70 Years of Change along Franklin’s Branch of Little Horse Creek and Some Current Conditions.
by Don Moniak
April 20, 2023
In 2022, the South Carolina State Parks Department (SCSP) contracted the Phase I Environmental Assessment in 2022 for what is tentatively called Misty Lake State Park. An introduction to the new, yet to open 190-acre park was provided this past December in the Aiken Chronicles, and Elizabeth Hustad of the Post and Courier of North Augusta recently provided a good review of the current management situation.
The assessment was part of the due diligence effort by SCSP to insure there were no hidden liabilities. It provides insights into past land ownership, soils, wetlands, and basic vegetation types. It is not an inventory of the flora and fauna. The middle section of Franklin Branch of Little Horse Creek runs through the park, so it is susceptible to upstream activities as well as stormwater runoff from Interstate 20 and Interstate 520.
One of the more interesting features found within the assessment is a series of aerial photos dating back to 1951, which provides perspective into land management activities and the growth in the area.
1951: There are few homes, several larger farms, and Howard’s Pond (lower center) is one of the few reservoirs. There is no interstate highway. There is a hardwood forest with wetlands to the northeast of the pond. Only a portion of that stand, and the stand of trees to the east of the pond, that was a private recreation area before and after the SCEG purchase, will be one of the few areas to not endure much change beyond a maturing of the forest.
1962: A more prominent road can be seen slicing through the northern part of the current boundaries. Some clearings can be seen north of the boundaries.
1971: Interstate 20 appears for the first time. There is a new pond South of Howard’s Pond and to the north of the interstate highway in Upper Franklin’s Branch.
1981: Homes begin to appear off Ridge Road to the northeast, another pond was constructed to the north, and four more appear to the South. The utility right of way appears more prominently, perhaps a sign of more advanced clearing techniques.
2011: The change over a twenty year period is evident. On three sides, subdivisions off Ascauga Lake Road surround the the SCEG retreat area obtained in the early 80’s. Palmetto Place is to the South, Sudlow Crossing to the West.
Two ponds to the South appear muddy, a probable sign of upstream disturbances and heavy rains.
Above the retreat’s recreation area, SCEG had, since 1987, clearcut and replanted much of the northern tract and west of the pond with loblolly pine. A dense young stand is evident around much of the area north of Misty Lake/Howard’s Pond; and west across the pond.
2017: SCEG harvested the plantation area, cutting rows of trees out to leave the rowed look to the north. This area will likely require some forest management in the future to avoid fuel accumulations and bark beetle infestations. Currently it is a stand prone to a decline in upper canopy structure due to high density of the plantation setting.
The west side of the pond appears denser because access was cut off in the 2010’s, in large part due to construction of the I-520 extension into South Carolina, know as the Palmetto Parkway. South Carolina Department of Transportation’s (SCDOT) stormwater design resulted in heavy flooding on some private property east of the route. At least two lawsuits were filed against SCDOT over the reported damages.
The area around this culvert, which was underneath a bridge that accessed the western side of the property, was blown out on Franklin’s Branch; reportedly a part of the impacts from increased stormwater runoff. (photo below, all photos taken in January 2023)
Downstream from the old bridge is a beaver pond that functions in part to filter sediments and any pollution from the interstate and other upstream activities.
The largest tree seen on the properties, this Loblolly Pine measured 38 inches in diameter and was approximately 95-105 feet tall (as I recollect)
Howard’s Pond/Misty Lake looking east across to the old SCEG recreation and picnic area.
The dam was recently reworked and fortified, good news for downstream residents, Lower Franklin’s Branch, and the SCPD which now owns this asset and liability.
Some of the towering, physically mature (well past economic maturity) Loblolly Pine in the recreation and picnic area. Many of the trees measure more than 30 inches in diameter and are more than 100 feet tall. Not a good place for humans to be in a lightning storm, but a wonderful habitat for fauna, fungi, mosses and other bryophytes that thrive on rotting wood on large, sapling-sized branches.
Compare this to the weak upper canopy structure seen in a 25-35 year loblolly plantation.
Still, there are relatively wild hardwood stands along the springs and creek that remain and provide more diversity.
