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REVIEW AND APPROVAL S
SANTEE NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUG ESummerton, South Carolina
S ANNUAL NARRATIVE REPORT
Calendar Year 199 8
6-i-9 qR uge Manager
Date
ARD-Ecos stem LI Dat e
Regional Off'
Approval
Date
Associate Manager
Date
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Table of Contents
IntroductionHighlightsClimate Data
Monitoring and Studies 1la . Surveys and Censuses 1lb . Studies and Investigations 1
Habitat Restoration NTR
2a. Wetland restoration : On-Refuge NTR2b. Upland restoration : On-Refuge NTR2c. Wetland restoration : Off-Refuge NTR2d. Upland restoration : Off-Refuge NTR
Habitat Management 53a. Manage water levels 53b. Manage moist soil units 73c. Graze/mow/hay NT R3d. Farming 93e. Forest cutting NT R3f. Prescribed burning 1 03g. Control pest plants 1 2
Fish and Wildlife Management 134a. Bird banding 1 34b. Disease monitoring and treatment NTR4c. Reintroductions NTR4d. Provide nest structures 1 54e. Predator and exotic control NTR4f. Other 1 7
Coordination Activities NTR
5a. Interagency coordination NT R
5b. Tribal coordination NTR
5c. Private land activities NTR5b . Oil & gas activities NTR5e . Cooperative/Friends Organization NTR
Resource Protection 2 0
6a. Law enforcement 2 06b. Wildlife preparedness 2 16c. Manage permits and economic uses 2 1
6d. Contaminant investigation and cleanup 2 16e. Manage water rights NT R6f. Manage cultural resources 2 26g. Federaal Facility Compliance Act NT R6h. Land acquisition NT R
6i. Wilderness and natural areas NT R
6j. Threats and conflicts NT R
Public Education and Recreation 2 48a. Provide visitor services 2 48b. Outreach 26
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Planning and Administration 2 79a. Comprehensive management planning . .NT R9b. General administration 2 7
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INTRODUCTION
Santee National Wildlife Refuge is located in Clarendon Count yin the upper coastal plains region of South Carolina . Therefuge was established on January 1, 1942, primarily t oalleviate the loss of natural waterfowl and other wildlif ehabitat caused by the construction of hydro-electric power an dnavigational projects on the Santee and Cooper Rivers . Tota lrefuge acreage is 15,095 . Except for approximately 4,400 acresof fee title land, the refuge is superimposed on lands an dwaters of the 110,000-acre Lake Marion reservoir which i sadministered by the South Carolina Public Service Authorit y(SCPSA) .
The refuge is physically divided into four geographicall yseparated management units . The various habitat types consis tof 9,000 acres of open water, 1,445 acres of shallow freshwate rmarsh, 2,350 acres of timberland, 750 acres of agricultura llands and 1,550 acres of early successional fields . The primar yobjective of Santee is to provide wintering habitat fo rwaterfowl . Other objectives include providing habitat for woo dducks and other indigenous wildlife, including the endangere dred-cockaded woodpecker .
Santee also contains areas of cultural and local significance .The 420-acre Dingle Pond unit consists primarily of a Carolin aBay and is a designated Public Use Natural Area . A histori csite on the refuge that is listed in the National Register i sthe Santee Indian Mound/Fort Watson area . The mound wasbelieved to have been built sometime between 1200 A .D . to 140 0
A .D . During the Revolutionary War, the British kept a garriso nof about 100 soldiers at the mound . This gave them strategi ccontrol over the Santee River and a major road connectin gCharleston to Camden . The garrison was eventually captured b yAmerican revolutionary forces under General Francis Marion .
A new fifty-year lease agreement between the USFWS and the SCPS A
became effective in 1975 . This lease completely altered th ewater boundary and changed much of the land boundary from th eoriginal lease . Provisions in the new lease permitted theposting of mutually agreed upon boundaries which would becom eofficial refuge boundaries after the lines were surveyed . Bothland and water boundary surveys were completed in 1985 an dfinalized approved maps were received from SCPSA in 1986 .
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HIGHLIGHT S
* Hot dry summer affects corn crop and moist soil units (3b &3d) .
* Wintering waterfowl numbers down (la) .
* Refuge participates in mourning dove harvest dynamics stud y(lb) .
* Deer health check shows herd in good condition (lb) .
* Wildfire on Pine Island burns 368 acres (3f) .
* Wood duck banding quota exceeded despite problem with rocke tcharges (4a) .
* Contaminant cleanup of leaked gasoline from old undergroun dstorage tank continues (6d) .
* Fifty year agreement between U .S . Fish and Wildlife Servic eand South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation an dTourism to manage the Fort Watson/Santee Indian mound sit eexpires (6f) .
* Refuge bird list revised with help from some of South
Carolina's most prominent birders (8a) .
* Refuge has Open House event in May (8b) .
* Office Assistant Gaymon retires in November (9b) .
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CLIMATIC DATA
Temperature (F )High
Low
Precipitation (Inches )January
71
12
8 .2 0
February
68
17
7 .3 8
March
83
15
5 .7 9
April
82
36
6 .4 7
May
96
45
4 .6 5
June
103
49
3 .3 4
July
103
60
2 .4 7
August
100
62
3 .9 7
September
98
56
4 .3 1
October
92
35
0 .8 5
November
88
35
0 .9 9
December
84
23
4 .1 3Total 52 .5 5
1998 turned out to be the warmest year on record for Sout hCarolina . Temperatures of 100 degrees F or higher were recorde don twelve days at the refuge weather station . Record breakingtemperatures in the eighties were set during early December .The warm December temperatures combined with littl eprecipitation to create fire hazardous conditions throughoutthis area .
