Conserving Iconic Coastal Habitat In South Carolina’s Grand Strand

The Takeaway: South Carolina partners preserved 107 acres to secure public access, protect wildlife, and provide storm protection.

An aerial view of a barrier island with a strip of beach and forest illuminated by sunlight. — Credit: Mac Stone/Open Space Institute

South Carolina will gain a new state park and heritage preserve with support from a $4 million NOAA grant. The state’s Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism used the award to purchase 107 acres of critical coastal habitat located at the confluence of the Little River and Atlantic Ocean—land that will be set aside for permanent conservation and public access to nature in the rapidly developing Grand Strand region.

A stand of windblown trees and palmettos with a woven hammock in the foreground.

The project preserves 48 acres of undeveloped mainland at Little River Neck, home to diverse species and a unique maritime forest habitat. Photo credit: South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism.

The site, initially conserved by the Open Space Institute and four siblings whose family has owned portions of the land for more than a century, represents iconic local landscapes and cultural importance to the Gullah Geechee and Waccamaw Indian peoples. It includes a portion of Waties Island, one of the last remaining undeveloped barrier islands of its size in the Southeast. Two more segments on either side of the Little River boast salt marsh habitat and a regionally important but threatened maritime forest ecosystem. Together, these acquisitions complement a mosaic of protected land stretching from the Waties Island area across the border into North Carolina, extending conservation benefits for the entire region.

An aerial view of the Waties Island and Little River Neck landscape with the locations of conservation sites outlined.

The purchased land joins other conserved parcels on either side of the Little River, connecting habitat and preserving natural storm protection.

Preserving these coastal habitats not only benefits numerous threatened species but also advances state and regional coastal resilience goals by mitigating the risk of coastal flooding impacts on inland communities and businesses. Barrier islands like Waties Island serve as buffers to ocean waves and are able to absorb excess floodwaters after storms. Maintaining this natural protection will help keep people and property out of harm’s way when coastal hazards like hurricanes strike.

This land acquisition is the latest achievement in a conservation effort years in the making, supported along the way by public-private partnerships and community members.

This acquisition was funded through NOAA’s National Coastal Zone Management Program Habitat Protection and Restoration awards. (2025)

Federal Funding: $4,000,000

Partners: NOAA; Open Space Institute; South Carolina Conservation Bank; South Carolina Office of Resilience; the Boyce Family; South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism; South Carolina Department of Natural Resources; Coastal Carolina University