Join us at the historic John Stuart House on 10/14

Dear Friend:

The Coastal Conservation League is launching an ambitious fundraising campaign, and I’d like to share a bit about why I believe this is the most important effort this community is undertaking right now, and to invite you to learn more.

America has changed a lot since I was a boy. Here in the Lowcountry, like you, I have watched these woods, marshes, and creeks steadily disappear, and it makes me think a lot about what kind of place I will hand off to my children. Mind you, I love my country, but growth and development in America often looks pretty shabby. The only American communities that have preserved what they’ve got have fought for it.

I know I may be romantic about the place, but I am realistic about the threats. And whether it is a turnpike for Kiawah, oil wells off Folly Beach, 2000 homes here or 4000 there, let’s just acknowledge that, but for the Conservation League, this beautiful place gets trampled. And turned into a parking lot.

I believe the preservation of this place is truly noble work; work that benefits ourselves a bit, but our descendants tenfold. That is why I have thrown in with Dana and the League. This team shares my romance for those last wild places, thinks them essential to their own lives, and has devoted themselves to saving them. We have, in the Conservation League, this impassioned, powerful organization that shares a deep commitment to protecting all the vital but vulnerable things that fill our landscapes and make our life here so rich.

The Conservation League has come a long way, and it has never been better organized, better led, and more respected. Indeed, the Conservation League now is one of the most powerful advocacy groups in the nation and is the only group in the region doing this important work. It’s all we’ve got: The lone Dutch boy with his finger in the dike while the waters rise. We need to do more—and more effective—work to protect and conserve the treasures of the Lowcountry.