Since 1989, the Coastal Conservation League has worked with communities, businesses, citizen groups and people like you to protect what we love about South Carolina.
The Coastal Conservation League is a 501(c)3 charitable organization.
We work to protect the health of the natural resources of the South Carolina coastal plain and ensure a high quality of life for all of the people who live in and love this special place.
From sandy beaches, healthy marshes, freshwater swamps to pine savannas, we protect natural habitats and the wildlife that depends on them. We support the communities we live in by ensuring we have clean air to breathe, fresh water to drink, and sustainable energy to power our homes and places of work. Most of all, we strive to ensure that future generations will be able to enjoy the same spaces and quality of life here that we do today.
This future includes smart, sustainable, economic growth that maximizes the potential of our community. This future ensures the availability of natural resources and opportunity for our children to enjoy those resources. This future has good policies and protection in place so we do more than fight an endless series of battles against an endless series of threats.
Our work is divided among the following program areas: Land, Water, and Wildlife; Communities and Transportation; Energy; Food and Agriculture, and Government Relations.
Our Work
Land, Water and Wildlife
Clean water, protected land and abundant wildlife are essential to our health and quality of life in South Carolina. We work to educate the public, media, industry, and local and state policy makers on the science and economics of clean air and water policies. Our advocacy brings attention to the latest scientific and medical research on air/water pollution and public health issues. In addition to promoting policies to protect our natural resources, we ensure policies are enforced by monitoring permit applications and approvals along the coast and appealing permits that would result in serious harm to the environment or public health.
Communities and Transportation
Balancing unbridled growth is central to the Conservation League’s mission. We help to influence the way developers, citizens, and public officials view and value their communities and landscapes – promoting thoughtful, balanced development and land conservation in the right areas, at the right scale. From restructuring zoning codes to rerouting highways, we provide technical, professional and other assistance to residents of the region to help them preserve the South Carolina coast.
Transportation and infrastructure planning is essential to any livable community. Appropriately planned roads that allow for pedestrian and bicycle access can complement a community and improve quality of life, while roads that are poorly designed, can overpower the area, contribute to sprawl, bisect property and leave a scar that is difficult, if not impossible, to erase. We work with a variety of transportation planners, local municipalities, and state agencies to promote transportation projects and policies that support rather than harm our communities.
Energy
Electricity is a necessary fixture in our daily lives, and its production and distribution have vast environmental footprints. New technologies, fuel sources, and strategies for meeting demand hold great promise for minimizing these impacts. We promote the implementation of progressive local, state, and federal energy policies related to renewable energy, energy efficiency, and climate change.
Food and Agriculture
Local farms and farmers are critical components of a vibrant community. Supporting sustainable agriculture benefits individuals, communities, the environment and the economy. Through our food hub, GrowFood Carolina, we work with farmers, government agencies/officials, businesses, nonprofit organizations, and communities to support food and agriculture through statewide policy, local planning, infrastructure, technical assistance, and outreach and communications.
_____________________