Divorce Attorney in Beaufort SC

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If there were one universal truth it would be that every family is different. We all have our own set of challenges to face and changes to go through. Sometimes those changes are happy like when a new baby is born. Other times these changes involve uncertainty and loss like in the event of a divorce.

If you are having to go through the pain of divorce deal with a complicated custody issue or are handling a different family-related legal matter you might need help. At Cobb Hammett LLC we understand that family issues are hard. Many of the family law clients that we work for have big questions about the future leaving them over-stressed and full of worry. They are concerned about their children their marriage or both. They are wrestling with uncertainty and anxiety having been served confusing documents that don't make sense. Sound familiar? A family law attorney in Beaufort, SC can help whether you need a level-headed moderator or a trusted advocate in the courtroom.

At Cobb Hammett LLC we have decades of combined experience serving the needs of families from divorce proceedings to family formation issues. Our team is fiercely committed to our clients and with a dedicated focus stays up-to-date on the nuanced world of family law in Beaufort. If you're looking for personal attention unbiased representation and a responsive family law attorney look no further than our law firm.

Divorce Attorney Beaufort, SC

If you're unsure of whether you need a family law lawyers in Beaufort" ask yourself these questions:

  • Are you getting married?
  • Are you thinking about divorce?
  • Has your spouse served you with legal papers?
  • Are your kids not receiving the support that they are entitled to?

If you answered yes to any of the questions above know that we are here to help you figure out your next steps. With Cobb Hammett Law Firm by your side you can have the confidence to face even the most difficult family law issues. All of our attorneys have years of experience are incredibly responsive and fight for your family's rights. We are happy to take as much time as you need to answer questions and help put your mind at ease for whatever lies ahead.

 Law Firm Beaufort, SC

Our firm specializes in a wide range of family law cases including:

  • Divorce
  • Child Custody
  • Alimony
  • Adoptions
  • Child Support
  • Mediation
  • Property Division
  • More

If you have been left to manage a foreign family law situation it's time to call Cobb Hammett LLC. We will sit down with you for an hour at absolutely no cost - because we understand what you're going through and know that you need answers not another bill to pay.

To help provide you with a basic understanding of family law keep reading for in-depth explanations on our areas of expertise.

 Attorney Beaufort, SC

Divorce lawyer in
Beaufort SC.

At Cobb Hammett LLC we know all-too-well that a one size fits all approach isn't going to work very well for your unique situation. That's why we approach each divorce case from a personalized standpoint - something that we feel like each of our clients deserves.

 Divorce Lawyer Beaufort, SC
Our goal is to help solve your family law issues and focus on your needs when your divorce is finalized. We will help develop a strategy for:
  • Meeting your post-divorce needs and objectives
  • Dividing marital property for maximum benefit
  • Maximizing time spent with your child as part of your divorce's parenting plan
  • Strengthen your role as a decision-maker for your child
  • Navigating your divorce proceedings and minimizing financial and emotional costs

By working together our divorce law firm will help you rebuild your life and secure a better future for your family.

Divorces in South Carolina
- Different Than Other States

Unlike divorce law in other states South Carolina divorce law doesn't allow spouses to receive an instant no-fault divorce. One or both spouses in the marriage must establish a legally acceptable reason for a divorce to happen. Grounds for a divorce in Beaufort, SC include:

  • Desertion
  • Physical Cruelty
  • Habitual Drunkenness
  • Separation for One Year or More
  • Adultery
Divorce Attorney Beaufort, SC

If you or your spouse do not have the necessary grounds for divorce in Beaufort our family law firm can file a Separate Maintenance and Support action. This step lets the court order child custody alimony and marital bills until you can file for your divorce. During this period Cobb Hammett LLC gathers pertinent info on your spouse's character and assets that can strengthen your case should it be necessary.

Common Issues Associated
with Divorces in Beaufort

A divorce in Beaufort means more than the end of a marriage. It involves dividing the parties debts and assets determines child support and custody parameters and can establish alimony. At Cobb Hammett LLC many of our clients are able to reach agreements with their spouse to resolve these issues. Reaching an agreement lets both parties customize the terms of their divorce to conserve resources avoid trial and meet the family's needs.

