Waties Island
This Coastal Reserve is an outstanding example of an undeveloped complex of ocean frontage, fresh and saltwater marshes, tidal creeks, and upland woods. Surrounded by a rapidly urbanizing environment, it is becoming increasingly significant for research, monitoring and education about the natural coastal habitat.
It was the wish of Anne Tilghman Boyce that the property she left to the Coastal Educational Foundation be maintained "in essentially a wilderness state". Per her wish, in 1995, a total of 1,105 acres on Waties Island and the adjoining uplands of Little River Neck were deeded to the Coastal Educational Foundation. The gift has been protected with a perpetual conservation easement through The Nature Conservancy of South Carolina. Through Mrs. Boyce’s bequest and the support of her children, Coastal Carolina University has gained a magnificent addition to the facilities it can offer to students and faculty for education and research.
In addition to the gift from the Anne T. Boyce family, a substantial financial gift was made to the Foundation by her sister-in-law, Kitty Lou Tilghman. Subsequently, an adjacent 4.65 acre tract located along Little River was donated to the Foundation by Rebecca Randall Bryan and a 49.92 acre tract was donated by Horry County, bringing the total acreage to 1,105.17 acres.
click on image to view larger
Waties Island Field Station
Plans are currently underway for the construction of an on-site field station to be located on the Little River Neck area of the Anne Tilghman Boyce Coastal Reserve. This 10 million dollar research facility will support the research and education mission of Coastal Carolina University. The facility will overlook Dunn Creek, salt marshes and Waties Island. To help realize this goal, Burroughs & Chapin, Inc., a Myrtle Beach based development company, has donated $1.5 million towards the construction of this field station.
The property is a very dynamic place. Change is the rule rather than the exception. This makes Anne Tilghman Boyce Coastal Reserve an excellent outdoor laboratory in which to study natural coastal processes
