After more than 20 years, logging starts again on Hilton Head Island

About 60 acres of long leaf pines are being logged on the north-end of Hilton Head Island, raising the ire of nearby residents and leading to calls for a prohibition on the practice.

Residents living near the sites say the logging — an unwanted anomaly that hasn’t happened in more than 20 years — is heartbreaking and could lower the value of nearby properties.

As of last week, town officials have said about 29 of the 60 acres have already been logged.

“It will take 20 to 30 years to replace what has been taken from this community,” said Gary Higgins as he looked at a field of stumps across from his home in Port Royal Plantation. “This town has to fight the state and get these laws changed.”

One of the logging sites borders Port Royal Plantation, separated only by a fence. Others border Hilton Head Island’s public school complex and the Planter’s Row Golf Course at Port Royal.

Landowner Tom Barnwell said harvesting trees on land that his family has owned for more than 135 years is an acceptable agricultural activity fitting with native islanders’ heritage.

“We had agricultural land before Hilton Head was a town,” said Barnwell, a native islander whose family recently received approval to log 26 acres they own off Gumtree Road. About 12 of those 26 acres have yet to be harvested, he said, because rain has delayed the process.

“Many years ago, my family planted these trees. They were planted for the purpose of being harvested,” said Barnwell, a longtime advocate for the town’s Gullah community who was inducted into the town’s Hall of Fame in 2013.

A second applicant, David White, has received a permit to log about 34 acres spread across nine parcels on Ben White Drive and off Gumtree and Union Cemetery Road.

A man claiming to be the owner of the logged property off Ben White Drive refused to comment or provide his name for this story.

Town can’t stop logging

Charles Cousins, Hilton Head’s director of community development, said he has never witnessed logging on the island in the past 28 years on the job.

But there is little the town can do to stop the logging. State law, passed in 2009, allows for certain woodland areas to be timbered if a set of requirements are met.

According to S.C. code 48-23-205: “A county or municipality must not adopt or enforce any ordinance, rule, regulation, resolution or permit related to forest activities on forestland ...”

A 2012 S.C. Attorney General’s opinion reaffirmed that the state law trumps any local rules, said Dwight Stewart of Dwight L. Stewart Jr. & Associates LLC.

“In meeting with the folks and planners on the island, that opinion helped show that we were indeed within the law,” said Stewart, who was hired by Barnwell and White to create forest management plans for the logging sites.

The plans, required by state law, call for the replanting of trees for future timbering. It also recommends the trees be planted in the fall but states the work could be delayed a year in the case of inclement weather.

Even though the town lacks jurisdiction to prevent the logging, staff is still keeping an eye on the projects, said Rocky Browder, the town’s environmental planner.

They recently located about six acres off of Ben White Drive that are owned by the White family but not included in the management plan, Cousins said. White has been notified, and and the town is looking into what enforcement options can be used to rectify the issue.

Browder said he’s also been in contact with the S.C. Forestry Commission.

“They have came out and performed site visits,” he said. “They have assured me that it looks good.”

Plans afoot to change state law

Higgins said he moved to Hilton Head Island from Maryland two years ago because of its natural beauty.

“It is so beautiful because of the trees,” Higgins said. “This is what made us fall in love with Hilton Head and in fact the whole area. When we suddenly see all the trees being cut down right here, it was a major shock and disheartening.”

The town should have fought the attorney general’s ruling, Higgins said. At the very least, the public should have been notified, he added.

Higgins is one of many residents who have complained to John McCann, a Town Council member who represents the area where the logging is taking place.

McCann said he wasn’t aware there was logging happening on the island until phone calls from concerned residents started pouring in.

“I have heard from a lot of residents,” McCann said. “The calls are everything from ‘It is dangerous’ to ‘We love our trees’ to ‘It is going to hurt our property values.’ ”

McCann said he will work to tweak the town ordinance so that residents are, at least, informed of upcoming logging activity. He also plans to pair up with town residents to attempt to change the state law.

“In August, I plan to bring a motion (at the Town Council meeting) that anyone filing for a permit — whether logging or anything else — will have to be published on our website,” McCann said. “We have to find a way to get the information out there.”

A newsletter sent out to more than 1,000 recipients by McCann also will encourage concerned residents to contact state officials about changing the law, McCann said.

Sen. Tom Davis, R-Beaufort, said the issue is one he would be interested in looking into, if contacted. Yet, he said, it is impossible to have an opinion on the matter without further research.

“When an issue like this arises, I want to hear from all stakeholders,” said Davis, who is an attorney. “I would like to hold discussions with residents, Town Council and land owners. I would review town ordinance, state law and the attorney general’s opinion.”

Controlled burns to be held

Barnwell said everyone has a right to free speech, but he also has a right to continue timbering his forestland.

“We are not doing anything illegal or anything to hurt anybody,” Barnwell said. “People must understand that there was a culture here on Hilton Head before they came. Newcomers don’t understand the way of life of those of us who were here before the bridge.”

Educational programs are needed to inform people about native islanders’ history, Barnwell said.

Barnwell said he plans to replant a variety of trees that will be more efficient for forestry and have a positive economic impact for him and his family.

Until then, acres of trees are still waiting to be logged. Other acres are littered with the stumps and branches left from the work.

The sites management plans call for controlled burns to get rid of the leftover brush.

The town has strongly encouraged the landowners to work with the town’s fire marshal and have a burn expert on site when conducting the burns.

“Due to the proximity of these properties to other residents and schools, we have concerns, but we can’t prohibit it,” Browder said.

This story was originally published July 17, 2016 at 11:39 PM.