Rainfall for the year totalled 52 .55", approximately 6 .19" abovenormal . However, most of this fell during the first part of theyear . Some of the early rains flooded the Cuddo unit roads ,causing the closure of the public nature drive . By corntasseling time conditions turned dry . The Bluff unit corn cropwas a complete failure due to a lack of sufficient rain .Excessive pumping was also required to flood impoundments andgreen tree reservoirs (GTR) in the Fall .
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Monitoring and Studies
la . Surveys and Censuse s
Waterfowl surveys were conducted during the fall and winter . Therefuge once again participated in a special waterfowl count stud yconducted by the South Carolina Department of Natural Resource s(SCDNR) . This study entailed weekly counts on the Bluff unit fo rsix consecutive weeks from November 2nd - December 12th .
The mid-winter waterfowl survey was done on January 9th . A tota lof 2,973 ducks, 572 geese, 4 swans and 1,502 coots were counted .The mid-winter bald eagle survey was also done at this time .Although there were eagles in the area, none were seen during thesurvey .
Two mourning dove call count surveys were done in May . TheOrangeburg County count was conducted on May 27th and the Clarendo nCounty count on May 28th . The Orangeburg count was low with onl y18 doves heard and 9 observed . The Clarendon count was better ,with 41 doves heard and 24 observed .
lb . Studies and Investigations
Mourning Dove Study
The South Carolina Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit a tClemson University, under the direction of Dr . David L . Otis, bega na dove research project on the refuge in July . Graduate studentJames Berdeen is in charge of the project and the one doing thefield work . The objectives of the project are to : 1) estimat esurvival rates during the fall and early winter, and examinefactors that influence the survival rate ; 2) determine the rol e
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various sources of mortality play in period survivorship ; 3 )determine whether a positive relationship between hunting mortalit yand reproductive success exits ; 4) determine if some cohorts o fdoves engage in behavioral (spatial use) patterns that cause themto be susceptible to hunting ; and 5) compare estimates of ban dreporting and crippling rates derived from telemetry with estimate sfrom prior studies conducted in the Carolinas .
Doves were trapped on the Bluff and Pine Island units . All of thetrapped doves were banded, and some fitted with radio transmitters .Thirty-nine doves were captured and banded on the Bluff unit . O fthese, 35 were fitted with radio transmitters . Twenty-five dove swere trapped and banded on the Cuddo unit . Twenty-four of thes ereceived radio transmitters .
Ten of the Bluff unit doves were known to have died . Five fromavian predators, 3 from mammalian predators, one by hunting (off o fthe refuge), and one found crippled, supposedly caused by a mammal .Six of the Cuddo unit doves were known to be dead, 5 by hunting andone from an avian predator . The doves were tracked daily throug hthe first part of December . This is a multi-year study . Jame splans on resuming his field work next spring . A third study sit earound the Walworth Plantation and Santee-Cooper Wildlif eManagement Area near Eutaw Springs is also included in the study .
Deer Herd Health Check
Dr . Randy Davidson and staff from the Southeastern Cooperativ eWildlife Disease Study conducted a deer herd health check o nSeptember 1st . Five deer were collected for the study, 3 from th eBluff unit and two from the Cuddo unit . Results indicate that th epopulation appears to be below nutritional carrying capacity base don the relatively low APC value, the levels of other parasites an dpathologic conditions, and the general physical parameters of mos tof the deer . Currently, the herd does not appear to have anysignificant density related health problems . Based on thes efindings, the population can be maintained near its present densit ywithout undue risk of declines in herd health .
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Personnel from the Southeastern Cooperativ eWildlife Disease Study conducted a deer herd
health check in September
Migration and Survival of Canada Geese Wintering in the Atlanti cFlyway, with Special Emphasis on the Carolina s
This study began in 1983 to determine the migratory and winterin g
patterns of Canada geese along the Atlantic seaboard and t o
develop new management strategies for the populations . Santee' s
role in this study is to read and record collar numbers . The
recorded numbers and associated information are sent to th e
Massachusetts Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit at th e
University of Massachusetts .
The number of collared geese that winter at Santee has dropped
significantly in the past few years . Only three collared gees e
were observed this year, as compared to 18 in 1996 . All three
collars were orange with white numbers . These collars are put o n
the geese in their northern breeding grounds . No geese that wer e
collared at Santee in the mid-1980's with yellow collars an d
black numbers were seen . The last observation of a yello w
collared goose was in February 1997 .
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Furbearer Study
The SCDNR conducted a furbearer scent station survey on the Bluf fand Pine Island units in October . This is part of a statewidesurvey to provide an index to the relative abundance o fterrestrial furbearers . The surveys, along with fur harves tinformation, is used by SCDNR to determine trends in population sof several species .
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Habitat Management
3a . Manage Water Level s
Water levels were high at the start of the year to providehabitat for waterfowl . Areas flooded included managed moist soi lunits, GTR's and impoundments on the Bluff, Pine Island and Cudd ounits . Slow drawdowns were started in late February . However ,heavy rains throughout the early part of the year kept the de -watered areas muddy .
Water management problems were encountered with tw omalfunctioning water control structures . The small screw-gat estructure on the Pine Island unit had rusted out on the lak eside . Enough corrosion had occurred, that even with th estructure closed a significant amount of water flowed through th epipe . This made it difficult to keep water high in th eimpoundment when Lake Marion was low, or keep water out of th eimpoundment when the Lake was high .
