National Geographic Open Explorer South Carolina Waters Expedition #4--Congaree State Park And Synchronous Fireflies

Nestled between the Congaree and Wateree Rivers is a cherished and protected piece of Palmetto State landscape consisting of 27,000 acres called the Congaree National Park. Over 20,000 acres of the floodplain park is federally designated wilderness. Thanks to the efforts of Harry Hampton and a grass-roots campaign, this tract of land survived the voracious appetite of the lumber industry that swept through the Santee River area.

Congaree National Park preserves the largest tract of old growth bottomland hardwood forest left in the United States. It has the distinction of having one of the highest temperate deciduous forest canopies remaining in the world and has been crowned the Home of the Champions, also known as the "Redwoods of the East." Boasting the tallest known specimens of 15 species, it is home to the second tallest tree in the East, a loblolly pine standing at 167 feet and the second-tallest common baldcypress reaching a height of 141 feet.

Rightly noted for its tall trees, it is also a very special place for two and a half weeks come the springtime and the natural event that occurs only happens in a few other locations around the country.

While most people will be looking to the heavens to enjoy a nightly lightshow, visitors to Congaree National Park will be looking to the underbrush of the wetlands tall tree canopy for a spectacular nightly lightshow. In the later half of May to early June every year, a special kind of firefly performs an intricate and mesmerizing serenade all for the purpose of finding a mate to ensure their species returns year after year to repeat the phenomenon. The male fireflies of this particular species synchronize their flashing to entice the females in this unusual mating dance.

There are over 125 different fireflies present in North America, and over 2,000 worldwide. I always called them lightning bugs, which is actually a little closer to the truth, designating them as a bug, because they are not flies, but are a type of beetle. There are several species in Congaree National Park, but only one of them is synchronous. It is the species called Photuris frontalis. Mature forests and wet bottomlands are their preferred habitat and the bluff near the park visitor center is their ideal hang out.

Rick Olson and I arrived a day before our team leader, Dave Eslinger. We checked into the park's accommodating Harry Hampton Visitor Center to gather some information and maps, after which we headed out to set up camp in the parks remote campground called the Bluff. It was a mile trek from the Long Leaf campsite.

On the way, we came across a section of the forest where the trees had burn marks on their bark two feet up from the ground. Every once in awhile the park management do controlled burns. There were no facilities or running water at the campsite. It's called roughing it. On the plus side, the Mosquito Meter was at mild. We tested out our survivor skills by making a fire from the hundreds of discarded pine cones and branches strewn across the pine-needled ground, cooked hamburgers, and planned out our next day's activities, which would start with a paddle on one of the park's waterways. We saw fireflies here, but it wasn't the species we came to observe. The terrain was not ideal.

After enjoying a breakfast, we headed to the kayak launch. The marked Cedar Creek Canoe Trail winds approximately 15 miles through the Congaree Wilderness and passes through a primeval old-growth forest of elms, hickories, pines, maples, oaks, common baldcypress and swamp tupelo. The paddle was relaxing and picturesque, but we did not see any of the park's resident wildlife--river otter, deer, turtles, wading birds, and the occasional visiting alligator--except for one snake and the occasional splashing fish.

After the paddle, Dave Eslinger arrived and the expedition team walked the 2.4 mile Boardwalk Loop Trail--an elevated wooden walkway. The boardwalk offered an opportunity to view the different habitats found throughout the park with descriptions and explanations provided on a self guided printed pamphlet. The first half was a low boardwalk leading to Weston Lake-an oxbow lake where we observed turtles bobbing up and down in its murky waters and a large alligator gar cruising just below its top waters. The second half was an elevated boardwalk traversing swampier terrain. Dave got some stunning photos of the wildlife encountered on the walk, which will be posted separately on the South Carolina Waters Expedition site.

After the boardwalk, the main objective of our expedition was now the focus--to view and document the firefly phenomenon. A designated Fireflies Trail was marked along the bluff line, which gave access to prime viewing areas. The fireflies began their enchanting lightshow near sunset and continued until full darkness blanketed the bluff. Adding to the mystical display, the light from the full moon showered down on the thick upper forest canopy casting a white glow along the fringes of their leaves.

Expedition South Carolina Waters Exploring Charleston's Diverse Ecosystem And Habitats--Past And Present

Caressed by the splendor of the rising sun and often threatened by the fury of the Atlantic Ocean, the picturesque and historic city of Charleston presides over her panorama like a queen. Resting on a peninsula cradled by the meandering currents of two merging tidal rivers, the vibrant and diverse downtown cosmopolitan and its welcoming deep water harbor are sheltered and sustained by a chain of barrier islands from Cape Romain to the ACE Basin. Some are inhabited and some are not. Some you can access by car and others only by some form of watercraft. Each of these delicately balanced islands are fringed by pristine, sandy beaches with stands of old, weatherworn oak, palmetto, magnolia and pine trees and linked to the mainland by a maze of verdant saltwater marshes and nutrient rich creeks. All of this natural grandeur makes Charleston a wonderland for water enthusiasts and camera toting naturalists.

Charleston's charismatic character has been molded over a long and illustrious history dating all the way back to the 1600's. Its rise to prominence was greatly influenced by the waters that saturated its diverse coastal topography from the average 5.5 foot saltwater marauder pouring into its estuaries twice a day from the Atlantic Ocean to the freshwater river systems flowing down from the state's upper Sand Hills.

Along its two major waterways, the Ashley and Santee-Cooper, visionaries manipulated their flow to ship goods and build sprawling rice plantations. These islands of affluent aristocracies and commerce would make Charleston the economic powerhouse on the eastern seaboard and a major shipping port, until the crushing affects of the disastrous Civil War squeezed the life out of their once glorious rice domains. Since, these river systems have been manipulated for another use, electricity, particularly the Santee-Cooper with the formation of Lake Moultrie and Lake Marion in 1939.

Today, on and within the Ashley and Santee-Cooper, remnants of a rich history remain for us to explore, absorb, and educate. But not only is it a treasure trove of history, it is an ecosystem filled with natural beauty and abundant wildlife imploring to be seen by all. With this thought in mind, a small group of Summerville resident scientists, photographers, and explorers headed by oceanographer Dave Eslinger are in the planning stages to accomplish this esteemed directive. The Expedition Team is reaching out to local schools and teachers to explore ways to make the accumulated data available for their use to benefit the students in their educational community.

Eslinger's Expedition South Carolina Waters, supported by a grant through the Open Explorer S.E.E. Initiative, have acquired a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) called the Trident to assist in accomplishing the expedition's goals. The Trident will give the expedition team the ability to search and unlock by way of video photography the history and mysteries sealed below Charleston's rich waters. Along with the Trident, information will be acquired with the use of satellite documentation, drones, hand held cameras, and microscopy.

To begin, the expedition will concentrate on the Santee-Cooper waterway and eventually head up the Congaree River to Columbia, a one-time major transporting route which included the Old Santee Canal constructed in 1763--now submerged under Lake Moultrie. We invite you to follow the expedition's progress as the Team shares the imagery and information collected. In the meantime, the Team would appreciate your support by becoming a follower. You can sign up at National Geographic Expeditions South Carolina Waters and click on the FOLLOW tab. There, you can also read Dave Eslinger's bio and more expedition information. Thank you so much for your support and we look forward to sharing and hearing from you.

The Expedition Team: Dave Eslinger, Rick Olson, Adam Stover, Paul Zoeller, Brad Mallett, and myself.