Hurricane Ian ends ’22 turtle season

This storm came in around Winyah Bay with 80+ mph winds and put an abrupt end to the turtle season for the north coast. There was much erosion from the surge and we hope the dunes will begin to rebuild. Fortunately, at DeBordieu & Hobcaw, there were only 3 nests remaining. We had our 3rd best season with 86 nests including 2 green sea turtle nests. Volunteers will look forward to ’23 and another healthy nesting season!

9-30-22 Volunteer Mark DuPuis took this photo at Prince George just as H. Ian had passed. The frontal dune at this community was totally lost.
10-1-22 Ocean Green also lost dunes and sand fencing took a hit. The grasses remained and will likely regrow.
10-1-22 H. Ian cut a small breach on Hobcaw just south of the wooded area. Historically, there has been a breach here before that connected the ocean with the marsh.
9-30-22 After the devastation of H. Ian, a perfect rainbow appeared reminding us all of how fortunate we were to survive the wrath of the storm. Our hearts and prayers go out to our coastal neighbors in Florida.