REVIEW: The ACE Basin: A Lowcountry Legacy

Nonfiction by Pete Laurie

The ACE Basin: A Lowcountry Legacy is a beautiful book. It’s perfect for anyone who wants to understand the importance of conservationists and governments working together to protect a wholly special place that stretches from the southern end of Charleston County through Beaufort County. With vivid color photographs by Phillip Jones, Laurie’s book explains the history since 1988 behind conserving more than 200,000 acres in the confluence of the Ashepoo, Combahee and Edisto rivers through purchases of large tracts of land plus dozens of conservation easements by nature-loving landowners. Today — and for generations of South Carolinians in the future — the ACE Basin will serve as a living reminder of the diversity of nature habitats for birds, fish, mammals, insects and hundreds of species of plants. We love how the book also features the habitats in different seasons, which helps one to understand the changing annual dynamic of the important marshes and maritime forests. Hats off to Laurie, a veteran nature writer from Johns Island, for pulling together this compelling, interesting work that deepens our love for the ACE Basin — and gives us good reasons to love it even more. (The Ace Basin, $21.99, The History Press. Published Sept. 28, 2015. More online.) — Reviewed by Andy Brack.

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