Since May 2007 PRESORT STANDARD US POSTAGE PAID CHARLESTON, SC PERMIT NO. 137 POSTAL PATRON
Volume 21 • Issue 2
FREE
June 27, 2025
The Results Are In For Breeding Bird Survey
Photo by Jeffrey J. Davis Photography.
Featured Photo A roseate spoonbill drums up breakfast on Kiawah Island.
From the Town of Kiawah Island Town of Kiawah biologists conducted their annual Breeding Bird Survey from May 22 through 30. This survey has taken place each year since 2009 and provides vital information on population trends of Kiawah’s breeding birds. The survey includes 238 points located across the island, from Captain Sams Spit to Little Bear Island, in all major upland habitats. All individual birds heard or seen within a five-minute period are recorded. The point count survey is divided into nine separate routes, with one route conducted per day. During the 2025 survey, 3,576 individual birds were recorded in 79 different species. Biologists continue to see declining trends in some of Kiawah’s most common species, such as the Carolina chickadee and blue jay. Uncommon species, like brown thrashers, orchard orioles and Eastern towhees, are showing steeper declines. On a more positive note, several other species are showing increasing population trends. These include the Carolina wren, great crested flycatcher, painted bunting, brown-headed nuthatch, pine warbler, Eastern bluebird and yellow-throated warbler. Kiawah (Continued on page 3)
Support For The CVB Is Strong On Kiawah Island By Theresa Stratford The Charleston area tourism industry continues to break records. A record for economic impact was broken in 2024 when Charleston generated $14.03 billion. All that money came from the highest number of recorded visitors, which topped out at 7.89 million tourists. And that’s not all. The year 2024 also hit a record for nearly 5 million hotel room nights sold. All of this could be partly attributed to the accolades earned by the Holy City. For example, Travel + Leisure named Charleston as the number one city to visit for 12 years in a row. It is important to note that it isn’t just Charleston benefiting from all the extra visitors. The surrounding areas, including the beaches, rake in the benefits as well. That’s why it’s without hesitation that Kiawah Island Town Council would support the efforts of the Charleston Area Convention and Visitors Bureau. The CVB is a nonprofit that is tax-exempt and able to receive tax-deductible contributions. At the June 3 Town Council meeting, Council Member Luke Farrell, chair of the Audit Committee, presented some background on the committee’s support for the CVB. It’s important to note that South Carolina law requires municipalities to allocate a significant portion of their accommodations tax revenue to
tourism promotion. The CVB is the designated nonprofit for tourism promotion in the area, which means that Kiawah Island allocates 30% of the promotion fund from the state accommodations tax to the CVB.
For the 2025-2026 year, the budgeted amount that will go to the CVB is $925,010, up from 2024-2025, which was $843,066. The money is broken up into advertising, promotion materials, marketing support and other (Continued on page 2)
JustCouncil a Phone Call Away Approves Six Engineering Firms
By Theresa Stratford The art of picking up a phone and making a simple call has become lost in this day and age. Wouldn’t it be nice to get that back? There are times when a phone call is all that is needed. Kiawah Island Town Council spoke about one of those times, particularly when it comes to engineering services. That is why they voted unanimously in the June 3 meeting to make it official that the mayor could just call upon the services of six particular engineering firms when projects are in the works. These projects could be environmental or road projects or related to civil, structural, traffic or stormwater needs. Whatever the project, there’s an engi“If we could just have firms ap- neering firm perfect for the task. All the mayor would need proved that we could call on, this to do is call the six approved companies and see which firm would really shorten the process.” might work best. Kiawah Island Town Council Member Luke Farrell explained the issues they have had in the past. Kiawah Island Public Works Director He said that every time the town has needed engineerBrian Gottshalk ing services, it would seek out requests for proposals. A review team then evaluates each proposal before being forwarded to the Ways and Means Committee, which makes recommendations to the Town Council for final approval. “It is a lengthy process,” Farrell said. Brian Gottshalk, public works director for the town of Kiawah Island, (Continued on page 3)