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Rusted out screw-gate water control structureon the Pine Island Unit . The gate is closedin this photo . A new culvert and structure
were purchased to end this problem .
The other structure that caused some problems was the largescrew-gate pipe at Potato Creek on the Cuddo unit . This pipe ha sscrew-gates on both ends . The impoundment side gate had beendifficult to raise and lower for many years . This gate wa spermanently left opened . The lake side gate was used tomanipulate the water . Early in the year while opening the lak eside gate, the pressure from water flowing through the pipepushed the gate off of the frame support guides . The only thin gthat prevented the gate from dropping into the water was theturn-wheel bolt . Evidently, the frame support that the gat eslides up and down on rusted away . With both gates up, the wate rlevel for much of the Cuddo unit fluctuated with Lake Marion' slevel . The impoundment side gate had to be closed to flood theCuddo unit . Prior to flooding in the fall, liberal use of sledgehammers, grease and oil were used to beat the gate down .
New pipes and structures were purchased late in the year toreplace both problem structures . The new pipes should be i nplace by next flooding cycle .
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3b . Manage Moist Soil Unit s
Bluff Uni t
Five Pine Pond was the only impoundment actively managed fo r
moist soils on the Bluff unit . Heavy rains in late December 199 7
brought Lake Marion's water level up, enabling us to keep wate r
in Five Pine Pond . The pond had a good stand of smartweed and
planted buckwheat . Waterfowl use was good, with mallards and
green-winged teal feeding in the pond . Duck use in the pond
continued through most of February . Heavy rains during the firs t
3 months of the year kept water in the pond . The south end o f
the pond produced another good stand of smartweed .
A check of the field in early July showed that the south end wa s
the only area that had produced some good waterfowl foods . The
remainder of the field was disked and drilled with milo seed . A
lack of sufficient rainfall, however, resulted in very poo r
germination of the seed . The field was disked again in earl y
August and drilled with Japanese millet . Fortunately, rai n
showers became more frequent, resulting in a good stand o f
millet .
Five Pine Pond showing smartweed in the background
and Japanese millet in the foreground .
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Low lake water levels in late October precluded running the pumpto flood the pond . When the lake is low, water will not stay i nthe field . The low lake levels persisted through the remainde rof the year, leaving the field dry and the seeds unavailable t owaterfowl .
Although the other ponds on the Bluff unit are infested wit hcattails and bulrushes, there appears to be a good supply o fdormant seeds of some desirable species in the soil . In May las tyear, a small area of cattails that was obstructing the view o fthe waterfowl banding site was removed with the trackhoe bucket .In the process of removing the cattails the soil at the edge o fthe pond was disturbed . As the water level receded during thesummer, a nice stand of wildmillets (Echinochloa walteri) andsmartweeds
grew up in the disturbed spot . This year anothergood stand of wildmillets was produced .
Pine Island Uni t
This was a very disappointing year for the Pine Island moist soi lunits . Wet conditions early in the year prevented the units frombeing disked . By early summer, it was apparent that theproduction of desirable vegetation was not good . The Corne rField and the Pump Field were disked up and drilled with Japanes emillet in August . Unlike the millet on the Bluff unit, th emillet crop on Pine Island was a bust . The Corner Field produce dnothing, while the Pump Field had sporadic production of someseed heads .
With very little food available for waterfowl, it was decided no tto flood the unit, but to clear out of the fields instead . I nDecember, a roller-chopper was borrowed from Carolina Sandhill sNWR . The chopper was used to clear several sections of smal lsweetgum trees and wax myrtle bushes . Other areas with smalle rvegetation and grasses were mowed . On December 5th, a wildfir eburned approximately 368 acres of the Pine Island unit . Thi sincluded all of the moist soil areas . The fire eliminated theneed for additional chopping or mowing . With the units nowcleared of vegetation, these areas will be disked early next yearto encourage the growth of desirable waterfowl food plants .
Cuddo Uni t
A gradual drawdown in Timber Island field began in March . Acheck of the field in May showed a good stand of wild millet i nSection 1 around the drainage ditch . The remainder of the fiel d
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was not as productive . The cooperative farmer was contacted an darrangements were made to disk up the unproductive parts of th efield and plant Japanese millet and milo . In July, approximatel y70 acres of the field were drilled with a ratio of about three -fourths millet and one-fourth milo . Germination and seedproduction were good, with expectations of providing plenty o ffood for the returning wintering waterfowl .
The lower sections of the field were flooded in early November .Ducks started using the area immediately, but the numbers wer elow . Additional areas were flooded in early December to increas ethe availability of food . All but the upper tier were flooded b ymid-December . Waterfowl were using the field, but the number sremained low . By Christmas only 1,500 ducks were feeding i nTimber Island field . Most of these were mallards, along wit hsome green-winged teal, black ducks, ring-necked ducks and abou t60 Canada geese .
3d . Farming
Force Account Farming
All of this year's force account farming was done on the Bluf fUnit . In late February, all of the fields that were in whea twere disked . This included fields #3, #5, #6 and the Cantey Ba yfield . At planting time in March, wet soil conditions prevente dus from getting all of the corn planted . Only two-thirds o ffield #3 and half of field #6 were planted . Almost all of fiel d#5 was planted, except for one very small section . The Cante yBay field was not planted until early April . Wet soils in fields#3 and #6 continued, preventing any further planting in thes efields . This resulted in only about 47 acres of corn bein gplanted on the Bluff unit .
