Save our trees: Hilton Head road construction draws a single cry in the wilderness
It came to my desk as a lonely cry, almost like a tree falling in the forest with no one around to hear it.
It was a friendly email (thank goodness for those) from a woman named Linda.
“In the article regarding the widening of (U.S.) 278 along the Shelter Cove area, brief mention was made of the elimination of much of the tree canopy,” she wrote.
“I find this quite distressing and think that more (attention) needs to be focused on the desecration of our island trees. Is it possible for you to write one of your excellent op-eds on this topic?”
Yes, but first things first.
Our news story did not say that much of the tree canopy would be eliminated.
The Town of Hilton Head Island traffic engineer told us that widening the side roads and U.S. 278 may affect the tree canopy. He said the plan will minimize damage to the tree canopy wherever possible.
The orange barrels and cones are already in place, so we’ll soon know what “wherever possible” means.
Those trees have already been saved from the axe once.
We owe that to the Self family of Greenwood. The Selfs have been quiet, but major, players on Hilton Head since the 1960s — for four generations. You might call them our redwoods.
They bought Palmetto Dunes, and still hold it. They put into motion all the development across the highway in what they named Shelter Cove.
In that process, and when U.S. 278 was widened to four lanes, they deliberately left enough land for a beautiful “canopy of trees” to fill the U.S. 278 median in front of what would become the Plaza at Shelter Cove and Shelter Cove Towne Centre developments.
Much like the Self family itself, this donation was a quiet — but deep — contribution to the community, akin to their donations to enable the hospital, ball fields, the arts center and more.
The gift of trees in that urban setting is immeasurable. The trees are much more a part of Hilton Head’s heart and soul than the new apartment complexes and other development that has made the road system in the area inadequate.
Clearly, the intersections in the Shelter Cove area must be made safer for motorists, pedestrians and bicyclists. Something’s got to give. We cannot have more fatalities.
But we must still save trees in the process.
Trees were saved in the median in front of Moss Creek when the public pushed back during road construction.
Trees were saved in the median of S.C. 170 near Lemon Island when that road was widened, largely through a last-minute push by then-Beaufort County Council member Thomas C. Taylor of Hilton Head.
We know we can save trees.
And we know we can destroy them.
Newcomers and visitors may appreciate the trees more than we do ourselves. They know immediately that trees set us apart. For all of us, the trees subtly whisper to our psyches, when we don’t even know it.
So, yes, Linda, more attention needs to be focused on the desecration of trees — especially the clear-cutting that continues on Hilton Head and all over Beaufort County.
For now, let’s keep an eye on what the town engineers do at Shelter Cove.
Thanks for caring.
