Stumphouse Mountain and Issaqueena Falls Project

receives $300,000 Challenge from Anonymous Donor

July 9, 2007 — Walhalla, SC — The Stumphouse Mountain and Issaqueena Falls Project received another important boost, when an anonymous donor committed $300,000 toward the purchase of the historically and naturally significant lands in Oconee County. The gift is a matching gift; the donor will provide $1 for every $2 that The Nature Conservancy raises to protect Stumphouse Mountain and Issaqueena Falls. The gift is also contingent on the City of Walhalla entering into a conservation easement to protect its watershed property on Stumphouse Mountain.

On June 18, the South Carolina Chapter of The Nature Conservancy, other conservation partners, and Oconee County elected officials announced the Stumphouse Mountain and Issaqueena Falls Project, an effort to protect almost 1,000 acres on Stumphouse Mountain in Oconee County. The area to be protected includes Issaqueena Falls, the view of the Blue Ridge Mountains from Highway 28 outside Walhalla, two of the three tunnels blasted into the mountain prior to the Civil War, the old pre-Civil War rail bed, and sites revered by the Cherokees. The project area also includes beautiful mountain cove forests and important wildlife habitat, and it is very near the famous Stumphouse Mountain Tunnel now owned by Clemson University.

On June 20, the South Carolina Conservation Bank Board voted to award Upstate Forever, an upstate conservation group, $1.227 million to purchase a conservation easement from the City of Walhalla to protect the 440 acres of its old watershed property.

The Nature Conservancy has entered into a contract to purchase an adjoining 511 acres, which would become a state Heritage Preserve. The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources has previously committed $1.5 million toward the purchase of that property, and the Graham Foundation in Greenville has donated $180,000. On Monday, The Nature Conservancy announced that it needed to raise an additional $1.42 million by August 29 to make the project a success.

Mark Robertson, Executive Director of the South Carolina Chapter of The Nature Conservancy, announced: “This latest $300,000 gift is an important step toward success. In order to obtain the gift, The Nature Conservancy will need to raise $600,000 in matching funds from private and public donors. As well, the gift is contingent on Walhalla entering into the conservation easement with Upstate Forever. We are excited that this project has so much support and is moving toward a successful conclusion.”

Any interested party may make a contribution by sending it to: The Nature Conservancy P.O. Box 5475 Columbia, SC 29250 or by calling (803) 254-9049 ext. 12. You may write your check or call with credit card donations. Be sure to note “Save Stumphouse Mountain” so that they will know to dedicate the donation to this effort. Please also contact The Nature Conservancy by phone for more information regarding transfer of stock or other types of gifts. To stay updated on Stumphouse Mountain visit The Nature Conservancy of South Carolina’s website at: www.nature.org/southcarolina.

The Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. To date, the Conservancy and its more than one million members have been responsible for the protection of more than 15 million acres in the United States and have helped preserve more than 102 million acres in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific. Visit The Nature Conservancy on the Web at www.nature.org.