SULLIVAN'S ISLAND, S.C. — Around the world, coastal residents often live in terror of beach erosion, threatening the safety of their homes as the ocean slowly claims them.
In South Carolina, Sullivan’s Island doesn’t have that problem. For decades, the barrier island actually has been growing, thanks to the Charleston port’s jetties. Built in 1886, the jetties protect the port from quickly filling up with silt and sand as the tides come in and, in turn, funnel that sand to Sullivan’s.
Some see those jetties as a gift, giving new life to the island’s maritime forest and allowing it to grow as never before. As residents and visitors walk from the beach back inland, they can watch the stages of forest succession, something most have likely only seen in the pages of a biology textbook in school. The forest and the dunes in front of it also protect homes from hurricanes and flooding.