Sometimes however two spouses cannot or will not come to terms with an agreement. In these situations a trial is possible and litigation is necessary. Our family law attorneys in Beaufort, SC. are highly experienced litigators and are well-equipped to handle any disputes revealed in the conference or courtroom.

Common divorce issues include:

 Law Firm Beaufort, SC
1.

Child Custody and Visitation

One of the most heart-wrenching difficult decisions for parents going through a divorce is resolving child custody and visitation issues. Child custody refers to how much time each parent will spend with their child and whether they can make decisions for them. According to South Carolina law child custody and visitation time are based on what is best for the child.

 Attorney Beaufort, SC
2.

Child Support

Like other U.S states a formula is used in South Carolina to determine how much child support a person must pay. This formula recommends the amount of child support based on factors like how much income the parents make the cost of childcare and the obligation to support children from other relationships.

 Divorce Lawyer Beaufort, SC
3.

Alimony

In South Carolina there is no formula to determine how much alimony a person must pay. However courts consider several factors when deciding if alimony is needed how much alimony should be paid and how long a spouse must pay it. Those factors include each spouse's ability and need to pay alimony how long the marriage lasted and any marital misconduct that occurred. To make matters more confusing there are different alimony types including lump sum rehabilitative and reimbursement.

Divorce Attorney Beaufort, SC
4.

Distribution of Property

In South Carolina marital property is the property that each spouse amasses from the date of the wedding to the time a spouse files for divorce. That property can often include marital debt. In a South Carolina divorce the courts will order an equitable division of property meaning fair under all circumstances but not necessarily equal.

 Law Firm Beaufort, SC

Understanding Child Custody in Beaufort, SC.

As mentioned above decisions that involve child custody and visitation can be contentious for parents both emotionally and legally. As experienced empathetic divorce lawyers we understand how difficult this process can be. When we work with clients going through child custody battles we always make it a point to be with them through the ups and downs to help them stay centered. Whether you are the husband or wife in your divorce we share a common goal: finding an effective way to support your children and assure their wellbeing.

In South Carolina child custody is a loaded term. In the most general definition child custody determines when each parent is responsible for the physical care of the child and how much authority each parent has to make decisions in their child's life.

No two child custody cases are the same but a negotiated custody arrangement is usually preferred in the judge's eyes as each parent has input in the process. If the parents cannot come to an amicable resolution their fate is left in the hands of a Family Court Judge in South Carolina. The focus of child custody law is always on what is in the best interests of the child. What the judge determines to be the best interests changes depending on the judge.

There are different variations of custody in South Carolina (or custody arrangements) each with varying degrees of authority. When you consult with our family law attorneys at Cobb Hammett LLC we will go over the child custody process in detail and touch on each distinction to eliminate any confusion you have.

  • Help develop cooperative solutions to disputes or mediate when needed
  • Create an equitable parenting plan
  • Discuss the implications of the different forms of joint and sole custody
  • Problems related to child support
  • Modify court orders if you or your child's circumstances change
  • Enforcement of visitation and custody agreements
  • Much more
Many of the family law clients that walk into our office have big questions that are leaving them full of stress and worry. <

Many of the family law clients that walk into our office have big questions that are leaving them full of stress and worry.

 Attorney Beaufort, SC

Understanding Child Support
in Beaufort, SC.

When children are involved in divorce cases child support is often ordered. Several factors can impact whether child support is ordered like the income-earning potential of the child's parents any custody arrangements that are created and what needs the child may have.

At Cobb Hammett LLC we have years of experience with child support issues relating to:

  • Cases where child support is needed for stay-at-home parents
  • Modifications and enforcement of child support mandates
  • Resolving support and custody disputes
  • Mediation arrangements to reach an agreement on child support. Compared to litigation going
  • the mediated route often means less stress and is more cost-effective than trial.

When you trust our family law firm in Beaufort for representation we can help calculate an estimate of how much child support you or your spouse may be ordered to pay. We can also perform a needs-based analysis in cases that involve large amounts of income. At the end of the day our goal is to make this frustrating process as stress-free as possible for you so that you can focus on living life and caring for your child.

