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Volume 22 • Issue 11
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June 12, 2026
Sullivan’s Island Weighs Surveillance to Stop Secret Tree Removal in Maritime Forest By Joshua Uys Sullivan’s Island acquired the maritime forest property in 1991, with the title including restrictions obligating the town to protect it. In accordance with those restrictions, the town enacted an ordinance prohibiting construction, topographical disturbance, and the removal of trees, shrubs and vegetation, making violations a criminal misdemeanor. Town Attorney Dodds reported to council at the April meeting that violators have grown increasingly calculated in recent years, targeting holidays and low-staffing periods to evade detection. Offenders have stripped trees on Thanksgiving Eve, Christmas Eve and Easter, and have turned to electric cutting tools to work in silence. “They are engaging in these illegal activities on the weekends, during holidays, in the dark of night,” Dodds said. “They’re using electric cutting tools to avoid noise that might prompt
someone living nearby to call authorities. They’ve even used poison to kill trees, shrubs and vegetation.” The town is now considering placing surveillance cameras throughout the maritime forest to deter would-be violators. “These cameras aren’t aimed at adjoining residences; they have one goal: to catch people violating our ordinance,” Dodds said. “I think that’s consistent with the town’s duty to protect the maritime forest, and I’m a big proponent of it.” Councilwoman Schroeder struck a more cautious note. “I’d like for us to solicit suggestions from the community so that we don’t need cameras spying on people’s activities in the middle of the night,” she said. “I can completely understand why we have them, because we’ve seen criminal activity, but I really believe that if we come together, we can find a better way.”
Sullivan’s Island to Draw More Than 10,000 Visitors on Carolina Day Weekend
By Joshua Uys Sullivan’s Island is bracing for a landmark weekend this June as the National Park Service prepares to mark the 250th anniversary of the Battle of Sullivan’s Island, one of the American Revolution’s most decisive early victories. Carolina Day, the annual commemoration of the June 28, 1776, battle, will be celebrated across
two full days this year: Saturday, June 27, and Sunday, June 28, with events running from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. each day at Fort Moultrie. “Two hundred and fifty years ago, this place was the center of history, and just two weeks later, the Declaration of Independence was signed,” said Brad Shattuck, superintendent of the Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie National Historical Park. “It is significant
worldwide.” Shattuck said the National Park Service is anticipating more than 10,000 visitors across the weekend, with a packed program to match the occasion. Historians will fire more than 10 cannons and 100 muskets throughout both days, park rangers will lead history talks and Q&A
sessions, and a Marine Band concert is scheduled. Sunday will open with a special military flyover. With that level of turnout expected, the National Park Service is also promoting a “teaching, not beaching” campaign, warning visitors looking for a typical summer beach day that the island’s capacity will be largely taken up by those attending the commemoration. To ease parking challenges, two shuttles will run between Poe Avenue and dedicated lots in Mount Pleasant. A red route will serve Lucy Beckham High School, while a blue route will serve Mount Pleasant Town Hall. An additional 600 spaces at Battery Jasper will be available exclusively to event attendees, supplementing the island’s existing parking areas. The Battle of Sullivan’s Island was a pivotal early victory in the Revolutionary War, in which colonial forces repelled a British naval assault and helped inspire the movement toward independence. This year’s celebration takes on added national significance as part of America 250, the nationwide commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the United States.