Media magnate Ted Turner has pledged to sell an island to the state of South Carolina to supplement the severely eroding, widely popular Hunting Island State Park.
The Post and Courier of Charleston reported Thursday the state Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism has asked state legislators to pay $5 million for St. Phillips Island. Turner has owned the 4,682-acre barrier island outside Beaufort since 1979 and listed it in 2014 for $24 million.
Turner said in a statement that the island has offered an opportunity to interact with nature and observe raw beauty that he hopes future generations will be able to enjoy.
The island is among the largest privately held, undeveloped barrier islands left on the coast.
