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Places We Protect

Woodbury Tract Wildlife Management Area

South Carolina

A cypress tree with hanging Spanish Moss is silhouetted by the shroud of winter morning fog that obscures the banks of the Great Pee Dee River. © Mark Godfrey/TNC

This Marion County forested wetland is among the largest conservation purchases in state history.

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Overview

Description

TNC's Role In Protecting

The Woodbury Tract was most recently owned by International Paper until the company decided to sell the tract as part of their divestment initiative. Recognizing the ecological value of the property, The Nature Conservancy worked with The Conservation Fund and the SC Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to make sure the land was protected. In the first collaboration of its kind, The Nature Conservancy and The Conservation Fund purchased an equal percentage in the property on behalf of DNR. Over the course of the next year, the project was awarded funds from the most prestigious grant programs across the country due to its incredible natural resources. Today, the Woodbury tract is an anchor of protected forests and wetlands that connect to Waccamaw National Wildlife Refuge, private lands under conservation easement, and The Nature Conservancy’s own Sandy Island Preserve a few miles downstream. "This has been a great partnership, committed to conserving South Carolina's natural heritage," said Mark Robertson, The Nature Conservancy’s South Carolina executive director, “Our partnership has accomplished something truly inspiring that will benefit generations of South Carolinians who love the state’s natural habitats and appreciate the recreational opportunities, the clean water, clean air, and abundant wildlife they provide.”

Access

OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

Highlights

biking, birding, primitive camping.

Size

25,688 acres

Explore our work in this region

Why You Should Visit

The Woodbury Tract Wildlife Management Area and Heritage Preserve, located in Marion County, is one of the largest habitat conservation purchases in State history. The property is thought to have been a place that Francis Marion (the Swamp Fox) used during his Revolutionary War campaigns. Also known as Brittons Neck, its location at the confluence of the Great Pee Dee and the Little Pee Dee rivers created a strategic thoroughfare for early Americans in the Pee Dee Region, and continues to draw visitors today. The property boasts an outstanding bottomland forest along the 27.5 miles of river frontage on the Great Pee Dee (a brown water system) and 11.5 miles on the Little Pee Dee (a black river system). Other habitats found at Woodbury include over a dozen Carolina Bays, a long sandy ridge supporting longleaf pine and loblolly pine forests, and other isolated wetlands. The forested wetland is home to the Kentucky warbler, Louisiana waterthrush, rusty blackbird, the swallow-tailed kite, and the Swainson’s warbler.

  • Biking
  • Birding
  • Primitive Camping
  • Fishing
  • Hunting
  • Nature Viewing
  • Hiking
  • Campfires
  • Canoeing

Bring your own water; there are no trash receptacles (take your trash with you); no public facilities; no plant, animal, artifact or any other natural or cultural material may be taken or disturbed; not wheelchair accessible; and insect repellent is recommended.

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