SC preserve recognized for extensive forest, diverse range of plants and animals
The Francis Beidler Forest in South Carolina’s Lowcountry is being recognized for the extensive, old-growth woodlands, deep swamps and wildlife that define the area that attracts visitors every year.
Beidler joins some 300 preserves nationally to receive recognition from the Old Growth Forest Network.
The network seeks to recognize at least one forest in every wooded county in the United States, a designation intended to create a roadmap of places where families can hike to see the diversity of the nation’s oldest forests, Audubon said in a news release.
Tim Evans, land conservation director at the Beidler center, said the forest “protects the largest tract of old-growth, cypress-tupelo swamp in the world. We are proud to be a part of the Old Growth Forest Network in an effort to bring more attention to the remaining ancient forests across the country.’’
South Carolina’s Beidler Forest is an 18,000-acre natural area between Columbia and Charleston. It has about 1,800 acres of old growth forest and 1.75 miles of boardwalk. A ceremony commemorating the designation is to be held at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, May 9 at the Beidler visitor’s center off Interstate 26 in Harleyville.
Old-growth forests are stands of woodlands with mature, long-standing trees, according to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.
