Copyright Charleston Post and Courier
ANDREWS — Across its 151 miles, the Black River meanders through farmland, logging forests and cypress swamps across four counties. But for Maria Whitehead, and many others who were raised along the river’s banks, the river crosses an intangible landscape of memory, history and culture. Standing before a crowd of about 100 on Oct. 29, with the Black River swirling past a boat ramp behind her, Whitehead reached into that abstract version of the river and pulled forth a story. “ My own daughters were baptized with this black water that I snuck into a Presbyterian font at the church,” Whitehead said. “I imagine that many of you here today have similar stories of connection or love for this land and the rivers that run through it.” Arrayed before Whitehead, who leads the nonprofit Open Space Institute, were representatives from state government, local nonprofit organization and the timbering industry. They came here to celebrate a big moment for South Carolina: the largest conservation easement in the state’s history. As part of that agreement, more than 62,000 acres of forested land across the Black, Santee and Pee Dee rivers now are permanently protected from development. The nearly $74 million Pee Dee Basin Initiative involved 17 state agencies, independent businesses, and local nonprofits. The “Pee Dee Basin Initiative” spans Georgetown, Marion and Williamsburg counties, and it builds on previously protected land in all three of those areas. “In order to preserve the character and the culture that we have, we must have some things that we can see and touch that do not change,” Gov. Henry McMaster said at the Oct. 29 event unveiling the project. About 7,500 acres of the new easement will be open to the public for recreation and tourism. As part of the agreement, timber farming will continue to be permitted on the land. But the easement shields the areas from development, mining and any non-timber activities that could harm the surrounding ecosystem. The land under easement will become the responsibility of Resource Management Service, one of the world’s largest timber investment management organizations, according to a press release. But the S.C. Forestry Commission will hold the actual easement, and will be charged with making sure it’s terms are followed. It’s a big step for the agency. The Commission never before has managed a conservation easement, and it had to change its bylaws to be able to accept the responsibility. “ With this one act, enduring economic, ecological and community benefits are now locked for generations,” said Scott Phillips, the state Forester and Forestry Commission’s director. “ Long after anyone standing here is gone, the people of South Carolina will still be receiving value from the accomplishment that we've done here today.” Including this deal, more than three million acres of land across South Carolina has been conserved, The Post and Courier previously reported. That’s more than 15 percent of the state’s total land mass, and includes national forests, a national park, public parks, wildlife refuges, working farms, timberlands and land around military bases. More than a third of that land is privately owned. “We’ve got a lot of people moving into the state, and that's good, but we don't want to run out of room,” McMaster said. “The only way I know that we can be sure that we're just not gonna squeeze ourselves to death is to conserve a lot of property.” Shielding land from development also helps protect nearby and downstream communities from flooding. The riverine woodlands have the capacity to capture and control floodwaters when the Santee, Black and Pee Dee rivers crest their banks. “As communities face growing threats from flooding and extreme weather, forest conservation is a key strategy to build South Carolina’s resilience,” Ben Duncan, chief resilience officer at the S.C. Office of Resilience, wrote in a statement. “These natural landscapes absorb rainfall, slow runoff, and help prevent costly damage to homes and infrastructure. By protecting them, we’re investing in the resilience of our communities and the health of our local ecosystems and economies.”
