southern end of the Ashepoo-Combahee-Edisto (ACE) Basin National Estuarine Research Reserve.
The Reserve’s 99,308 acres of pine and hardwood upland, oyster reef, forested wetland, barrier islands, cypress swamp, and tidal marsh combine to make this one of the largest undeveloped estuaries on the East Coast and home to many endangered species.
I didn’t realise before what ACE stood for… what a long name!
Yes, it is! And an intricate system of rivers, tributaries, and estuaries that all come together there.
You must be living to a very unique natural reserve! Hope it will be kept this way for future generations.
A lot of that 100,000 acres is private land, but protected from development. I’m happy to see just the small public parts of it. The reach of the three river system is tremendous and is home to a wide range of flora and fauna. I do hope it stays that way, but sadly greed is knocking on the door all the time.
It seems that greed is everywhere knocking on nature’s door.