Nothing ‘eco-friendly’ about developing Bay Point Island in Beaufort County | Opinion

On May 5, developers revealed plans to build a resort on Bay Point Island. These plans would have a deleterious effect on the island’s natural environment. From the construction phase to full occupancy, this concept is a disastrous one for the wildlife that calls Bay Point Island home.

First is the construction phase.

Although developers claim the majority of their structure will be prefabricated, massive amounts of materials will still have to be brought ashore. Where will this unloading occur?

If barges bring materials to the beach, and unload them there, transporting them to the actual sites will rut the dunes and trample and kill the grasses that keep the dunes stable, accelerating erosion on an already precarious island.

The dune field is also nesting habitat for shorebirds and sea turtles. Any work done during the turtle-nesting season (May 1 to Oct. 31) should not be permitted.

Burying underground cables, pipes and other utilities will disrupt the forest floor and the small reptiles and mammals that live there.

In order to erect villas, restaurants and support facilities, trees will have to be felled and the understory removed.

All of this will degrade the environment for species that use trees for roosting, and for species like painted buntings that require the understory for nest sites.

Species that could be affected with the clearing of the understory include migratory warblers. Many of these species are in decline. There will no doubt be light pollution from the villas and restaurants at night. This will have an effect on both hatchlings and adult loggerhead turtles.

As anyone who has ever been on an undeveloped barrier island knows, during the day there will be horseflies, deerflies, ticks and biting black flies. During the night swarms of mosquitoes suck you dry. How will Six Senses deal with these pests? Spraying insecticides will probably take place. Thus, not only would the habitats be eliminated or degraded, they would also be poisoned.

Several species of pit vipers live on barrier islands. How will these species be handled in regard to their potential danger to guests? No doubt they will also be eliminated whenever possible. Loss of snakes will increase the population of rodents and disrupt the natural balance.

Everywhere humans have invaded a natural habitat, it has been compromised. This seems to fly in the face of a resort that has been billed as “eco-friendly.”

I defy anyone to name one species that has benefited by man trying to cohabitate with them in nature (rats and cockroaches don’t count).

In most cases with fragile ecosystems like barrier islands, the “highest and best use” is to leave them completely alone. There is no way this development will be for the “betterment” of Bay Point Island.

Sally R. Murphy of Sheldon is a retired state biologist, first S.C. sea turtle coordinator, and author of “Turning the Tide: A Memoir.”