Understanding Alimony in
Beaufort, SC.

Alimony (sometimes called spousal support or maintenance) is ordered by the court or negotiated between parties. This kind of spousal support has many factors like the income of both spouses how long they were married and the age of each spouse. Like child custody and child support trusted legal guidance is strongly recommended if you are facing potential alimony payments. Our family law attorneys will help you reach amicable arrangements for fair and appropriate alimony payments.

At Cobb Hammett LLC your family law attorney in Beaufort, SC will help protect your interests and rights regarding:

 Divorce Lawyer Beaufort, SC
  • Alimony and business assets
  • Permanent or long-term alimony
  • Significant alimony in high-asset divorces
  • Modifications to alimony arrangements when you or your spouse's circumstances change
  • Enforcement of spousal support mandates when needed

Understanding Division of
Property in Beaufort, SC.

When there are no children marital property or issues of alimony divorces often proceed smoothly between amicable spouses. However most divorces in South Carolina are much more complex. Typically divorce involves a union between spouses that lasts for years and involves substantial marital property. This property can be personal property real estate family businesses debts out-of-state property debts bank accounts and more.

In these nuanced situations the applicable parties need assistance dividing their property. This help most often comes from seasoned family law attorneys like Cobb Hammett LLC.

When it comes to distribution of property certain types of properties that are controversial even under the property division rules in South Carolina. South Carolina is an equitable distribution state meaning that marital property is divided equitably but not always equally.

If you are going through a divorce it's important that you are aware of the following assets and the common issues their division presents:

Divorce Attorney Beaufort, SC
Pensions

Pensions:

Generally pensions are the second-largest asset in a marriage. When there are sufficient alternative income sources to compensate the non-pension holder South Carolina divorce courts may leave the pension rights with the spouse who earned it with future distribution available. Otherwise a divorce court may enter a Qualified Domestic Relations Order requiring the pension administrator to pay both the former spouse and worker.

Family Home

Family Home:

The family home or the primary residential property owned by the divorcing couple is usually considered a marriage's biggest asset. Dividing this kind of property can be complex and frustrating especially when there are kids involved.

Many divorcing couples have a hard time reaching an agreement on property division. Because the division of property depends on the complexity of you or your spouse's assets and liabilities it is crucial to consult with an experienced family law attorney to provide guidance.

Latest News in Beaufort, SC

Beaufort's Fat Patties to close. New restaurant concept will soon open in its place.

BEAUFORT — After a dozen years slinging burgers and pouring craft beer, Fat Patties owner Nick Borreggine has decided to call it quits. Sort of.Doors will close Aug. 24 at the burger joint along the Parris Island Parkway."It's very bittersweet," said restaurant general manager Deanna Gray, who also is Borregine's sister and has worked at the restaurant for all of its 12 years. "It's been a good run."The location won't, however, remain closed for long.Borreggine and family look to fill wha...

BEAUFORT — After a dozen years slinging burgers and pouring craft beer, Fat Patties owner Nick Borreggine has decided to call it quits. Sort of.

Doors will close Aug. 24 at the burger joint along the Parris Island Parkway.

"It's very bittersweet," said restaurant general manager Deanna Gray, who also is Borregine's sister and has worked at the restaurant for all of its 12 years. "It's been a good run."

The location won't, however, remain closed for long.

Borreggine and family look to fill what they see as a gap in the area's culinary offerings. Within four weeks of closing, maybe six weeks at the outside, a renamed and refocused restaurant will open at the same location.

"It's going to be called Scratch Italian Kitchen and Bar," Borreggine told The Post and Courier. "All of our own pasta will be made in house, and the restaurant will have a coastal Italian influence with light and bright flavors."

Most of the work required for the transition will be cosmetic, which will facilitate the relatively quick change over.

