The lighthouse has weathered storms, wars and lack of funding because South Carolinians want their children and grandchildren to see this important historic building and the surrounding view.
Lack of repairs to the lighthouse, however, reflects the general problem with the park. It needs "tender loving care" on a regular basis. "It's probably better than new," park manager Ray Stevens told a reporter this week. While the lighthouse suffered from many hundreds of visitors a day, the park suffers from a heavier use. More than a million people visit the park each year, according to park data.
The park and the lighthouse are a major tourist attraction. The park, as well, has the only public beach access on the Atlantic Ocean in northern Beaufort County. The beach is eroding at a rapid rate each year, yet the governor and the federal government are poised to renege on nourishing sand for Hunting Island and other state beaches, which prime the state's $15 billion tourism industry.
In his executive budget released a few months ago, Gov. Mark Sanford recommended that the state withhold additional funding for the park's four miles of beach beyond a previously allocated $9 million. Last year, Sanford vetoed $5 million in the state budget for the project, only to be overridden within days by both the House and Senate.
Sanford thinks that spending money on sand to nourish beaches is a waste in a state that has more pressing needs. Establishing priorities and spending on necessary services is his theme again this year.
But the state's beaches, including the one at Hunting Island State Park, are an economic resource. According to an Associated Press story last month, more than 120,000 jobs in South Carolina are directly tied to the tourist trade. More than 1.2 million people visited the Hunting Island State Park in 2003, bringing in $2.1 million in revenue for the state Parks, Recreation and Tourism Department.
Last year this newspaper opined that the park needed much work. Accelerating erosion in the middle of the island is causing alarm. When the first nourishment was done at the park in 1979, about 150 feet of beach were available at high tide. Today no beach exists at high tide, and the tide rips away trees and high ground each year.
Hunting Island State Park needs a permanent stream of funds to preserve the beach and rebuild facilities that the ocean has washed away. A way to get the money is a surcharge that could be dedicated to replenishing the sand and restoring buildings. If each of the million visitors a year paid a 50-cent surcharge dedicated to Hunting Island State Park, the state would have a considerable stream of money to rebuild the beach.
When the governor discusses the efficient use of state money, he should remind lawmakers and agency heads that the public often is willing to help fund those items that they want.
When something threatens a $15 billion cash cow, $ 2.1 million of which comes from a state park, drastic action is needed. Edisto and Folly beaches need a remedy, as well, but at Hunting Island a simple surcharge that stays at the park may be the necessary component.