The Tom Yawkey Wildlife Center is comprised of four islands; only three of them, North, South and Sand Islands, have an ocean-facing beach. This area was given to the state of South Carolina by Tom Yawkey of Boston. The area is managed by SCDNR and monitored by season technicians. All islands are protected in perpetuity from beachfront development.

South Island is mainly composed of former rice fields, now managed for waterfowl and other wetland species. The 5.6 km beach is wide with well formed dunes which may become scarped during winter storms, but usually rebuild each spring. Because there are maritime forests and wetlands near most of the beach, raccoons, deer, bobcats, foxes and alligators are frequently seen out on the beach. There has been a sea turtle monitoring nesting project present since 1977. South Island averages 175 nests a season.