The wet conditions that prevailed at planting time gave way to a
prolonged dry period . By May, it was apparent that the corn wa s
being stressed . Leaves were starting to shrivel and only about
half of the plants tasselled . Ear production was very poor, and
the ears that were produced were eaten by the deer .
The corn that is annually planted on the Bluff unit is mowed i nlate October or early November to provide a supplemental foo dsource for wintering Canada geese . Due to the uncooperativ eclimatic conditions experienced this year, there were no ho tfoods in the form of corn for the geese .
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• Approximately 86 .5 acres of wheat were drilled in 8 Bluff field sin early October . Fields planted included #2, #4, #7, #8a, #9 ,#11, and parts of fields #3, and #6 . The wheat came up good,providing plenty of green browse for the returning geese .
Cooperative Farming Program
All of the cooperative farming was done on the Cuddo unit . Th eyear started with approximately 521 acres of wheat planted in al lor parts of 26 fields . The wheat was harvested in June . Th efarmer had planned to plant milo behind the wheat in all of th efields . He decided to go with milo instead of soybeans, due t othe extensive damage caused by deer in soybeans planted on theCuddo unit in 1996 . By this time the long dry period ha dstarted . The dry conditions kept him weary of planting the milo .He kept delaying planting until it was too late in the season .This may have been a good idea, considering the very poo rgermination we had on our drilled milo in Five Pine Pond on th eBluff unit .
3f . Prescription Burning and Wildfire s
SPrescription Burning
A prescribed burn of the Bluff unit agricultural fields ,impoundments and adjacent wooded areas along Cantey Bay, Jack sCreek and Stevens Creek was done on December 9th and 10th .Approximately 250 acres were burned . Overall, a good burn wasachieved, except for some of the marshy sections around th eimpoundments .
Keith Penrose and Troy Phelps from Savannah Coastal Refuges' firecrew were the lead firefighters in charge of the burning . Staf ffrom Santee and Cape Romain NWR's comprised the remaining bur ncrew .
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Smoke from the prescribed burn on the BluffUnit . With Interstate 95 only ½ mile away,burning can only be done under certain win d
conditions .
Keith Penrose and Troy Phelps from SavannahCoastal Refuges' fire crew on the Bluff Uni tprescribed burn. Keith is shooting flares t o
ignite a cattail stand .
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Wildfires
A wildfire of unknown origin started on the Pine Island unit onDecember 5th . The fire was reported at 10 :00am . Four refugeemployees using heavy equipment and hand tools prevented the fir efrom getting off of the refuge onto private lands . The fire wa scontained on the refuge and burned through the evening of the6th, when it was considered under control . To secure an are aagainst any flare-ups that could threaten private lands, tw osections of forests and heavy brush were set on fire and burne don the 7th . The fires burned a total of 368 acres .
3g . Control Pest PlantsPlant pest control was primarily the spraying of ditch banks t oremove small woody vegetation, cattails, bulrushes and othe runwanted species . Ditch banks on the Bluff, Pine Island an dCuddo units were sprayed . Approximately 8 miles of ditch bank swere treated . Spot treatments of woody vegetation, mainl yChinaberry trees (Melia, azedarach), were made on the For tWatson/Santee Indian mound . Rodeo and 2-4D, were the tw oherbicides used for the treatments .
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Fish and Wildlife Managemen t
4a . Bird BandingThe only station banding quota was for 450 pre-season wood ducks ,with quotas assigned by sex and age classes . All trapping andbanding was done on the Bluff unit . Trapping was done with arocket net, with wheat used to attract the ducks . Thirteenrocket net shots were made between May 15th and September 9th . Atotal of 566 wood ducks were banded . As usual, males weretrapped in greater numbers than females . All sex and age clas squotas, except immature females, were reached .
•A problem with the rockets occurred when we started using the ne wcharges that were delivered earlier in the year . The charge swere only pulling the net out about half of its width . Afte rhitting the ground flames could be seen shooting out of therockets' exhaust ports . This indicated that all of the pelletswere not igniting instantaneously when detonated . Several call swere made to Winn-Starr Inc ., the company the charges werepurchased from . They indicated that no one else was having thi sproblem. Mr . Thomas Throgmorten, of Winn-Starr, was so concerne dabout the quality of his product that he arranged a visit to th erefuge in early August .
A test shooting of the net produced the same results . Mr .Throgmorton indicated several possibilities, including th eexhaust ports on the rockets being too large . After measuringthe ports, he suggested welding up the ports and redrilling to aspecified diameter . A second test shot produced a full extensionof the net . Apparently, for safety concerns the new charges us ea more pressure sensitive pellet . The slightly larger ports onour rockets did not allow for the desired pressure to ignite al lof the pellets .
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Unignited pellets from rocket charge . This problemwas caused by the exhaust vents being too large .
If this problem could have been resolved a month earlier, ou r
banding totals would have been a couple hundred ducks higher .Several mornings when there were one hundred plus ducks on the
site, only 15-20 were trapped due to the malfunctioning rockets .
1998 Pre-season Wood Duck Banding Results
Quota Bande d
Mal eAdult_ 25 7 5
Immature 35 25 8
Femal eAdult 80 10 4
Immature 310 12 9
Total 450 Total 566
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4d . Provide Nesting Structure sA total of 101 cypress nesting boxes were available for woodducks . All of the boxes were cleaned and if required repaired inJanuary and early February . The boxes were checked several time sduring the nesting season by a refuge volunteer . Ninety-seven o fthe available boxes were used by wood ducks . Of these, 41 wereused once, 49 were used twice, and 7 were used three times .Twenty-one boxes were used by other species, mainly screech owl sor flycatchers, either prior to or after the boxes were used bywood ducks .