Beaufort County News

A native of Delaware, Borreggine has had a lot of success in the restaurant industry since moving to the Lowcountry in 2000. He opened Panini's on the Waterfront on Bay Street in Beaufort and ran it for 11 years before selling it to open Fat Patties in 2012. A second Fat Patties location opened in Bluffton in 2015. It was sold six years later. Following its sale, Borreggine opened Shellring Ale Works in Port Royal in 2022. Last year, he acquired the locally beloved Alvin Ord's Sandwich Shop on Ribault Road.

In some respects, Borreggine became a victim of his own success. Almost immediately after opening Shellring along Battery Creek, he realized it was taking a bite out of Fat Patties' business.

"By the time we got Shellring opened, we cannibalized ourselves at Fat Patties," Borreggine said. "We lost a good bit of business the week Shellring opened."

Over time, some of the business at Fat Patties bounced back, but not all of it. Closing, Borreggine expects, will improve business at Shellring as both restaurants catered to the beer and burgers crowd.

HILTON HEAD ISLAND — A man found dead beneath a Sea Pines home the morning of Aug. 26 is believed to be a vacationer who went missing 10 days earlier.

Law enforcement officials and the county coroner were working to identify the man but he is believed to be Stanley Kotowski, according to a Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office press release.

Investigators were called to a Sea Pines residence at 11:30 a.m. and recovered the body from beneath the home around 3:30 p.m.

An autopsy will be conducted Aug. 27 to determine the man’s identity and cause of death.

A search party for Kotowski was canceled minutes before it was set to begin at 1 p.m. on Aug. 26. An organizer relayed the news to a crowd of about 40 people who had gathered at the Salty Dog restaurant in Sea Pines to assist with the effort.

Beaufort County Politics

The organizer, Andi Gudgeon, said she received a call shortly before the search was scheduled to begin informing her of the cancelation, but she was unsure of the reason.

Ten days before, around 10:30 a.m. on Aug.16, Kotowski inexplicably walked barefoot out the front door of his family’s vacation home at 226 South Sea Pines Drive and wandered away.

Kotowski’s family filed a report with the sheriff’s office a few hours later, but the 60-year-old hasn’t been seen since.

Jackie Kotowski told investigators her husband had displayed paranoia since the family arrived at the vacation rental. According to the report, he believed Sea Pines was a “set up,” that people there were out to get him and that they were “watching him.”

She also told deputies Kotowski wasn’t suicidal but before he left, Kotowski told her: “Promise me you will go on without me.”

The 60-year-old does not have dementia, but has history of paranoia, insomnia, anxiety and high blood pressure, according to the report. He was last seen wearing a gray Coors Light shirt and dark blue/gray Columbia shorts. He’s not believed to have a phone, wallet or driver’s license on him.

No phones in Beaufort Co. classrooms beginning this year. What we know for students and teachers

Following a growing national academic trend, time is up for cell phones in classrooms in Beaufort County schools.As students return to class this semester, they will be greeted by a new decision prohibiting student use of cell phones during school hours. Teachers will start enforcing the policy on the first day of school.The only exception to the rule allows high school students to use their phones during their lunch period. When phones aren’t being used they must be “turned off and stored in a locker, pocket, purse...

Following a growing national academic trend, time is up for cell phones in classrooms in Beaufort County schools.

As students return to class this semester, they will be greeted by a new decision prohibiting student use of cell phones during school hours. Teachers will start enforcing the policy on the first day of school.

The only exception to the rule allows high school students to use their phones during their lunch period. When phones aren’t being used they must be “turned off and stored in a locker, pocket, purse, backpack, or other non-visible location,” according to the policy.

The ban comes as the South Carolina Board of Education is writing a policy to be adopted statewide by public school districts. It is unclear when the state will come out with its policy; but when it does, districts must follow it to continue to receive state funds. The state policy could be more or less strict than Beaufort County’s rules.

Until then Beaufort County will operate on the regulation put out last month, which Superintendent Frank Rodriguez created after the school board directed him to research and create guidelines in May.

“One way or the other, cell phones are out,” Board Member Ingrid Boatright said.

Last year, Florida required public schools to ban student cellphone use during class time, making it the first state to implement a ban. This year, at least eight other states have considered passing similar legislation, according to USA Today.

A district survey showed that the community largely supported the measure. Out of 2,300 parents, students, community members and staff, 74% supported limitations on cell phones during school.

