Congaree Land Trust is Land Trust Day recipient

Congaree Land Trust Named
Land Trust Day recipient

Each Year on our Annual Land Trust Day Mast General Store donates 20 percent of that day’s sales to local land conservancies. The Congaree Land Trust has  been named the Columbia recipient of this year’s proceeds.

From the Congaree Land Trust
The Congaree Land Trust (CLT) was established in 1992 to promote voluntary conservation of scenic lands, open spaces, farms, forests, natural areas and significant habitats in central South Carolina. CLT works to strike a balance between growth and conservation by working with willing landowners to protect their land. All potential easements go through a specific evaluation process, are subject to the approval our Board of Directors and must meet one or more of the following favorable attributes:

 

• Located within a high priority area
• Contains important wildlife habitat
• Contains or adjoins river, stream or tributary
• Contains wetlands, floodplains, floodways, etc.
• Adjoins other protected property
• Is in a relatively natural and undisturbed condition
• Is of sufficient size
• Is valuable as open space

As of January 2011, CLT holds a total of 90 conservation easements, protecting 28,663 acres in our 11-county service area, and we are one of the largest land trusts in the southeast in total acres protected.

An important aspect of our conservation work is the COWASEE Basin Focus Area which covers over 215,000 acres in the midlands of South Carolina and includes the Congaree, Wateree and upper Santee Rivers. The huge river system that flows through this area has carved the landscape over thousands of years to create vast floodplain forests, high bluffs, fertile soils, forests and rare or endangered species and beauty beyond description.

The heart of the COWASEE Basin is the stunning and remarkable 26,000-acre Congaree National Park which is home to the largest old growth bottomland hardwood forest in the United States and is a highly popular recreation destination for nature lovers, hikers and paddling enthusiasts. Rich in ecological diversity, the Basin also supports a state forest, a state park, a DNR Heritage Preserve and the spectacularly beautiful Sparkleberry Swamp. In addition, the Basic is a priority waterfowl restoration area where research and management are working to improve waterfowl habitat and populations.

Since sixty-eight percent of the land within the focus area is privately owned, and public ownership of this vast area is impractical, the success of protecting the COWASEE Basin rests on the willingness of current landowners to place conservation easements on their land. CLT holds the easements for 25% of the 23,106 acres currently protected within the Basin. We are involved in ongoing outreach to COWASEE area landowners to educate them about the value of voluntary conservation and encourage them to become part of this important initiative.

Conservation easements are a vital conservation tool that saves special natural places so future generations can walk in the woods, run in the fields, hunt, fish, and learn about working farms and timberlands. So much of our history and culture as South Carolinians is tied to our love and respect for the land, plants and animals that can only survive if we are diligent in protecting them.

We invite you to become a member of CLT and join us in our work to protect the mysteries of the unknown in the heart of South Carolina. Your investment in CLT yields great returns for the future of South Carolina – its land and its people.

To meet members of the Congaree Land Trust and learn more about our conservation work in South Carolina, plan to attend Land Trust Day at Mast General Store on Saturday, June 4 or visit www.congareelt.org