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Nature Conservancy deals protect 2,200 acres in Charleston, Berkeley |
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Wednesday, 26 November 2008 |
SCBIZ Daily Staff
CHARLESTON – Through deals with two private companies, The Nature Conservancy has preserved more than 2,200 acres in Berkeley and Charleston counties.
The conservation group paid $6.45 million to International Paper Co. for four tracts in Berkeley and Charleston counties totaling 1,116 acres.
The group also has secured a conservation easement on 1,144 acres in Charleston County owned by The Evening Post Publishing Co., publisher of The Post & Courier newspaper. The Charleston-based company owns several newspapers and television stations across the nation and owns and manages timberland in South Carolina.
All of the tracts are located in the 800,000-acre “Sewee to Santee” conservation area, which The Nature Conservancy has designated as a priority for its preservation efforts, in part because of its endangered longleaf pine ecosystem.
The three tracts formerly owned by International Paper Co. in Charleston County are located near U.S. 17 and S.C. 45 in McClellanville, adjacent to the Francis Marion National Forest. Two of the properties border U.S. 17 for more than a mile in the Bulls Bay estuary watershed and protect the water quality of Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge.
The tract in Berkeley County, located along U.S. 45 near Honey Hill, also is adjacent to the Francis Marion National Forest. The property supports limestone sink wetlands that are home to rare and endangered plant species.
All four International Paper Co. tracts contain bottomland hardwood forests, which are important to several migratory bird species. The Nature Conservancy officials said the group would sell the tracts to the U.S. Forest Service for inclusion in the Francis Marion National Forest or to private buyers subject to conservation easements.
The conservation easement on The Evening Post Publishing Co. property limits future development to two homesites on the 1,144 acres. The land is adjacent to Old Georgetown Road and the Francis Marion National Forest.
A conservation-based plan will guide forest management on the site, intended to enhance upland forest habitat through selective timber harvest and prescribed fire. The easement allows recreation on the property, include hunting, fishing, wildlife observation and equestrian activities.
“These acquisitions have significant conservation impact both at the individual tract and larger landscape levels,” said Michael Prevost, the conservancy’s Sewee to Santee project director.
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