The Tom Yawkey Wildlife Center was willed to the S.C. Wildlife & Marine Resources Department, now the S.C.
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Department of Natural Resources, in 1976 by the late Tom Yawkey. Its 24000 acres serve as a wildlife preserve, research area, and waterfowl refuge. Located along the South Carolina coast, between Myrtle Beach and Charleston, the Tom Yawkey Wildlife Center encompasses 31 square miles of ocean beach, maritime forest, marsh, managed wetlands, forest openings, and longleaf pine forest in Georgetown Co
unty, SC. The Center spans three islands, North Island, South Island, and the majority of Cat Island; and is home to a variety of wildlife. Bird species found here include bald eagles, wood storks, red-cockaded woodpeckers, peregrine falcons, barn owls, piping plovers, and loggerhead shrikes to name just a few. Also calling the center home are white-tailed deer, otters, and alligators. The pristine, protected beaches serve as nesting grounds for endangered loggerhead sea turtles. How to Visit
The Tom Yawkey Wildlife Center is closed to the public except for pre-scheduled tours. Our free educational field trips typically run every Wednesday and Thursday from September to May. Tours start at 10 am and typically last 4 hours during which guests see portions of Cat and South Islands while learning about the historical and ecological aspects of the property. For more information on booking a tour please call Patty Wham Monday - Friday from 9 am - 3:30 pm at (843) 546-6814. About Tom Yawkey
As a child, Tom Yawkey grew up visiting property belonging to his uncle along the shoreline of Georgetown County, SC. He developed a lifelong love of nature and wildlife from these visits, and when he inherited the land in 1925, he set out to preserve it as a wildlife refuge. He expanded the land by buying out the surrounding owners and managed it during his lifetime by his own set of conservation practices. To protect the land that he cared for during his life, Tom donated 20,000 acres to the South Carolina Wildlife and Marine Resources Department through his will when he passed away in 1976. This act also established the Yawkey Foundation to fund the maintenance of the property in perpetuity. His wife Jean Yawkey expanded the land, and it now totals over 24,000 acres dedicated to conservation, research, and education. The Yawkey Foundation continues to support the Tom Yawkey Wildlife Center. Over the last 40 years, the Foundation has collaborated with universities and conservation nonprofits to conduct crucial field research at the Center and provide educational opportunities. Learn more about Tom Yawkey and the Yawkey Foundation here: https://yawkeyfoundation.org/who-we-are/tom-a-yawkey/
11/08/2025
Last week the SCDNR herpetology program spent time surveying freshwater wetlands around the Cat Island portion of the property attempting to monitor aquatic turtle species. Turtle trapping was unsuccessful, but the traps did have two species of amphibian that had never been recorded on the property! The broken-striped newt and many-lined salamander have officially been added to Yawkey’s amphibian and reptile list and bring the total number of recorded species to 58.
10/31/2025
Happy Halloween from the Tom Yawkey Wildlife Center! Participants in today's Halloween field trip learned about species like bats and owls on the property, enjoyed some island ghost stories, and were even surprised by our very own South Island ghost!
10/23/2025
October 21 was Reptile Awareness Day, and also the day SC ETV released a new episode of "What's Wild," featuring the Tom Yawkey Wildlife Center and our alligator research team! Enjoy the excellent footage and learn about one of our favorite reptiles!
10/10/2025
This fall, staff at the Tom Yawkey Wildlife Center observed a white flower variation of Trilisa, which normally has purple flowers. Trilisa is a typical late autumn wildflower in the Longleaf Pine savannas. Interestingly, the common name is an anagram of the genus Liatris, or Blazing Star, a species with a similar appearance.
10/02/2025
Does the fall weather have you wishing you were outside to enjoy it? Whether you're a history buff, a nature lover, or all of the above, we've got a trip for you! Check out the full descriptions for these programs at yawkeywildlifecenter.com
09/22/2025
Happy first day of fall from the Tom Yawkey Wildlife Center! Fall is a great season to get outside and enjoy a walk through the woods. Keep your eyes open for wildlife, wildflowers like Meadow-beauty, and the cinnamon ferns' fall color change.