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ANNUAL REPORT FORMWOOD DUCK BOX PROGRAM INFORMATION
YEAR 1998
Total Boxes Up 10 1
Total Usable Boxes 101 (Boxes not in disrepair )
Use by Wood Ducks of 97 196% (# of Boxes and % of usable boxes)
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86
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Mar - Aug
2 1
1,337
116
669
Usable Boxe s
Number of Boxes wit hDump Nests (>16 eggs )
Number of Successfu lBoxes (Wood Ducks )
Use by Other Duck sof Usable Boxe s
Period Checked(Month)
Use by Other Wildlifeof Usable Boxe s
*Total Wood Duck sHatched
Wood Duck BroodsProduced
**Wood Ducks Survivingto Flight Stage
Plans for Next Year (Indicate Number )
30 More Boxes
Fewer Boxes
No Change
(Box that hatched one egg or mor e= successful )
(Mergansers, etc ., and an estimateof successful hatches )
(Specific dates of the yearly bo xinspections )
Moved Boxe s
***Remarks :Of the 86 successful boxes used by wood ducks, 116 nests were successfully produced due to reuse of 56 boxes . The total number of duckling shatched is based on actual egg shells counted .
*Unless you can actually count egg shells, just multiply successful boxes b y1 0
**If survival rate is other than 50 percent, please explain rational i n
remarks
section .***Be sure and document periods that boxes were checked for use and repair .
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4f . Other
Waterfowl
This was a very disappointing year for waterfowl . Duck number swere some of the lowest since record keeping, for both the refug eand the state . Going into the year, only 3,200 ducks wer ecounted. Most of these were in Five Pine Pond, with the majorit ybeing mallards and green-winged teal . The flocks of wigeon andring-necked ducks that use to feed in the coves along the lak ehave disappeared since the hydrilla beds were eradicated .
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The situation did not improve with the returning migrationstarting in late October . The largest concentration of ducks wa sin Timber Island field, with only a total of 1,500 ducks, mostl ymallards . We would find out later, after the 1999 mid-winte rsurvey, that the 1998-99 duck population in South Carolina wa sthe lowest on record .Canada goose numbers remained stable, with a peak number o faround 600 . Santee Refuge is the only area in South Carolin athat supports a concentration of migratory geese . The winterin gCanada geese belong to the Southern James Bay Population . Asmall number of snow and white-fronted geese also wintered o nthe refuge .
Coot numbers peaked at 1,500 .
Alligators
Santee supports a good population of alligators . The highes tnumbers are located on the Pine Island and Cuddo units .Recruitment appeared to be good as many year-old and young of th eyear alligators were seen on these units . For the secondconsecutive year, a female alligator built a nest on the Bluf funit near the waterfowl banding site . Unlike last year's nes tthat was destroyed by fire ants, this nest successfully hatched .This is the only nest that we know of on the Bluff unit .
With housing developments and recreational facilities close t othe refuge, it is inevitable that alligators moving off of th erefuge encounter the public . Numerous alligators are remove dfrom private areas adjacent to the refuge every year by the SCDN Rnuisance alligator control officer .
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Young alligator sunning on the Cuddo Unit .
Wading Birds, Shore Birds and Others
The small great blue heron and anhinga nurseries on the Cuddo an d
Pine Island units were active again this year . The nests tha t
the herons used earlier in the year were taken over by th e
anhingas after the young herons fledged . Although the herons and
anhingas have been nesting in these small nurseries for severa lyears, there has been no noticeable increase in the number o f
nests or additional nursery sites .
Several species of shore birds were attracted to the mud flat s
that appeared in Cantey Bay Pond during the summer dry spell .
The two most common species identified were pectoral and solitar y
sandpipers . Although their numbers never appeared to increas eover one hundred, they were always present and stayed for severa l
weeks in July and August .
Double-crested cormorants are found year round in this area, bu t
their numbers increase during the winter months . Local fisherma n
worry that the large numbers of cormorants are depleting the fis h
population in the lake . On the refuge, cormorant numbers wer e
highest on the Bluff and Pine Island units . They preferred
roosting in the cypress trees found on these units . This yea r
the usually large number of cormorants did not show up in th e
winter .
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OOsprey numbers have made a tremendous comeback on the Santee -
Cooper lakes . They are commonly seen in the spring and summer .
The number of nests observed on and off the refuge seems t o
increase yearly . No official count of the number of nests on th e
refuge has been made . Several new nests on the Pine Island and
Cuddo units were observed this year . These nests were typicall y
built in small cypress trees .
Osprey nest in Black Bottom on the Cuddo Unit .
Although wild turkey numbers did not appear to increase thi s
year, sightings of turkeys indicated that they are expandin g
their territories on the refuge . The Cuddo unit harbors the mos t
turkeys . Flocks ranging from 15-20 birds were frequentl y
observed on the Cuddo unit . Several sightings of a small numbe r
of turkeys were made on the Pine Island unit . One observation on
the Bluff unit was reported by our volunteer .
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Resource Protection
6a . Law Enforcement
Santee has two collateral duty law enforcement officers . Most o fthe law enforcement activities were conducted by these twoofficers . Additional assistance was provided by Cape Romain NW Rand Savannah Coastal Refuges' officers and Special Agent Georg eHines during the deer hunts . Frequent after hours and weeken dpatrols were made throughout the year . Lake boundaries werepatrolled during the state waterfowl seasons and frequent check swere made of duck hunters adjacent to the boundaries . Some o fthese patrols were made with SCDNR's conservation officers .