The guidelines are broken up into rules for non-district-issued:

Personal electronic devices, meaning computers, tablets, e-readers, video game systems, digital cameras and other devices capable of sending, storing or recording information and data.

Personal communication devices, meaning cell phones, smart watches or any other device that can emit a signal or communicate to another.

It is also broken up into rules for elementary and middle school students, and high school students.

Elementary and middle school students can’t use either type of device during class or lunch. They can use their devices before and after school.

High school students can’t use either device during class, They can use both devices before and after school. They can only use personal communication devices, such as a cell phone, during lunch.

The Island Packet has scheduled a meeting with Superintendent Rodriguez next week to get more details about this new policy. Please send any questions you have to mdimitrov@islandpacket.com and look for answers in the story that follows.

The Island Packet

(843) 940-8964

Mary Dimitrov is the Hilton Head Island and real estate reporter for The Island Packet and The Beaufort Gazette. A Maryland native, she has spent time reporting in Maryland and the U.S. Senate for McClatchy’s Fort Worth Star-Telegram. She won numerous South Carolina Press Association awards, including honors in education beat reporting, growth and development beat reporting, investigative reporting and more.

Why Ohioans love Hilton Head (and Beaufort) so much

We love our Ohio friends and constantly joke about them on our social media. If you are unaware as to why we do this, well, we certainly didn’t start it. The folks at Island Communications over on Hilton Head actually started it with an article many years ago, and they published it to let folks know why they’ll see Ohio everywhere, and the history behind it all.So let’s look at the real reason as to why Ohioans love Hilton Head, ...

We love our Ohio friends and constantly joke about them on our social media. If you are unaware as to why we do this, well, we certainly didn’t start it. The folks at Island Communications over on Hilton Head actually started it with an article many years ago, and they published it to let folks know why they’ll see Ohio everywhere, and the history behind it all.

So let’s look at the real reason as to why Ohioans love Hilton Head, and the rest of Beaufort County, and why “you will see Ohio license plates even in your sleep.”

If you live here, you know the old jokes. There are more Ohio license plates than there are South Carolina plates. Ohioans in packed minivans going 15 miles an hour down 278 (and 21). And, you’ve heard that Hilton Head is actually “Southern Ohio.”

It’s popular for Clevelanders, Columbusers, Cincinnatians, Akronites and Toledoans, and, well just about everyone from the Buckeye State.

So, what’s the deal? Why do Ohioans love Hilton Head Island (and the rest of Beaufort County)?

We’ll have to relive some Hilton Head history, starting with Charles Fraser.

Fraser was an American real estate developer whose vision helped transform South Carolina’s Hilton Head Island from a sparsely populated sea island into a world-class resort.

He developed the land that eventually became Sea Pines, creating a groundbreaking style of real estate development. Fraser built with a reverence and respect for the natural environment.

Back in the 1970s, Charles Fraser asked his Sea Pines marketing team come up with a strategy to target landlocked states.

The idea was to spread the word to states like Ohio to see how beautiful Hilton Head is. The marketing team wanted people to come here on vacation and ultimately buy real estate.

It was called “the Ohio Strategy.”

The Sea Pines’ crew knew Ohioans were looking for quality beaches that were easily accessible by Interstate highways. So, they ran an influx of advertisements in Cincinnati, Columbus, Cleveland and Toledo.

It worked, and families started coming in droves during the summer.

And every summer, the legacy lives on

Buckeyes pack the beaches, restaurants, shops and villas. Generations of Ohio families make their yearly pilgrimage to golf, bike and beach and boat. It is easy to get to (Beaufort County). From Ohio, it is a straight 10-12 hour drive down I-77.

Although long-time locals joke about the annual Buckeye invasion, Hilton Head Island (and the rest of Beaufort County) gladly welcome it.

Ohioans are important to our economy, as a tourism is our number one income. Tourist shops offer Buckeye Beach Bum T-shirts and stickers. And Salty Dog gear flies off the shelves, bought by vacationers to take home with them. Not to mention, they take home memories of their week in paradise.

Originally published by Island Communications at HiltonHeadIsland.com and republished with permission by ExploreBeaufortSC.com

The 68th Annual Beaufort Water Festival: All you need to know

Beaufort’s premiere summer event, the 10 day 68th Annual Beaufort Water Festival, kicks off this Friday evening, July 12th, at Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park in downtown Beaufort bringing our summertime celebration of Lowcountry culture that locals wouldn’t miss for the world and that has tens of thousands of visitors making a special trip to experience each year.Now in its 68th year, the Beaufort Water Festival brings family friendly activities, sporting events, daily & nightly concerts, kid’s fun, fireworks ...

Beaufort’s premiere summer event, the 10 day 68th Annual Beaufort Water Festival, kicks off this Friday evening, July 12th, at Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park in downtown Beaufort bringing our summertime celebration of Lowcountry culture that locals wouldn’t miss for the world and that has tens of thousands of visitors making a special trip to experience each year.

Now in its 68th year, the Beaufort Water Festival brings family friendly activities, sporting events, daily & nightly concerts, kid’s fun, fireworks displays and lots more.

If you like dancing, live music, touring shrimp boats, enjoying huge parades or even having dinner surrounded by the entire community, the Annual Beaufort Water Festival has been a can’t-miss event for hundreds of thousands of folks over the decades. There’s even an arts & crafts market that runs every day for your shopping pleasure, and a sponsor’s expo so you can meet some of the local businesses who have helped make this year’s Water Festival happen.

Tickets are available for online purchase only. Visit this link for your tickets and info.

If you’re heading downtown, and we know you will be, parking can sometimes be hard to find so the Water Festival provides a free shuttle from Beaufort Town Center to the downtown waterfront. Here’s a link to the shuttle information, and link to view available downtown Beaufort parking.

If you’re looking for an official Annual Beaufort Water Festival t-shirt, you can find the t-shirt booth set up along the marina in the vendor market. They’ll have every size and color that you could want, and then some.

Also, please make sure that you dress for the weather. With average temperatures in the mid-90s and the humidity making it feel even hotter, it’s best that you dress lightly, and bring both sunscreen and an umbrella. The umbrella may be necessary because we tend to get a stray thunderstorm on hot July days here in the Lowcountry. If the sky opens up, you’ll be happy that you brought it. Take it from us, we know from experience.

Please note that some of the events come with a few rules about your attendance and what you can and cannot bring with you, and that pets are always a no-no.

Before entering a Beaufort Water Festival performance or event, you may be subject to a search of your person, and/or your items. Please arrive at the venue no less than 20 minutes prior to performance time to ensure you can clear security checks prior to the event starting.

This year, the Beaufort Water Festival has implemented a clear-bag policy for all ticketed events. Visit this link to get the info on the new policy and to find out what are are allowed, and are not allowed, to bring.

Remember, there will be a whole lot of people in downtown. Please be kind and patient, and enjoy yourselves while making memories of your summer fun in Beaufort, SC.

Please note that some events are adult only, and most events come with a few rules about your attendance and what you can and cannot bring with you.

If you plan to attend the festival, here’s the full schedule of events. It’s best to come early, as downtown Beaufort can fill up pretty fast.

Castles are the Marine Corps Air Station’s latest defense tactic. It’s not what you think

Embattled by threatening sea level rise and erosion, nature-based protections for areas near the Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort are forming as part of a $6.8 million push to protect South Carolina’s coast.The armor comes in the form of interlocking concrete squares with open tops and bottoms that, when puzzled and stacked atop one another, create lines parallel to the shore that become living shoreline reefs. They’re called oyster-castle living shorelines.The environmentally conscious cobbled reef is what the Dep...

Embattled by threatening sea level rise and erosion, nature-based protections for areas near the Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort are forming as part of a $6.8 million push to protect South Carolina’s coast.

The armor comes in the form of interlocking concrete squares with open tops and bottoms that, when puzzled and stacked atop one another, create lines parallel to the shore that become living shoreline reefs. They’re called oyster-castle living shorelines.

