That’s why the PRSF’s Maritime Center on Okatie Highway focuses on education for kids and adults. That reaction - and the understanding, appreciation, and love it triggers - is a first step in protecting the Sound. They become more connected to their unique environment.” “When they see their first dolphin or a bald eagle or get their feet stuck in pluff mud the first time, it’s life-changing. “A lot of kids take our eco-boat tours and say they’ve never been on the water before,” Hayward said. That means the Broad, Beaufort, and Chechessee River aren’t rivers at all but extensions of the Atlantic Ocean, with the same saltwater and the same animals: sharks, stingrays, dolphins, and loggerhead turtles. “It’s unique because unlike areas with freshwater rivers that originate in the mountains or coastal plains, the tributaries of the Sound are actually tidal inlets fed by the Atlantic Ocean,” she explained. “Beaufort County surrounds the Port Royal Sound - it’s like our bathtub,” said Jody Hayward, executive director of the Port Royal Sound Foundation (PRSF), an organization created to preserve the Sound for the environmental, cultural, and economic well-being of the area. Thankfully, the upland watershed that includes Jasper, Hampton, and Allendale counties, is modest in size, which means there are very few polluters upstream negatively impacting the Sound. Its watershed contains more than 2,000 miles of tidal creek and salt marsh shoreline, compared to 2,876 miles for the state’s entire outer coastline. It covers more than half the county and includes 200,000 acres of salt marsh - that’s nearly half the marshland in the entire state. The Port Royal Sound is a dynamic ocean channel between Beaufort and Hilton Head Island. No wonder because water is what makes Beaufort so wonderful. No marshes, no creeks, no beaches, no rivers (or what most of us call rivers - more on that later), no waterfront parks, no docks, no boats, no salty breezes. Now, try to imagine Beaufort without water. Story by JEANNE REYNOLDS photos by SUSAN DELOACH Port Royal Sound Foundation Protects Beaufort’s Largest Resource
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