A total of 21 violations were issued this year through th eNOV/Federal Magistrate Court system . Most of these violation swere of the trespass, littering, hunting and fishing types . Onepossession of marijuana case was made . Numerous verbal warning swere also given out . On several occasions, refuge officer scalled the Clarendon County Sheriff's Department for assistance .These involved suspended drivers licenses and open alcoho lcontainers in vehicle violations . These cases were turned ove rto the local jurisdictions .
Several acts of vandalism occurred during the year . The #1 gat ebehind the white church on the Cuddo unit was broken into twice .No signs of illegal activity were found on the unit after th ebreak-ins . The gate was permanently welded closed to preven tfurther break-ins . The Bluff unit gate was damaged on the da ybefore Thanksgiving . Again, no signs of any further illega lactivities were noted . We believe this was a case of someon ebeing locked in when the gate was closed, since the damag eoccurred in the afternoon . Several of the hand rails along th eBluff unit nature trail were damaged in August . The rails wer ereplaced . No one was apprehended for any of these acts .
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Good attended the annual 40 hour law enforcement training sessionconducted at the Pat Robinson Law Enforcement Training Academy i nQuincy, Florida on March 16th - 20th . Fringeli attended th eMarch 23rd - 27th session at the same facility . Both officer srequalified with their pistols and rifles at the Manning Firin gRange on October 29th .
6b. Wildfire Preparednes s
Fringeli and Good passed the pack test on July 22nd at Savanna hRefuge . Pearson passed the test on August 19th . All thre ereceived red cards .
Fire breaks on the Pine Island unit were maintained throughou tthe year . The break behind the agricultural fields on this uni twas widened and an additional break was cut near the front gate .
6c. Manage Permits and Economic Use s
Thirteen Special Use Permits were issued during the year . Tenpermits were issued to residents of the Cantey Bay Subdivision t opermit them to operate their boats in and out of Cantey Bayduring the waterfowl sanctuary closure period, November throug hFebruary . One permit was issued to Dr . Greenburg of Emor yUniversity to enter closed areas with his ornithology clas sduring a three day period in February . One permit was issued t oRalph Willoughby, Research Geologist for SCDNR, to collect soi lsamples on the Cuddo and Pine Island units to develop ageological map of the Summerton quadrant . The other permit wa sissued to James Berdeen to trap doves for a research study (se eSection lb .) .
6d. Contaminant Investigation and Cleanu p
The monitoring and cleanup of leaked gasoline at the site of th eremoved underground gasoline storage tanks in the shop yardcontinued . A Corrective Action Plan (CAP) was prepared by S&ME ,Inc . and submitted to the South Carolina Department of Health an dEnvironmental Control (DHEC) in late October . DHEC approved th eplan and placed it on a thirty day notice for public comment onNovember 1st . The CAP's recommendations consisted of : 1 )aggressive fluid vapor recovery, 2) the injection of chemicals t o
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raise the dissolved oxygen levels, and 3) intrinsic remediatio nto reduce groundwater chemicals of concern to site specifi ctarget levels .
On December 16th and 17th, forty-two (42) Class VA-I injectio nwells were drilled in the shop yard . An oxygen releasingcompound, magnesium peroxide (MgO2), was injected into th esurficial aquifer through the 1" diameter wells to a depth o fapproximately 20" . The compound slowly releases oxygen whe nhydrolyzed . The oxygen is then utilized by indigenou smicroorganisms to biodegrade hydrocarbons . Vacuum extractionrecovery is planned in early 1999 .
6f . Manage Cultural Resources
Since May 1, 1948 the Fort Watson/Santee Indian mound an dadjoining lands, totalling 2 .8 acres, had been managed under a nagreement by the South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreatio nand Tourism (SCDPRT) . The terms of the agreement were effectiv efor fifty years . Prior to the May 1, 1998 expiration, official swith SCDPRT were contacted to see if they wanted to negotiat eanother agreement or discontinue managing the site . At first ,SCDPRT officials appeared agreeable to another agreement . By theMay 1st deadline, however, no further contact or response wa sreceived from the officials .
After the lease expired, the refuge took over the management an dupkeep of the site . Four of SCDPRT's benches were removed . Thebenches, intended for people to rest and enjoy the view of th elake, attracted more of the loitering, lovers and litterin gtypes . SCDPRT removed their two interpretive plaques, Keep Of fthe Mound signs, part of their sign by Hwy . 15/301, and took bac ktheir benches .
For the remainder of the year, our upkeep involved mowing i nfront of the mound, controlling woody plants (mainly Chinaberr ytrees) growing on the mound with herbicides, and picking u plitter . Over the past several years SCDPRT had mowed the mound .This usually involved four people and taking 4-5 hours . Since w edidn't have the personnel or equipment, we did not mow the mound .
On July 31st, a meeting involving refuge and state personnel wa sheld at the refuge to discuss management of the mound . Attender sincluded John Leader, Deputy State Archaeologist, Donny Barker ,State Parks Archaeologist, Richard Kanaski, Regiona lArchaeologist, Larry Davis from Cape Romain NWR, and Fringeli .
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•Issues discussed included stabilizing the eroding lake shore ,removing/replacing the stairs and platform, interpretive signing ,
vegetation control and public activity .
In December, rip-rap was laid along the lake shore in front o fthe mound to control the continuous erosion problem . In somespots the beach had eroded to within several feet of the base o f
the mound .
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Riprap was placed along the lake shore at th ebase of the Indian Mound to control erosion .
