Winyah Rivers Foundation, Inc.

Mission Statement

Our mission is to protect, preserve, monitor and revitalize the health of the lands and waters of the greater Winyah Bay watershed, focusing on local activism through the Waccamaw RIVERKEEPER® program.

We are a grassroots organization of people from both North and South Carolina who are convinced that the preservation of our local rivers and their watersheds would best be served by hiring advocates to guard these waters from further harm.

The Foundation is supported through membership, donations, fundraisers and grants. Join the Winyah Rivers Foundation now to help us preserve this valuable resource!

Winyah Rivers Foundation services the following rivers in the great watershed that empties into Winyah Bay at Georgetown, South Carolina:

• Waccamaw River Subbasin
• Coastal Subbasin
• Lumber River Subbasin
• Little Pee Dee River Subbasin
• Lower Pee Dee River Subbasin
• Lynches River Subbasin
• Black River Subbasin
• Sampit River

Statement of Service

In serving this mission, the Foundation seeks to ensure that the land and water uses in the watershed support a high quality of life for all human and natural uses. The Foundation intends to hire and fund "Keepers" for the waters of the Winyah Watershed. Clean water is a vital essential for a healthy human and wildlife habitat. The Foundation will engage in researching, teaching and promoting the use of preventive and restorative measures. It makes no sense to foul our waters and then have to clean them up. Future generations depend on our wise use of land and water.

Initial Focus

The Foundation hired the first Waccamaw RIVERKEEPER® in 2002. Hamp Shuping served in this capacity until August of 2006. Christine Ellis now holds this position, which focuses on promoting the ecological, social and economic health and integrity of the Waccamaw River and its watershed, from its headwaters around Lake Waccamaw in North Carolina to Winyah Bay in South Carolina.

The Foundation is made up of a Board of Directors, comprising a President, Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer as well as members-at-large, that govern and oversee the activities of staff of the Waccamaw RIVERKEEPER® Program. Want to learn more? Click for Board Member Responsibilities. Click for Board Application.

Current Winyah Rivers Foundation Officers and Directors

Officers:

Richard Moore of Conway, SC, President

Richard earned a BA degree in General Biology from Vanderbilt University and Masters and Ph.D. degrees in Zoology from the University of Texas at Austin. He is currently Professor of Biology and Assistant Vice President of Grants and Sponsored Research at Coastal Carolina University where has been a member of the faculty since 1974. He is a founding member of the Waccamaw Audubon Society of which he currently is the Treasurer and Newsletter editor. He has also served as President and on the Board of Directors of that organization. He is the author of numerous scientific papers, chapters and books on fishes, aquatic biology and zoology.

David Scott of Lake Waccamaw, NC, Vice President

David has a BS in Wildlife Biology. He is a retired business owner and a lifelong environmentalist, sailor, paddler, and camper. He is interested in spiritualism as it relates to the religion ⁄ environment interface. David is cofounder, with wife Donna, of the Lumber River Basin Committee, a local environmental group that succeeded in getting the Lumber River designated National Wild and Scenic and later established a NC State Park. The group is a past recipient of the NC Wildlife Federation and Mid-Atlantic Country Magazine’s Conservation Group of the Year awards.

Reggie Daves of Conway, SC, Secretary

Reg is a retired obstetrician-gynecologist. He received his undergraduate degree in biology from the University of the South. He is an active member of the Waccamaw Audubon Society and the Carolina Nature Photographers Association. He lives on the Waccamaw River near Conway and can be seen canoeing, boating and taking photographs around the watershed.

John Horton of Conway, SC, Treasurer

Stay tuned for an updated bio.

Directors:

James Battle of Conway, SC

Since he can remember, James has enjoyed canoeing and fishing the local rivers in Horry County. As a teenager, he convinced his parents to buy a canoe, which he subsequently used to take his family on extended paddling excursions. And although these same family members are wary of signing up for one of James’ canoe trips, he still believes paddling is the best way to see the local wildlife and hopefully find some adventure. James is an attorney at Battle, Vaught & Howe, P.A. in Conway.

Jobie Dixon of Georgetown, SC

Jodie is President of Visioning, a consultant firm, book author and radio host on Voice America Radio. You can see bio at www.jobiedixon.com website. He was previously President of the Georgetown County Visitors Bureau and a board member for 6 years on Georgetown County Cultural Council.

Walt Frank of Georgetown, SC

Walt grew up far from any waterways amidst the corn fields of central Illinois. After obtaining his undergraduate degree in Biology from Southern Methodist University, and a MD from the University of Illinois at Chicago, he started his career and now works as an Urologist and resides on the Waccamaw River at Pawleys Island. An enthusiastic advocate for water quality and wildlife management, Walt spends his time hunting, fishing, and boating with his family on the River.

Richard Goldberg of Pawley's Island, SC

Richard is employed by Coastal Carolina University as a Research Vessel Captain as well as an instructor in the Marine Science Department teaching Seamanship and Navigation. Prior to working at CCU he owned and operated Island Queen Inc. which was a ninety passenger river boat that operated up and down the Waccamaw and it's tributaries, and during that time also ran barges and tugboats in and out of the area for Pirrelli Cable Corp.

Lucy Griffiths of Conway, SC

Lucy has lived in Conway for over thirty years and has always been interested in the quality of the river system. She supposes the interest might stem from having spent so many of her summers in a tent beside a river in West Virginia. Now retired from teaching, she has time to be one of the guardians for the river. When she first came to the area her first observations was that Conway had its back turned to the river in more than just a physical way. "No one seemed to be caring for our most significant, and certainly our most beautiful, natural resource". She is delighted that times have changed, and wants’ to be a force in the Waccamaws safekeeping.

