Senator backs down; drops plan for hunting on preserve left by former Red Sox owner
A state senator says he’s dropping a plan that would have allowed hunting on a widely regarded South Carolina nature preserve that the late Boston Red Sox owner Tom Yawkey left for the state to manage as a wildlife sanctuary, free of hunting.
Under “Yawkey News’’ on his Facebook page, Sen. Stephen L. Goldfinch said he would withdraw a budget proviso that would have banned the state wildlife department from enforcing hunting and fishing regulations in the preserve’s tidelands south of Georgetown.
The Murrells Inlet Republican, a frequent critic of the DNR, has drawn withering criticism since The State reported on his budget plan last week. He declined comment when reached by the newspaper Monday.
In his will, Yawkey said the more than 20,000 acres he was leaving for the state to oversee should be protected for wildlife, with no hunting allowed and limited public access. Hunting has been banned since Yawkey’s death in 1976. Beaches and navigable creeks that run through the Yawkey preserve -- one of the state’s most significant natural areas -- have always been public, but the interior is off limits without the DNR’s permission.
Goldfinch’s Facebook post said he won’t pursue his budget plan because the Department of Natural Resources has agreed not to stop people from visiting the beach and tidelands on the Yawkey preserve. Goldfinch said in his Facebook post the DNR had proposed regulations that would have made “entrance on the beach or in the tidelands a trespassing offense.’’
The Tom Yawkey Wildlife Center is made up of three coastal barrier islands that are filled with wildlife and unspoiled beaches, the latter of which would have been vulnerable for development had the area not been left to the state to manage as a wildlife preserve.
Among the center’s features are 12 miles of beachfront, thick maritime forests, salt marshes, an old lighthouse and historic buildings. Wildlife on the center is abundant. Among the animals found at the Yawkey Wildlife Center are loggerhead sea turtles, huge alligators, some of the state’s most significant duck populations and at least 200 species of birds, including bald eagles, ospreys and the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker.
Goldfinch told The State last week he offered the budget proviso because the DNR had begun expanding its authority in the area and he wanted to stop that.
The senator said his proviso wasn’t intended to open the entire Yawkey preserve to hunting. But as written, sportsmen would have been able to hunt from boats on public creeks that run through the preserve. Former DNR officials said Yawkey has always been off limits to hunting, but people could ride into the preserve in boats because the creeks are public.
Goldfinch persuaded the Senate to approve the measure April 17 as an amendment to the state budget. Goldfinch said he wanted hunting allowed in navigable waters in the Mosquito Creek area of the Yawkey Wildlife Center. He has said he introduced the proviso to get the DNR’s attention, but planned to drop it if the agency would work with him.
“The law, the constitution says you ought to be able to hunt and fish in there,’’ as long as people don’t walk onto the land where ducks are located, Goldfinch said.
Most of the issue revolved around waterfowl hunting, Goldfinch said last week, noting that he has heard complaints from hunters about DNR restrictions.
“I’ve heard from all kinds of hunters; I’ve heard from fishing guides that used to guide fly fishing in there,’’ he said. “Mostly marsh hen and duck hunters are the ones that are concerned about it.’’
In the interview last week, Goldfinch said the late Red Sox owner had been dead a long time and “from the grave, I’m not sure he should be dictating what the public does from public land and with public waters.’’
Alvin Taylor, the DNR’s director, said he’s hopeful any disagreements can be settled after the Legislature ends it session later this week. He said he plans meetings with the Yawkey Foundation, which provides funding for the DNR to manage the Yawkey Center, to discuss any changes in how the property might be managed in the future.
The Yawkey Foundation is in charge of making sure the center is managed as a wildlife sanctuary. If the state ever went back on the deal, the foundation could take the property back, leaving the state without one of its most significant wildlife preserves.
Taylor said the department’s regulations that Goldfinch has challenged were written in an effort to clarify what’s allowed on the preserve, but may have been poorly crafted.
“We just want to move forward now,’’ Taylor said.
Phil Wilkinson, who managed the preserve when Tom Yawkey owned it, said many people didn’t like Goldfinch’s plan -- and they let their feelings be known.
“Most of the people in this area where the Yawkey Wildlife Center is located were against what he was doing. and that’s why he’s dropping it,’’ Wilkinson said. “He started off in this whole endeavor thinking he was going to get some great big groundswell of people supporting it. He found out that wasn’t the case.’’
Goldfinch was peppered with angry Facebook posts from constituents last week. Wilkinson said Goldfinch called him Monday night in an attempt “to mend fences.’’
This story was originally published May 6, 2019 at 7:53 PM.
