Savannah River Dredge Spoil Site

Savannah River Dredge Spoil Site

Description: The Savannah River Dredge Spoil Site is a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dredge spoil containment facility located in Jasper County, SC. The property is owned by the Georgia Department of Transportation (DOT). The site covers over 5,100 acres with seven diked areas. Six of the areas are accessible by car (4-wheel drive required during rainy weather). It may be impossible to access during the wettest times. There is no public access to the site; it is a working dredge disposal area and the DOT restricts access to those working on the site. The DOT has given the Corps biologist, Steve Calver, permission to take birding groups on tours of the area, but there is a rather long and drawn out process for gaining permission to enter the site.

Shorebird areas in the spoil site vary, depending on which areas have water in them. Areas with the most birds are shallow open water areas and damp mud areas. Vegetation tends to grow up in the higher areas and areas in which disposal has occurred for a longer time since the dikes were raised. Visibility is approximately 1-mile square, so counting can be difficult and requires a good scope and cooperating weather.

Most of the focal species are present, at least during the spring and fall. Species not seen are Snowy Plover, Piping Plover, American Oystercatcher and Long-billed Curlew. Three others seen only rarely are Whimbrel, Marbled Godwit and Red Knot.Wilson’s Plover and Willet nest, but appear to have few migrants passing through.Steve Calver believes that Common Snipe are under detected by the survey technique. Species with the highest counts are Black-bellied Plover, Semipalmated Plover, Killdeer, Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, Semipalmated Sandpiper, Least Sandpiper, Dunlin and Short-billed Dowitcher.Since there are also Long-billed Dowitchers, dowitcher counts include a lot of dowitcher species. Regular species with lower counts include Solitary Sandpiper, Spotted Sandpiper, Ruddy Turnstone and Sanderling.

Survey Method: Ground surveys around the spoils. Steve Calver, the Corps biologist, surveys by driving around the periphery dikes and counting with a scope. The best counts are high tide counts because birds that feed in the surrounding marshes come onto the site at high tide to feed. However, many birds appear to stay in the area so high tide counts are not necessary to see birds.Shorebird counts can take 3 to 6 hours. Mr. Calver usually counts everything, so surveys are generally all day affairs.

Selection Bias: Gaining access to the spoil site may be difficult. However, Steve Calver is already doing surveys and has indicated willingness to work with PRISM. State politics may interfere with including this site in PRISM because the state of South Carolina is trying to condemn parts of the area to build a port facility.

Measurement error: *

Measurement bias: *

Pilot Studies: None needed.

Local Contacts: Steve Calver, Biologist, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers