by Amy O. Maxwell, NRCS, Communications and Marketing Specialist

Cypress Bay Plantation in Hampton County is home to many species of wildlife including deer, quail, turkey and ducks. Owned by Skeet and Gail Burris, the plantation serves as a tree farm consisting of over 1,000 acres and managed intensively for wildlife. The Burris family, which includes four sons, illustrates an outstanding conservation ethic each and every day. From watershed and soil protection to conserving and enhancing of wildlife habitat, they have made partnerships with numerous wildlife organizations in their quest to diversify their plantation. Their partnership with the Hampton NRCS office and the Lowcountry RC&D offices has resulted in a successful venture to protect wildlife habitat through the POWER (Protecting Our Wildlife at Every Right-of-Way) for Wildlife program. POWER for Wildlife offers landowners technical and financial assistance to create and maintain wildlife habitat beneath electrical transmission lines. The program is a statewide partnership effort administered by the SC RC&D Council and funded by electric power companies and electric cooperatives.

Cypress Bay Plantation has 64 acres of power line rights-of-way. South Carolina Electric and Gas (SCE&G) and Santee Cooper both have power lines that run through the Burris plantation. Lowcountry RC&D Coordinator Steve Edwards and NRCS District Conservationist Walter Earley worked with the Burris family to create ideal wildlife habitats on their rights-of-way. This included managing native vegetation, planting bi-color lespedeza, small grains, and corn, and maintaining adjacent forested areas by thinning and prescribed burning. Also, berms (mounds of dirt) were constructed to restrict view of the rights-of-way from the road and deter unauthorized hunting.

Edwards praised the family for their remarkable conservation efforts saying, "The entire family is dedicated to conservation and they do a great job on their land as well as promoting the importance of conservation to others." In fact, Skeet Burris has promoted the benefits of the POWER program across the country, including presentations made at Yale University’s Forest Forum, Clemson University, the National Tree Farm Program in Montana, and closer to home in tours of his plantation for groups including the Master Tree Farmers and Ducks Unlimited. Tree farmers and wildlife managers from all over the country visit the plantation to witness first-hand the conservation successes that the Burris family have accomplished. Most recently, the Burris family was named the National Tree Farm Family of the Year.

The POWER for Wildlife program has enabled the Burris family to continue wildlife habitat improvement on their plantation and Skeet Burris is a firm believer in the benefits of the program. "The POWER for Wildlife program is a perfect match for our tree farm which we were already managing for wildlife. It is a flexible program that benefits both landowners and the wildlife that will live off the new and improved habitat," he said.

POWER for Wildlife program recipients have a five-year minimum obligation to follow wildlife practices outlined in a management plan which is developed by the landowner and specialists from NRCS, South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR), and other agencies. Recipients receive up to a maximum of $1,000 over a five-year period. For more information on this program, contact Steve Edwards at (843)549-5596.