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Christopher Klement 
[Senior Planner]
843.915.7899
klementc@horrycounty.org
Planning & Zoning Department
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Horry County
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Green Infrastructure

Green infrastructure

is defined as an interconnected network of open spaces that conserves natural ecosystems and functions, and provides associated benefits to human populations.

The keys to green infrastructure preservation are twofold: 1) identifying areas worthy of preservation in advance of development; and 2) linking these areas together, since a network of open space functions better as an ecological whole, rather than as separate open space "islands". When linked together, these open spaces are able to function as an ecological whole, rather than as separate and unrelated parts. This enables them to better: 1) remove pollutants from the air; 2) carry and filter stormwater runoff; and 3) support diverse plant and wildlife species. A green infrastructure network normally consists of these three elements: hubs, linkages and sites.

Hubs:

Hubs anchor green infrastructure networks and provide an origin or destination for wildlife and ecological processes moving to or through it.

Linkages:

Links are the connections that tie the system together and enable green infrastructure networks to work. Their importance is reflected in both the preservation of plants and species, and in the maintenance of ecological processes.

Sites:

Sites are smaller open space areas within a region that may or may not be linked to green infrastructure network, but nonetheless should be identified as part of it. It is the overall goal of the Open Space Plan to map our green infrastructure in a way that provides for long-term ecosystem health and function, meets the recreational needs of County residents and continues to accommodate growth in the region. Green infrastructure is divided into Natural and Man-made systems. About 5 percent of the land area in Horry County has been set aside for natural resource protection and recreation.

Nature Preserves, State Parks,
and Wildlife Refuges

The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources' Heritage Trust Program was created in 1976 to preserve those natural features and cultural remains, which are quickly disappearing as the state's population increases in size. The program's purpose is to identify, evaluate, and protect the elements considered the most outstanding representatives of the state's heritage. There are currently four heritage preserves in Horry County.

Waccamaw River Heritage Preserve

- This preserve is 5,387 acres, which includes 30 miles of protected river wetlands and bottomland hardwood forests. The property contains the best examples of the endangered plant species, dwarf fimbry.

Cartwheel Bay Heritage Preserve

- This 568 acre preserve protects one of the few known Carolina Bay-longleaf pine savannah complexes in South Carolina. The longleaf pine savannahs contain white fringed, yellow fringed and rosebud orchids, venus fly traps, pitcher plants and a diverse array of wildflowers.

Lewis Ocean Bay Heritage Preserve

- This 9,393 acre preserve contains a group of 23 undisturbed Carolina Bays. This preserve includes habitats for black bear, the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker, the threatened Venus flytrap and a pond pine pocosin plant community.

Little Pee Dee Heritage Preserve

- This 9,000 acre tract is in both Georgetown and Horry Counties. This property protects the rare sarvis holly, a mature floodplain forest, and scenic frontage along the Little Pee Dee River. The preserve includes Knife Island and four scenic oxbow lakes.

The Civilian Conservation Corp built the

Myrtle Beach State Park

in the 1930's making it the first state park in South Carolina. The park is 312 acres and includes a campground, cabins, a mile of beach, picnic areas, fishing pier and nature center. As a South Carolina Heritage Trust site, the park's nature trail showcases the last stands of maritime forests on the northern coast of the State.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) established the

Waccamaw National Wildlife Refuge (NWR)

in December 1997. The refuge was established to protect and manage diverse habitat components within an important coastal river ecosystem for the benefit of endangered and threatened species, freshwater and anadromous fish, migratory birds, and forest wildlife. The Refuge includes a wide array of plants and animals associated with bottomland hardwood habitats and provides compatible wildlife- dependent recreational activities. These activities include hunting, fishing, wildlife observation, photography, and environmental education and interpretation. Located in portions of Horry, Georgetown, and Marion County, the Waccamaw NWR acquisition boundary spans over 55,000 acres and includes large sections of the Waccamaw and Great Pee Dee Rivers and a small section of the Little Pee Dee River. The USFWS is actively acquiring lands within this acquisition boundary from willing sellers and presently refuge lands purchased total over 9,700 acres (3832 acres in Horry County)
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