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Public Education and Recreation
8a . Provide Visitor Service sThe Cuddo unit driving trail had to be closed twice durin gJanuary and February due to flooded roads . Both closures wereonly for a short duration .
The refuge bird list received a much needed revision . The newlist was revised by Dr . Dennis Forsythe, Professor in th eDepartment of Biology at The Citadel, Lex Glover with SCDNR ,Robin Carter and Caroline Eastman . The nomenclature andarrangement of the new list follows the latest America nOrnithologists' Union Checklist of North American Birds . The newbird lists were available for public distribution in September .
Hunting seasons were open on the refuge for raccoons/opossums ,mourning doves and white-tailed deer .
The raccoon/opossum season is always held on the last ten days o fthe state's season . This year the hunt season was February 20th -March 1st . Since hunting is not permitted on Sundays, the refug eseason was actually 8 days long . Hunting was only permitted o nthe Cuddo unit . This year, 125 hunters took 43 raccoons . Bothof these figures were down from last year .
The dove season, also only allowed on the Cuddo unit, was hel d
September 17th-30th . Participation in dove hunting on the refug ehas always been low . This year only two hunters tried their luc kon the refuge, bagging 4 doves .
Deer hunting is limited to primitive weapons, black powder an d
archery. The Pine Island combination black powder/archery hun t
was held October 5th-10th . Two weeks of hunting were open on th e
Cuddo unit . The first week, archery only, was held on Octobe r
12th-17th . This was followed by a combination blac kpowder/archery hunt on October 19th-24th . The totals for th e
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number of participants and deer harvested for all three hunts wa sslightly down from last year . The 42 deer taken on Pine Island ,however, was the highest recorded number taken off that unit .The following tables show the breakdown of the hunts by units andage and sex of the deer harvested .
PineIslandUnit (Black Powder/ArcheryOct .5-10 )
Hunters Participating : 26 1
Age Class
1/2
1 1/2
2 1/2
3 1/2
4 1/2
5 1/2
Tota l
Male
8
10
4
4
2 6
Female
7
4
4
1
1 6
Total
15
14
8
5
4 2
Cuddo Unit (ArcheryOct.12-17 )
Hunters Participating : 58 3
Age Class
1/2
1 1/2
2 1/2
3 1/2
4 1/2
5 1/2
Tota l
Male
6
11
2
2
2 1
Female
3
10
2
1
1
1 7
Total
9
21
4
2
1
1
3 8
CuddoUnit(Black Powder/Archery Oct .19-24 )
Hunters Participating : 75 4
Age Class
1/2
1 1/2
2 1/2
3 1/2
4 1/2
5 1/2
Tota l
Male
6
16
5
4
2
3 3
Female
11
9
15
5
1
2
4 3
Total
17
25
20
9
3
2
7 6
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• 8b .
OutreachApproximately 3,286 visitors came through the visitors cente rduring the year .
Fringeli gave a presentation about waterfowl management to 2 0students from Central Carolina Technical College's natura lresources class on February 5th . The presentation involved atour of the Cuddo unit to observe impoundments, GTR's, floode dfields, waterfowl, water control structures, pumps, etc .
Fringeli and Gaymon handed out free International Migratory BirdDay posters at the I-95 Welcome Center near Santee on March 14th .Three hundred posters were handed out .
Fringeli gave a program on wood ducks (management, nesting boxes ,and banding) to 20 members of a Columbia boy scout troop on March21st . After the program, the scouts and leaders picked up litte ralong the Indian Mound road and lake shore .
A refuge open house was held on the weekend of May 23rd and 24th .One hundred people came to the visitors center to view theexhibits and receive information about the refuge . Some decidedto take a guided tour of the Bluff unit . Another 69 visitor sdrove the Cuddo unit auto route .
Fringeli gave a program about the refuge to thirty members of theOrangeburg County 4-H Club on June 2nd at the visitors center .
Twenty-five students from Central Carolina Technical College' shistory program were given a program about the refuge and theFort Watson/Santee Indian mound by Fringeli on June 6th .
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Planning and Administration
9b . General AdministrationFunding
Fund Type AmountSubactivit '
1231 Goose Collar Observations 0 . 5
1261 Base Operations 211 . 0
1261 Contaminant Cleanup 11 . 0
•1262 MMS Project 8 . 0
1262 YCC Program 6 . 2
2952 Carryover Storm Damage Funds 18 . 0
2952 El Nino Storm Damage Funds 140 . 2
9551 Seasonal Staffing 9 . 5
9551 Administrative Support 0 . 8Total 405 .2
Initial fiscal year funding was $247 .OK . In February $18 .OK o fcarryover storm damage monies and $0 .5K for goose colla robservations were added on . In July, an additional $140 .2K wa sallocated as El Nino storm damage funds and $0 .5K was taken fromthe YCC program fund .
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Personnel
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Biological Aid Andrew Hayes' one year appointment ended on Ma y11th . Andy was extended to another one year appointment on Ma y12th .
An eight week YCC program started on June 8th . This year fourenrollees worked in the program, Johnnie Lawson, Anthony Dubose ,Trenell James and Lakeisia McFadden .
Office Assistant Rufus Gaymon retired on November 6th . This wa sRufus' second attempt to retire in two years . The first time h ewas called back, after being retired for three months and havin greceived two retirement checks, due to an error in calculatin ghis Vietnam military time . We know he hopes this time itspermanent .On November 23rd, Audrey Hart was hired to fill a 30 day OfficeClerk position . Due to illness, her last day was December 16th .She was rehired for another 30 day appointment on December 23rd ,but never returned after Christmas Eve .
