© George Gentry/USFWS

South Carolina

By protecting more than 142,000 acres in South Carolina - including 39,000 acres of working forests known as the Woodbury and Hamilton Ridge Forestlands - the Fund and its partners have safeguarded key wildlife habitat, popular recreation destinations, and helped to strengthen local economies.

Belfast Wildlife Management Area

Residents of South Carolina’s fast-growing Piedmont region have new opportunities to enjoy the outdoors. In partnership with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR), we protected the 4,664-acre historic Belfast Plantation, including nearly 20 miles along Little River and its tributaries, in the first phase of an ongoing effort to establish and expand the Belfast Wildlife Management Area. We are working to secure additional state and federal funding to transfer the remaining property to SCDNR, which plans to offer outdoor programs for kids, as well as wounded veterans and people with limited mobility.

Bonneau Ferry

With support from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, the Fund is working with local partners to preserve the vanishing forests of South Carolina’s coastal plains. In 2004 a coalition of the Fund, MeadWestvaco Corporation, and South Carolina Department of Natural Resources permanently protected more than 16,000 acres at Bonneau Ferry, along the Cooper River. The project—one of the largest conservation accomplishments in the state’s history—combines land acquisition and sustainable forestry to safeguard an array of historic resources and habitat for migratory birds.

Read about the following projects in detail:

Keep it Natural Carolinas

Customers of Anheuser-Busch’s Natural Light and Natural Ice receive a conservation dividend annually as part of the “Keep It Natural Carolinas” promotional campaign. Responding to consumer interest in the environment, Anheuser-Busch, Inc. joins the Fund and local partners to promote the conservation of wildlife habitat, agricultural lands, and river corridors.   Read more>

Middleton Place Woodlands

The Conservation Fund and its partners helped the Duell family protect nearly 3,750 acres of South Carolina wetlands and bottomland hardwoods that have been in the family for more than 260 years.  Read more>

Spartanburg Rapid Parks Assessment

The Conservation Fund, in partnership with Upstate Forever - Spartanburg, completed the Spartanburg County Rapid Parks Assessment. The rapid assessment facilitated identification and prioritization of parkland, greenway, and greenbelt protection opportunities that advance the goals of local parks and active living advocates.  Read more>

Waccamaw National Wildlife Refuge

In 2005 The Conservation Fund acquired 850 acres from International Paper to include in the Waccamaw National Wildlife Refuge, thanks in part to support from the Centex Land Legacy Fund.   Read more>

Woodbury and Hamilton Ridge Forestlands

The largest habitat conservation purchase in South Carolina's history was completed with the acquisition of 39,000-acres of working forestland, recreational lands and wildlife habitat by the State of South Carolina, The Conservation Fund and The Nature Conservancy.  Read more>
Scorecard: Southeast
Acres Protected: 1,035,329
Fair Market Value: $1,846,396,598
Acquisition Cost: $1,169,943,945
Help Save Our Wild Havens

baby bear in Alaska

At the Fund we help save wild havens: large, natural spaces for wildlife to be exactly that—wild. Your gift ensures that wildlife, like this bear cub, has the habitat it needs to thrive.

 

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