The environmentally conscious cobbled reef is what the Department of Defense, The Nature Conservancy and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration say will protect parts of the air base that are already experiencing rapid erosion and flooding issues, which are only expected to worsen.

For part of the air base, at Laurel Bay on the Broad River, the planned 2,000-foot oyster-castle living shoreline will be the first line of defense against storm surge, erosion and flooding. Since the spring, volunteers have built about 20% of the structure.

Living shorelines are “a win-win for everybody,” said Gary Herndon, the air station’s natural and cultural resources manager. “For people, the shoreline, and nature in general. It’s better than hardening the shoreline.”

And it’s due time for this type of long-term solution.

Scientists’ flooding and sea level rise predictions paint a grim future for MCAS Beaufort if it doesn’t intervene.

The Union of Concerned Scientists says in a high-scenario, flood-prone areas within the base’s 6,900 acres could experience tidal flooding more than 300 times a year by 2050. In the worst-case scenario, a Category 4 hurricane would bring 6 feet of sea level rise and maybe double the area exposed to flood depths of 20 feet or more by 2100, the nonprofit organization reported.

Herndon previously told The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette that being responsible stewards of the land meant addressing current erosion and future projections by working with Mother Nature.

When Herndon and Joy Brown, then-resilient communities program director for The Nature Conservancy, connected in 2022, Brown was working to nab a NOAA grant for living shorelines. Herndon said he knew just the place for it.

Along the Broad River at Laurel Bay, erosion had exposed tree roots, causing the trunks to topple over and die. The particular stretch is near the military housing units. If no action were taken, erosion would eat away at the shoreline and eventually affect properties and community spaces behind it over time, said Nicole Pehl, the Conservancy’s marine conservation coordinator.

In July 2023, NOAA awarded the Conservancy $6.8 million for South Carolina coastal resilience and habitat restoration projects, and a chunk of the funding was funneled into the oyster-castle living shoreline at MCAS Beaufort. The other money is intended to help low-income landowners implement living shorelines on their South Carolina properties.

Nearly a year since getting the grant, the Conservancy has spent $168,895 on 20,930 castles, Pehl said. It’s half of what’s needed to complete the project. They initially budgeted $250,695 for the concrete castles, but because of rising shipping costs, the price of the four-walled blocks has increased significantly.

The Conservancy plans to complete the entire 2,000-foot reef despite likely needing to increase its budget to purchase the remaining castles.

The structure is ideal for the stretch’s conditions, with its gently sloping shoreline, firm sediment and higher salinity, Pehl said. Oyster castles are an environmentally conscious and largely advantageous solution as compared to contentious erosion control structures like sea walls.

When the sandy gray oyster castles are deployed along shorelines, oyster larvae attach to them and grow all while helping reduce wave energy and erosion along the shoreline. Building and placing living shorelines keep the water clean, build up salt marshes, promote vegetation growth, create wildlife habitats and support important local resources, such as the commercial fishing industry.

“We’ve had a lot of success with them in the past,” Pehl said. “They’re good for a variety of energy levels, and there’s a big amount of energy out there, so they shouldn’t move around because they are heavy.”

Two weeks after laying part of the living shoreline, visible sediment had already piled up behind the structure.

“It’s been cool to be able to see so fast that there’s a difference,” Pehl said.

Projected to complete 1,000 feet of the project in 2024, there’s still about 575 feet of heavy lifting to reach that goal.

On Tuesday, an active duty-only team of 80 people built about 75 feet of project in 2.5 hours, while dodging rising tides. The previous volunteer builds were open to the entire community.

MCAS Beaufort isn’t the only military base embracing natural solutions in low-lying areas and needing a helping hand.

In December 2022, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation awarded nearly $1.2 million from its National Coastal Resilience Fund to Parris Island Marine Corps Recruit Depot and partner organizations to install more than 4,500 wire oyster reefs to cover nearly two acres in Beaufort. Currently, there are two volunteer opportunities to help build those reefs, on July 18 and Aug. 2.

Once the blistering summer heat dissipates, Herndon said they plan to get volunteers back out to the site, battling the tides to lay more oyster castles.

This story was originally published July 4, 2024, 9:33 AM.

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