Naturalist Rudy Mancke and his colleagues were aware of the archival legacy provided by the NatureScene programs. Not only would these continue to reach and teach an audience, but they would be a resource that could provide information of ecological importance to his beloved state in the future. This was never truer than in the case of the filming of shows on Bulls Island. When the NatureScene crew first filmed this barrier island in May 1989, they could not have imagined the trauma that would visit the area in September 1989 with the arrival of Hurricane Hugo. Bulls Island took the full brunt of the storm along with a 21-foot storm surge. Six months later in March 1990, the NatureScene crew returned to Bulls Island to assess the damage, which included the decimation of the coastal maritime forest.
For this show, Bulls Island Revisited, Rudy and his team return to the site five years out from the storm to see how nature was healing itself. Rudy and show host Jim Welch roved around sections of the 5,000-acre island and wildlife sanctuary and documented a landscaped stripped of the forest canopy of live oak and loblolly. They were heartened to see the greening of the areas and to note the diversity of the area, even in the face of radical change to the ecosystem. At the time of the visit, spring was in full flush and wildlife was abundant. Among the many species observed, osprey, eagles, and egrets were found nesting in the skeletons of the ravaged trees. Rudy talked about the importance of dikes and impoundments to keep the salt water from invading the freshwater marshes. As Jim and Rudy walked along the ghost beach, Rudy observed that the northern edge of the island was the perfect place to see what a storm can do to a barrier island and added that the erosive force of the tides of the Atlantic Ocean were cutting 25 to 30 feet a year off of Bulls Island.
Upcoming airdates:
9/18 7:00 PM (ETV)
9/21 6:00 PM (SCC)
10/30 2:30 PM (ETVW)
