The state will buy nearly 1,100 acres in the Upstate, adding to a tapestry of protected properties. (Provided/Mac Stone, Naturaland Trust)
COLUMBIA — State officials are considering an undeveloped barrier island, an expanded heritage preserve, and a new dove hunting field to become part of the state’s growing patchwork of preserved land.
The agencies overseeing state parks and natural resources received approval last week from a fiscal oversight committee of legislators to look into acquiring about 800 acres of land spanning the state. The Joint Bond Review Committee also gave final approval to buy nearly 1,100 acres.
The approvals came hours before Gov. Henry McMaster touted the state’s conservation efforts in his State of the State address.
Last year, the state preserved about 96,000 acres of land using more than $143 million in state, federal and private dollars, McMaster announced. With $15.5 million in his proposed executive budget set aside for further conservation projects, he called for more work to protect the state’s ecological assets.
“South Carolina’s future prosperity requires us to enhance our efforts to respect and protect our land, our history, our culture and our environment,” McMaster said in his hour-long speech Wednesday. “I do not think that it’s a coincidence that previous years of economic growth have followed our efforts to conserve, preserve, and display our unique gifts of nature’s abundance.”
Waties Island
Along the 22 miles of coastline between Myrtle Beach and the North Carolina border, one barrier island remained for years both undeveloped and unprotected.
Waties Island, often called Waites Island, has been a conservation priority for state and nonprofit conservationists for years. The island’s beaches grow rare plants, create an oasis for coastal birds and give both birds and sea turtles a place to lay their eggs undisturbed, according to documents submitted to the state Joint Bond Review Committee.
The island contains “a mosaic” of important ecological areas, including a lagoon tidal marsh and coastal uplands, according to the Department of Natural Resources’ request.
“Protection of Waites Island is critical to the long-term health of high value ecosystems and the species which rely on them,” agency officials wrote to the committee.
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Land trust Open Space Institute has been buying pieces of the land from private owners, with the intention of donating them to state agencies. In 2022, the nonprofit purchased 260 acres, which the Department of Natural Resources requested $20,000 to examine before accepting as a donation.
The state parks department could buy another 320 acres, for a combined estimated cost of nearly $10.2 million. The parks department is similarly conducting early studies to decide whether to purchase the properties. Whether that land could become a new state park or if the department would find another way to manage it remains up in the air, a spokeswoman said.
McMaster pointed to what has already been conserved on Waties Island as an example of a successful conservation project.
“Its inlet, salt marshes, and estuaries make it a vital natural buffer against ocean waves and storm surge for our rapidly growing Grand Strand region,” McMaster said in his speech.
Coastal Carolina University’s Coastal Education Foundation owns more than 1,100 acres on the southern edge of the island and the adjacent Little River Neck uplands. The land is designated for students and faculty to conduct research, according to the university.
New wildlife management area
The Department of Natural Resources is in the final stages of acquiring a 1,072-acre property in Pickens County for about $7.1 million, according to agency documents.
The property is set to become a new wildlife management area, allowing visitors to hunt, fish, hike and watch birds, according to the department. Located alongside Highway 11, the land is near about 10,000 acres of state parks, heritage preserves, wildlife management areas and other protected lands not managed by the state. That will allow for uninterrupted views from the top of the property’s bluffs, officials said previously.
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Conservation group Naturaland Trust purchased the property in 2023 using a $9 million grant from the Conservation Bank. The Department of Natural Resources, along with the Office of Resilience, will reimburse much of that money back to the Conservation Bank for use in future projects.
Forty Acre Rock expansion
Forty Acre Rock Heritage Preserve in Lancaster County could get bigger with a purchase the Department of Natural Resources is eyeing.
Officials are considering a 97-acre expansion to the Forty Acre Rock Heritage Preserve. The 3,100-acre preserve is known for a massive rock face, which is actually only 14 acres, according to the agency’s website.
The Open Space Institute bought the land, which juts out of the northwest corner of the existing preserve, last March. The land trust plans to donate the property to the state, following recent approval of $20,000 for preliminary studies, it said previously.
That money will come from the state’s heritage land trust fund, a pot of money dedicated to buying nature preserves.
Officials could use the new land to experiment with reintroducing the smooth purple coneflower, a federally threatened species, in Lancaster County. More land would also mean more protection for the area and more recreational opportunities for visitors, according to the request.
Saluda dove fields
Dove hunters could get another 63 acres of public land to use if the Department of Natural Resources moves forward with another parcel of land under consideration.
The land, estimated to cost $272,000, would be about 10 miles north of Saluda, near where the county borders Greenwood and Newberry counties, according to the agency’s request. Officials are starting with a $20,000 examination of the land to determine whether it should be purchased.
Demand for dove hunting has increased in recent years, bringing with it a need for more fields on which to hunt the migratory birds, according to the agency’s request.
“The acquisition of this property as a dove field for public use would help alleviate the unmet need,” the request reads.