The Ashepoo, Combahee and South Edisto (ACE) Basin represents one of the largest undeveloped estuaries on the east coast of the United States.
The
ACE Basin consists of approximately 350,000 acres of diverse habitats
including pine and hardwood uplands, forested wetlands, fresh, brackish
and salt water tidal marshes, barrier islands and beaches. The basin's
unique estuarine system, the largest of its type in the state, provides
invaluable habitat for a rich diversity of finfish and shellfish resources.
The basin hosts a wealth of wildlife resources, including such endangered
and threatened species as bald eagle, woodstork, osprey, loggerhead
sea turtle and shortnose sturgeon, and offers a variety of recreational
uses.
In the mid-1700s tidal swamps bordering the rivers were
cleared and diked for rice culture. 
After
the rice culture declined in the late 1800s, wealthy sportsmen purchased
many of the plantations as hunting retreats. The new owners successfully
managed the former rice fields and adjacent upland areas for a wide
range of wildlife. This tradition of land stewardship has continued
throughout the 20th century. Because of their importance to waterfowl,
these former rice fields have been identified for protection under the
North American Waterfowl Management Plan. The ACE Basin also has been
designated as a world class ecosystem under The
Nature Conservancy's Last Great Places program.
In 1988, the ACE Basin Project was launched when Ducks
Unlimited (DU), The Nature Conservancy (TNC), the South Carolina Department of Natural
Resources (SCDNR), the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and private landowners
formed a coalition known as the ACE Basin Task Force. The mission of
the ACE Basin Project is to maintain the natural character of the Basin
by promoting wise resource management on private lands and protecting
strategic tracts by conservation agencies. A major goal of the protection
efforts is to ensure that traditional uses such as farming, forestry,
recreational and commercial fishing and hunting will continue in the
area. 
Task Force members provide each other with technical and logistical support in all phases of the Project. Ducks Unlimited and TNC worked closely with public resource agencies in acquiring many of the lands available for public access. Through the Private Lands Program, private landowners are provided technical assistance in wildlife management by representatives of the Task Force members.
SCDNR manages Donnelley and Bear Island Wildlife Management Areas and the ACE Basin National Estuarine Research Reserve. The USFWS manages the ACE Basin National Wildlife Refuge. These areas provide public access to nearly 50,000 acres.
Ducks Unlimited and TNC work with private landowners in protecting their property through conservation easements and stewardship agreements. The Nature Conservancy also works with local communities in developing compatible economic development in the Basin.
Private property owners play the largest role in the protection of the Basin. Landowners have protected more than 40,000 acres through voluntary conservation easements. Easements are perpetual restrictions to preserve the natural values and protect wildlife habitat, while sustaining traditional land uses such as timber management, agriculture, hunting and commercial and recreation fishing. In addition to providing landowners with the satisfaction of protecting lands for future generations, conservation easements may entitle landowners to certain charitable benefits. Easement properties may be sold or inherited, but conservation easements remain in place.
Publicly managed lands serve to maintain and enhance habitat diversity (uplands, forested wetlands, fresh, brackish and salt marshes) while improving recreational and educational opportunities. Public ownership of property is an essential element of the project because unique resource components and critical habitats require intensive management and protection efforts. Public land acquisition constitutes only a limited portion of the total basin project.
In addition to the ecological value of the Basin, the region is rich in history. Historic and cultural landmarks such as old plantation homes, forts, cemeteries and churches are being preserved through the ACE Basin project.
Large-scale protection of these exceptional natural resource and cultural values represents our generation's contribution to the enhancement of society in the 21st Century.
Walterboro-Colleton Chamber of Commerce
PO Box 426 (109-C Benson Street)
Walterboro, SC 29488
Phone: (843) 549-9595
Fax: (843) 549-5775
E-mail: info@walterboro.org