The federal government has granted five concessions to protect the coastal wetlands of South Carolina, covering areas that span the entire coastal plain.
The awards, announced by the US Fish and Wildlife Service this week, gave the maximum value of $ 1 million for each project. In all cases, any additional project costs will be covered by local or state co-sponsors.
The program is open to all coastal states, including those bordering the Great Lakes. The only other states that received more grants this year are Virginia and California.
“South Carolina is investing overweight for these federal grants,” said J. Raleigh West III, executive director of SC Conservation Bank. “We are setting up some very complex real estate transactions and I hope to offer some real benefit to South Carolina.”
The five conservation awards went to:
- The River Oaks tract, a 980-acre site in the Waccamaw River basin in Horry County.
- A 1,964-acre portion of Santee Island, a densely forested habitat for several species challenged along the Santee River in Georgetown County.
- An 841-acre plot along the Black River in Williamsburg County that could be part of a future state park.
- The 974-acre Lake Meyer tract in Jasper County, which includes 3.5 miles of frontage on the Savannah River.
- The Oaks Plantation, a 194-acre site along the Ashley River in Charleston County with mature maritime forest.
The Oaks Plantation is owned by Evening Post Industries, the parent company of The Post and Courier. After the land is placed under conservation easement, it will be transferred to the Drayton Hall Preservation Trust. Trust will eventually open the site to the public as it installs infrastructure, such as public restrooms, said CEO Carter Hudgins.
Three of the other sites would be publicly owned by the SC Department of Natural Resources as wildlife management areas or reserves, and all four will be open to public access.
“Investing in these and other projects that have been approved for grant funding under this program will provide huge dividends for the future of our coastal wetlands and the wildlife species that live there,” said David Lucas, a DNR spokesman.
Jason Ayers, South Carolina Coastal Program Coordinator in the Fisheries and Wildlife Service, he said the Conservation Bank led the state’s grantmaking process and was particularly effective in bringing together many partners to make a project work.
This is the first cycle in which the bank was authorized to administer these federal funds after Governor Henry McMaster granted the bank this privilege last year.
Several other aspects of the projects made them competitive, said Ayers. They include the presence of wetlands with forests in national decline; the promise to protect the land forever; and the potential to encourage more conservation in the vicinity.
“The quality of the landscape in South Carolina speaks for itself,” said Ayers. “I feel that we are playing with an advantage for these federal subsidies.”
Talk to Chloe Johnson at 843-735-9985. Follow her on Twitter @_ChloeAJ.