None The Nature Conservancy in South Carolina Press Releases Search All Press Releases Michael B. Prevost Phone: (843) 887-4380 E-mail: mprevost@tnc.org

The Nature Conservancy Protects 2,378 Acres Near Santee River

Columbia, S.C.—June 7, 2004—As part of a larger acquisition of 8,541 acres of land from Plum Creek for $13.2 million, The Nature Conservancy has purchased 2,378 acres near the Santee River from Plum Creek Timber Company. The initial $3,213,000 acquisition includes six tracts located in Berkeley County near the Santee River between Jamestown and St. Stephens.  The Conservancy will resell five of the tracts, totaling 1,873 acres, to the U.S. Forest Service for inclusion in the Francis Marion National Forest. 

The property is within the Conservancy’s Sewee to Santee landscape-level site, a vast region surrounding the Francis Marion National Forest, Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge and the Santee River and Delta.  The transactions along the Santee River are the first phase in a larger effort with Plum Creek to protect more than 8,541 acres in the Santee River and ACE Basin areas of the state.

“We genuinely appreciate the cooperation and professionalism of Plum Creek in working with the Conservancy to protect these strategically important tracts,” said Michael Prevost, the Conservancy’s Sewee to Santee project director.  “In addition, the Conservancy wants to thank Senator Ernest F. Hollings for his tremendous support in securing federal appropriations to expand the Francis Marion National Forest.”

The tracts support multiple age class loblolly pine forests interspersed with hardwood dominated wetlands. Acquisition of these tracts represents a significant contribution to stabilizing lands in conservation ownership within the Sewee to Santee site, a national priority action site for the Conservancy.”

These tracts provide important foraging habitat for neotropical migratory birds including the swallow-tailed kite, a species of both state and federal concern.  Approximately 60 pairs of kites, representing 50 percent of the nesting pairs in the entire state, are believed to nest within the Francis Marion National Forest.  Protection of these tracts also complements the newly established Weetee State Forest located directly across the Santee River and contributes significantly to providing a buffer and intact forest corridor along the upper Santee.

“These tracts will not only allow us to protect and restore native forest lands but also enhance the Forest Service’s ability to more effectively manage our existing lands in this region of the National Forest,” said Orlando Sutton, ranger for the Francis Marion National Forest.  “Additionally, these tracts will provide opportunities for public hunting and other types of compatible recreational use.”

The Conservancy will sell the remaining 505 acre tract to a conservation buyer subject to a conservation easement. The sale and easement will ensure that the property will not be commercially developed and that the tract is managed for compatible natural resource-dependent uses. 

“Plum Creek is pleased to work with The Nature Conservancy and to participate in the sale of these lands to accommodate the public interest in the conservation and recreation values associated with this property,” said Tom Reed, vice president and general manager for Plum Creek Timber Company, Southeast Region.

“The Nature Conservancy wishes to acknowledge the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation for providing financial support to cover real estate transaction costs associated with the acquisition of these lands,” Prevost said.  “This funding was awarded through a grant to the Lowcountry Forest Conservation Project, a collaborative effort among the Conservancy and other partners to conserve the most biologically significant forest lands in the South Carolina Lowcountry.”