Quotes from the South: "How are you?" "Fine as frog's hair."

In the true style of southern hospitality, I received multiple emails welcoming me on board to Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie National Historical Park before I had even stepped in the office. My first day was smooth, most of the office had off for the holiday and most people spend Memorial Day on the beach, not at the forts, so we were able to tour around the park without the usual crowding. I saw the tunnels of Fort Moultrie, the visitor center covering the complex history of the site from the Revolutionary War until WWII, the center’s observation deck overlooking the shore, and the nearby docks where the maintenance and LE boats wait to sail to Fort Sumter.



Later in the day, I met Chief Ranger Ben Byrnes (Starbucks in hand) and Cavin Clark, an NPS retired ARPA (Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979) expert preparing for a training session later in the week. Thanks to them I got an in depth tour of the park, focusing on all of the specific concerns that come with a park that has so many historic structures and archaeological artifacts. Proper management and care of these sites is a tricky process, and it’s made more challenging by the risk of looters.

Going downtown into Liberty Square, a common ferry take-off point for visitors, we discussed the unique issues of jurisdiction in a park that traverses an ocean and borders a busy downtown. For example, while both the point of departure and arrival of the Ferry are NPS jurisdiction, the Ferry itself is not. Since this LE unit is still developing, there are some grey areas with jurisdiction that require communication with local law enforcement, coast guard, and the state DNR. So far I see that creating a new LE unit takes lots of planning, supply-ordering, attention to the unique needs of the park, and taking fellow unit’s considerations to mind. I’m excited to watch it all unfold.



While this is a small park, we still managed to have an interesting contact the second day I arrived. A visitor reported a man passed out face down in the brambles outside Fort Moultrie. Sure enough, a man had stumbled up from the nearby beach, likely overheated and having abused substances, and passed out. Ranger Erin called EMS, ensured the scene was safe, and proceeded to contact the man. While he was reluctant to receive any help from law enforcement specifically, and adamantly declared his name was “Good Citizen”, he was taken by EMS for treatment without a problem. This was a great opportunity for me to see how the local EMS responds, specifically on the challenging terrain near the beach, and to meet a couple of law enforcement officers from the local Charleston Police.

Later we made it out onto the Ferry and took a tour of Fort Sumter. It’s a powerful, beautiful fort, and it’s clear why it’s such an attraction. I had a chance to peek into the archives and artifacts in storage at the park at the Charles Pinckney House, which were outfitted with plastic hurricane protection and housed in a building lined with sandbags.

My week ended with specialized ARPA training given by Cavin Clark. The staff stayed after hours (with the help of a potluck) to learn about ARPA and view a film regarding the Effigy Mounds Site, followed by a discussion on how we can take these lessons and apply them to our specific case.