A Delicate Balance

"Throughout the book Haflacre relies heavily on storytelling, making it easy for readers to get a feel for the communities she write about and understand the information being presented. . . . A Delicate Balance doesn't offer a prescription for the future, but rather seeks to give people an understanding of what has and is taking place and why, it's so special."—Pawley's Island (SC) Coastal Observer

"A Delicate Balance thoroughly documents the rise of the conservation movement in the lowcountry, leaving the reader with a sense of having read a well-told story and a reliable chronicle of the chain of events that significantly altered land-use patterns along the coast."—Charleston (S.C.) Mercury

"The book provides an exhaustive record of the singular lowcountry conservation movement, an invaluable primer on how the movement has managed contemporary conflicts between development and conservation."—Charleston (S.C.) Post and Courier

"Hope that a new generation of conservationists has arisen and coalesced is the core of A Delicate Balance. . . . Halfacre documents the rise and maturation of a culture of conservation among individuals, families, grassroots organizations, communities, planners, politicians, ethnic groups, even developers. Her honest look at what has happened on Hilton Head and beyond is not a warm and fuzzy story. But she has found a backbone gaining strength that may yet save an incredible place."—Hilton Head Island (S.C.) Packet

"The South Carolina lowcountry is an incomparably beautiful national treasure, rich with sumptuous vistas, beaches, marshes, live oaks, long-leaf pines, inlets, creeks, hummocks, and more. No longer a secret, the region is loved, visited, and occupied by more and more people each year. Angela Halfacre presents an optimistic picture of the positive steps that have been taken, especially in recent history, to help protect, manage, and carefully guide growth in the Lowcountry. More importantly, she also discusses the dangers of unwise, unmanaged, and unplanned growth and developmenta valuable lesson for citizens and policymakers alike. A Delicate Balance encourages and challenges current and future residents of our precious South Carolina coast to accept our responsibility for stewardship of this special part of our planet. It is up to all of us to collectively care for its delicate, beautiful nature for the generations to come."—The Honorable Joseph P. Riley, Jr., mayor of Charleston

"South Carolina's fabled lowcountry is chronicled in southern literature and venerated by residents and visitors alike. Yet the story of the landscape's preservation is itself compelling. Angela Halfacre skillfully chronicles the history of the unique culture of conservation that emerged in South Carolina to protect our beaches, wetlands, creeks, and more."—Mary Alice Monroe, New York Times best-selling author

"Over the last quarter of a century, the conservation movement changed the trajectory and the future of South Carolina as hundreds of thousands of acres of land were protected, developments reconfigured, highways rerouted or deauthorized, and a culture of conservation emerged. Angela Halfacre is to be commended for this compelling and overdue assessment of the successful strategies, organizations, and leaders of the conservation movement. A Delicate Balance provides valuable insight into this important period of our state's history, with lessons about how this essential task can be enhanced as we face the challenges of a new century."—Dana Beach, Coastal Conservation League

"A Delicate Balance is a book we've been waiting for, and everybody should read it. Angela Halfacre gives us not only the big picture but also something even more important: hope for the land we love."—Josephine Humphreys, author of Rich in Love and others

"The lowcountry's conservation culture is not always harmonious. A Delicate Balance shows how the region's political, social, and cultural threads have become woven so tightly around common goals that it can endure—much like a unique coiled basket woven from historic memory with grasses harvested from the region's singular marshlands."—Cynthia Barnett, from the foreword

"Having grown up on the mossy banks of the Edisto River and spent my summers on Edisto Island, I can personally attest to the wonders of the South Carolina lowcountry. In Angela Halfacre, this beautiful and threatened region has at last found its chronicler. There are many stories needing telling about conservationists and others in the lowcountry, and Halfacre is very good at sharing them."—James Gustave Speth, author of America the Possible: Manifesto for a New Economy