Permanent Full Time
Name
Position
Grade
Jerry Fringeli
Assistant Refuge Manager
GS-1 1
Bernie Good
General Biologist
GS-1 1
Rufus Gaymon
Office Assistant
GS-0 6
Bobby Pearson
Engineering Equipment Operator
WG-0 8
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Left to right - Gaymon, Fringeli, Pearson, Good .
Temporary/Term Appointments
Andrew Hayes Biological Aid GS-0 3
Audrey Hart Office Clerk GS-03
Biological Aid Andy Hayes .
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YCCProgram
Anthony Dubose
Enrolle e
Trenell James
Enrolle e
Johnnie Lawson
Enrolle e
Lakeisia McFadden
Enrolle e
YCC crew assisting with wood duck banding.
Volunteers
Long-time volunteer Fuzzy Furse checked wood duck boxes durin gthe nesting season and kept records on the outcome of the nests .
Several individuals assisted refuge staff during wood duc kbanding operations . Most were college students wanting to ge tinvolved in some hands-on wildlife work .
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The natural resources class from Central Carolina Technica lCollege helped out at the check station on the opening morning o fthe Cuddo unit black powder hunt . The students weighted, aged ,recorded data, etc . on the deer brought into the station .Approximately 15 students participated .
Safet y
Several safety meetings were held during the year . Meetingsconsisted of a safety film followed by a discussion of safet yissues and a resolve to correct one known safety hazard .
Fortunately, there were no accidents requiring medical attentio nor time off .
Equipment andFacilities
Numerous repairs were needed to keep equipment running . Most o fthese repairs were made to heavy machinery, i .e . tractors ,dozers, road grader and front-end loader . One of the costlie rpieces to keep operational was the JD 350 crawler with repairs o fover $21,000 to transmission, sprockets, tracks, blade cylindersand radiator .
A new Chevrolet 4x4 Blazer was received in March .
A new John Deere 1517 bat-winged mower was delivered in November .This is a replacement for the Bush Hog 220 bat-winged mower tha thad been receiving more repairs than operating time .
The Swan 386SX computer was damaged by lightning . Strangely,just about all of the insides were damaged except the hard drive .The hard drive was removed and put into a borrowed computer toretrieve the stored files . A new Dell Dimension XPS D300 ,monitor and color printer were purchased as replacements .
A total of 2,561 tons of gravel were spread on the Cuddo and Pin eIsland unit roads . Most of the gravel went on the Cuddo aut odrive . The gravel was purchased with emergency storm monies .
Several drainage pipes were put in various locations under Cudd ounit roads to alleviate flooding problems .
Part of the Dingle Pond boundary was resurveyed by Santee-Cooper .Some areas of the boundary could not be followed or found due t othe tangled mess cause by Hurricane Hugo in 1989 . After th e
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lines were re-established, the boundaries were posted .
Every so often old well sites are found on the Cuddo unit . Onoccasion wildlife fall into the wells and die . For safet yreasons any newly discovered wells are filled in . Two wells wer efilled in during the year .
Equipment lending and borrowing occurred between neighborin gstations . Orangeburg NFH borrowed our excavator, truck/tractor ,lowboy and dump truck . Savannah Coastal Refuges used our graindrill . Cape Romain NWR borrowed several items, including the JD350 crawler, 16" Crisafulli pump and truck/tractor and Pee De eNWR used our laser leveler . On our part, we borrowed OrangeburgNFH's roll-back trailer and Carolina Sandhill NWR's roller-chopper .
Other Items
The Columbia chapter of the National Audubon Society conducte dtheir Christmas bird count on the refuge on January 3rd .
WHM Biologist Noffsinger visited the refuge on January 22nd . H ecame to observe the moist soil units while they were flooded anddiscuss management options for the year .
Fringeli attended a waterfowl conference held at the Dirleto nPlantation on February 20th . Personnel from federal and stat eagencies and private landowners attended .
Gaymon attended a payroll system workshop in Atlanta on February25th .
Fringeli went on two 1-month details as acting refuge manager a t
Pee Dee NWR . The first detail was from February 25th-March 26t hand the second from April 19th-May 18th .
Pearson and Hayes attended a chain saw operators workshop (S-21 2
Wildfire Powersaws) conducted by the U .S . Forest Service at King s
Mountain, NC on April 30th-May 1st .
The refuge revenue sharing check was delivered to the ClarendonCounty Treasurer on June 1st . This year's check was for $25,303 .
Assistant Regional Director Linda Kelsey and District Manager
Bill Grabill visited the refuge on June 17th .
Fringeli attended a Contracting Officer's Representative trainin g
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session in Atlanta on July 14th-16th .
A neo-tropical bird review team visited the refuge on August 4th -5th . The team consisted of Biologist Bob Noffsinger, Partners inFlight Coordinator Chuck Hunter, Regional Forester Roger Boykin ,John Cely and Lex Glover with SCDNR, Dr . Dennis Forsythe from theCitadel, and Fringeli . Several potential neo-tropical bir dmanagement sites were visited . The site visits were followed b ydiscussions on ways to better manage forests and fields toimprove neo-tropical bird habitat . Several preliminary RON Sprojects were drafted to fund the work .
Fringeli attended the Savannah-Santee-Pee Dee Ecosystem meetin gheld at McBee, SC on September 2nd-3rd .
Fringeli attended the National Wildlife Refuge System Conferenc eheld in Keystone, Colorado on October 18th-24th .
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