SEABIRD CONSERVATION

With only five significant seabird nesting islands along the coast of South Carolina, the Coastal Expeditions Foundation maintains a focus on conservation and community awareness.

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IMPACT AREAS

DEVEAUX BANK

  • Successfully worked with environmental groups, legislators & SCDRN to get Deveaux Bank, a seabird nesting island on the coast of South Carolina, closed during the nesting season in 2024.
  • Provided $25,000 in matching funds to fund a sediment study of Deveaux Bank, allowing the South Carolina Office of Resilience (SCOR) to receive a $209,400 grant from the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation’s (NFWF) National Coastal Resilience Fund (NCRF). Read more here

NEW STATE SEABIRD

  • Proposed and effected legislation to make the Eastern brown pelican South Carolina’s official state seabird, working under the leadership of Rep. Whetmore.

 

COMMUNITY AWARENESS

  • Increase community awareness of seabirds and their need for safe nesting islands through environmental education field trips and public tours
  • New! Educating students from McClellanville, a South Carolina shrimping village, about protecting seabird nests on islands within Cape Romain NWR

INTERNSHIPS

  • Funded a paid summer intern on Cape Romain NWR islands in 2024, directly protecting seabird and shorebird nests

 

HORSESHOE CRABS

  • Member of the Horseshoe Crab Recovery Coalition, working to protect horseshoe crabs and the migrating birds that relay on their eggs as food source
  • Chris Crolley is a standing witness in the lawsuit that protected horseshoe crabs in Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge.

Putting Passion Into Action

In 2018, Capt. Chris Crolley  created the Coastal Expeditions Foundation to effectively participate in the fight to save Crab Bank Seabird Sanctuary, calling it “the most significant work” of his lifetime. The CEF raised funding and community awareness for the re-building of the new Crab Bank. 

This island is once again a thriving seabird rookery, supporting hundreds of Black Skimmer, Least Tern and American Oystercatcher nests each summer.

You can learn more about it on a kayak tour or boat tour from Shem Creek