Robert Mimms of Pawley's Island, SC

Bob is a local businessman and the proprietor of the Litchfield Beach Fish House in Litchfield Beach. He is a long time advocate for protection of our local waterways and enjoys the recreational benefits they afford. Bob has been a long time supporter of Winyah Rivers Foundation. We are grateful for his support in sponsoring our River Roast South fundraising event at Kimbel Lodge at Hobcaw Barony. Bob was recently elected to the State Museum Foundation Board. He said he was elected due to his statement that he had no outstanding warrants! This is good to know, Bob!

Robert Moran of Pawley's Island, SC

Bob is an attorney in Pawley's Island practicing as Robert J. Moran, P.A. He has practiced in Georgetown County since 1978. He has served on the Boards of Georgetown County Visitor's Bureau, the Pawley's Island Litchfield Business Association, the Georgetown County Land Bank Commission, the Winyah Group of the Sierra Club, the Georgetown County Environmental Protection Society, and is a trust protector of the Frances P. Bunnelle Foundation. Bob is a returning member of the Winyah Rivers Foundation Board of Directors.

Mark Ousley of Myrtle Beach, SC

Mark moved to Myrtle Beach in 1983 from Charlotte, NC. He graduated from Appalachian State University with a degree in Business Management. Mark joined Allstate Insurance Company in 1987 and owned and managed an Allstate Agency from 1990 through 2007. After the sale of his business he worked with First Citizens Bank for two years. Mark joined FSA/Full Steam Ahead as a partner on January 1st of this year. Mark is married to Teri and they have five children and five grandchildren.

Becky Westbrooks of Chadbourn, NC

Becky attended Austin Peay State University earning a B.S. in Biology and Chemistry in 1974. She earned her M.S. in Biology/ Botany at the University of South Carolina in 1990. She has taught in several sciences in public schools in Tennessee, Kentucky, S.C. and N.C. Becky currently teaches at Southeastern Community College in Whiteville, N.C., where she developed the Environmental Science Technical Program and the Agricultural Biotechnology Program. She is also the lead faculty for the Natural Resource Area on campus and is the keeper of the Nature Trail on campus. She and husband Randy have two sons. Her leisure time is spent kayaking the local rivers, attending environmental organization meetings, reading, botanical illustration, gardening, promoting native plants, and spending time with her family.

 

Scientific Advisory Board

The Winyah Rivers Foundation is most fortunate to have four well-known and respected scientists who are intimately familiar with the Waccamaw River.

Dr. Dennis M. Allen, Research Professor, University of South Carolina's Baruch Institute and Marine Science Program

Dr. Allen is a Research Professor in the Baruch Institute and Marine Science Program at the University of South Carolina. He has been Director of the Baruch Marine Field Laboratory–USC in Georgetown since 1978. He received his graduate degrees from Lehigh University (PA). Dr. Allen’s broad research interests are in the dynamics of estuarine and coastal systems. He has studied short- and long-term responses of estuaries to natural disturbances and has focused most of his field studies on fishes, shrimps, and zooplankton in the salt marshes and waterways of North Inlet and Winyah Bay. Promoting the role of scientific knowledge in coastal decision making and advancing the effectiveness of environmental education are among Dr. Allen’s top priorities. He is the past president of the Estuarine Research Federation, the primary international association of estuarine scientists.

Dr. William Conner, Professor of Forestry and Assistant Director, Clemson's Baruch Institute of Coastal Ecology and Forest Science, Georgetown, SC

Dr. Conner is a Forested Wetlands Ecologist and has worked in forested wetland systems for over 35 years. He has developed a worldwide reputation in the ecology of these systems. He has published over 100 journal articles and co-wrote and edited 2 textbooks entitled “Southern Forested Wetland Ecology and Management” and “ Ecology of Tidal Freshwater Forests of the Southeastern United States.” In addition to acting as a Technical Advisor for Winyah Rivers Foundation, he serves on the Scientific Advisory Board of Little Leaf Louisiana, an ecological restoration non-profit in Louisiana. In 2007 he was selected as a Fellow in the Society of Wetland Scientists in recognition of his contributions to the study of wetlands and his service to the organization.

Dr. Susan Libes, Professor of Marine Science, Director of the Waccamaw Watershed Academy at Coastal Carolina University, Conway, SC

Dr. Libes is the founding director of CCU's Waccamaw Watershed Academy, located within the Burroughs & Chapin Center for Marine and Wetland Studies. She holds a PhD in chemical oceanography from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology/Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Joint Program in Oceanography and Ocean Engineering. She has been a member of the chemistry and marine science departments at Coastal Carolina University since 1983. As the director of the Waccamaw Watershed Academy, she engages in research, teaching and public outreach to meet regional needs for protecting water quality in the rivers and coastal waters of Horry and Georgetown counties. The Academy houses a state-certified environmental quality lab which supports regional needs for water quality assessment and monitoring including volunteer monitoring in the Waccamaw River and Murrells Inlet. She is also a founding member of the Coastal Waccamaw Stormwater Education Consortium whose mission is to help the SMS4s in the Myrtle Beach Urbanized Area meet NPDES Phase II Stormwater program requirements for public education and public involvement.

Dr. Stan Riggs, Distinguished Professor of Geology, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC

Dr. Riggs’ specific fields of research and teaching have included sedimentation, stratigraphy, coastal and marine geology of continental margins, environmental geology, sedimentary mineral deposits and economic geology. Most relevant to the Waccamaw River is his research on the origin, evolutionary development and dynamics of coastal plain riverine and pocosin wetland systems. Dr. Riggs is known throughout the Carolinas for his work on the Waccamaw. The report of his five-year study with Ames, Brant and Sager was published in September of 2000. It is entitled The Waccamaw Drainage System: Geology and Dynamics of a Coastal Wetland, Southeastern North Carolina.