09/19/2025
In September 1977, Tom Yawkey’s 20,000-acre donation to the South Carolina Wildlife and Marine Resources Department (now SCDNR) was celebrated with a dedication ceremony. Gathered at the Yawkey monument on South Island are (left to right): SC Wildlife and Marine Resources Dept. Director Dr. Jim Timmerman, Jean Yawkey, Tom Yawkey Wildlife Center Manager Bob Joyner, and Deputy Director for Wildlife and Fisheries Jeff Fuller. Today, Tom Yawkey’s gift is considered one of the most outstanding grants to wildlife conservation efforts in North America.
09/12/2025
This summer, Tom Yawkey Wildlife Center staff assisted in a bumble bee survey for the Bumble Bee Atlas through the Xerces Society of Invertebrate Conservation. During the June survey, three species were observed: Brown-belted bumble bee, Common eastern bumble bee, and Two-spotted bumble bee. A second survey this week observed an additional species, the American bumble bee.
09/08/2025
An update from Dr. Thomas Rainwater on summer alligator research at the Tom Yawkey Wildlife Center.
09/05/2025
Common Gallinules (also known as Common Moorhen) are often seen around the managed wetlands at the Tom Yawkey Wildlife Center. Our summer groups had a special treat seeing these gallinule babies! Gallinules nest in the grasses along freshwater wetlands and, although often mistaken for ducks, are members of the rail family.
08/27/2025
We still have spaces available for our Introductory Field Trips in September, starting next week: September 2, 3, and 5. Call 843-546-6814 or email [email protected] to reserve your spot!
08/26/2025
Happy National Dog Day from the Yawkey dogs! Just as he loved wildlife, Tom Yawkey also raised and loved his own dogs on South Island. As you pose your dogs for their National Dog Day photoshoot, think of the fun Mr. Yawkey must have had attempting to pose these black lab puppies for their picture!
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Considered one of the most outstanding gifts to wildlife conservation in North America, the Tom Yawkey Wildlife Center was willed to the S.C. Wildlife and Marine Resources Department, now the S.C. Department of Natural Resources, in 1976 by the late Tom Yawkey.
The Wildlife Center embraces North, South, and Cat Islands, three coastal islands located at the mouth of Winyah Bay in Georgetown County, South Carolina. Composed of approximately 31 square miles of marsh, managed wetlands, forest openings, ocean beach, longleaf pine forest, and maritime forest, the Center is principally dedicated as a wildlife preserved, research area, and waterfowl refuge.
Those familiar with the preserve's recent history know the present-day Wildlife Center has gradually changed from a hunting preserve to a waterfowl refuge over the years. Since post-Civil War Reconstruction, marshlands around Winyah Bay and the Santee delta have been highly valued for waterfowl. When the former South Island Plantation came into the Department's hands, Yawkey had managed it in recent decades as a game preserve primarily for waterfowl.
Before the end of Yawkey's ownership, the South Island preserve earned the reputation as one of the most outstanding waterfowl refuges on the Atlantic Flyway. To ensure his conservation practices would be advanced beyond his lifetime, Yawkey bequeathed the property to the Wildlife Department to be used for all time for wildlife management, education, and research. A ten-million-dollar perpetual trust fund was also left to the Yawkey Foundation Trustees who grant income from the fund for the property's total operation.
Yawkey's will is a tribute to his foresight as a conservationist, for the property's preservation not only cements the linkage among some 66 miles of publicly owned pristine beach fronts stretching toward Charleston, but also provides an excellent 20,000 acre field laboratory where the potential for research is unlimited. The will stipulates that the islands will be used essentially as they were under Yawkey's stewardship. North Island is designated a barrier island wilderness where no activities detrimental to its primitive character are permitted. South Island is held for the protection of waterfowl, and no duck hunting is permitted. The remainder of the property is held a wildlife management area for migratory birds, native game, and other wild species.
