Advancing conservation of coasts, watersheds, forests, and their biodiversity
The Baruch Institute of Coastal Ecology and Forest Science (BICEFS)is located in Georgetown, South Carolina on Hobcaw Barony, a 16,000 acre tract of undeveloped land owned by the Belle W. Baruch Foundation, a non-profit organization.
The coastal environment of Hobcaw offers a diversity of ecosystems including estuaries, tidal marshes, and freshwater swamps; coastal forests, and streams and rivers.
Topics of research at BICEFS address critical environmental issues including climate and land-use change, coastal science, water quality and quantity, biodiversity loss, and forest and watershed ecology and management. Our researchers work both at Hobcaw Barony, as well as across the state, nationally, and internationally. Findings from our research inform conservation, management, and policy.
Baruch Institute Themes
We promote forward-looking conservation supported by interdisciplinary training and translational research; strategic partnerships with a diverse array of stakeholders; and broad-based expertise in ecological science that generates solutions to environmental challenges. We are committed to extension and education that broaden participation in and disseminate an understanding of key sustainability issues to diverse audiences at the local, state, national, and international levels.
Living Coasts
and their people.
Watersheds, Wetlands, & Wildlife
Tomorrow's Forests
"Hello! Thank you for visiting Clemson University’s Baruch Institute of Coastal Ecology and Forest Science (BICEFS) website. Within these pages, you will see how our faculty, staff, and students are dedicated to innovative fundamental and applied research and discovery along the South Carolina coast and beyond.
As an ecological research center, BICEFS conducts research and extension of interest to our constituents in the southeastern United States, as well as across the country and internationally. Our research centers on three themes: 1) Tomorrow’s Forests, 2) Watersheds, Wetlands, and Wildlife, and 3) Living Coasts, which are of societal importance and relevance. BICEFS research quantifies the effects of disturbances and threats on 1) biodiversity, habitat, and ecosystem services, 2) examines interactions between humans and the environment, and 3) enhances our understanding of how ecosystems function. Our internationally recognized scientists provide information to management agencies, other partners, and the public to promote the restoration, conservation, and management of forests, watersheds, wetlands, wildlife, and coastal systems. In turn, our research findings are used to inform environmental policies at the state and national levels.
I invite you to explore the information on our website, learn more about who we are and what we do, and reach out to our dedicated scientists to collaborate and learn more. Thank you for visiting the BICEFS webpage. Please let us know if we can be of assistance."
James T. (Jim) Anderson, Ph.D.INTERIM DIRECTORBaruch Institute of Coastal Ecology and Forest Science
