Hilton Head Audubon to Begin Habitat Restoration Project at Audubon Newhall Preserve

Hilton Head Audubon is beginning a habitat restoration project at Audubon Newhall Preserve, 55 Palmetto Bay Road, to support native plants and wildlife and give visitors more ways to experience Lowcountry nature.

Work will start this November and continue through early December, weather permitting. Crews will first prepare the existing entrance for equipment access, then thin and remove trees. Prescribed burns, coordinated with Hilton Head Island Fire Rescue, are planned for this winter after the tree work is complete. The preserve will remain open for its regularly scheduled free guided tours throughout the project. It will close only during tree cutting and cleanup, prescribed burns, or other times when conditions are unsafe for the public.

The preserve includes pine woodlands, hardwood forests, and wetlands, and the project is designed to help each of these habitats thrive. Opening parts of the dense canopy will let more sunlight reach the forest floor, encouraging native grasses and flowering plants that provide food and shelter for wildlife. Higher, drier areas will be managed as more open pine and grassland habitat, while lower, wetter areas will keep their hardwood trees and shrubs. The work will also reduce built-up vegetation that can fuel wildfires.

Once the project is complete, visitors will notice a changed landscape. New interconnected walking trails will offer more ways to explore the different habitats and will also serve as firebreaks and maintenance access routes. Existing gardens, benches, signs and memorials near the main entrance will be protected.

Hilton Head Audubon, which owns and operates the preserve, has posted project information in the Newhall Land Management Project section of HiltonHeadAudubon.org.

Throughout the project, the organization has provided and will continue to provide regular updates to the public and to the neighboring Sea Pines community by email, on its website and through media outlets, social media channels and newsletters.

Questions can be emailed to Kelly Spinella, Communications and marketing director for the Town of Hilton Head Island, at KellyS@hiltonheadislandsc.gov.