South Coast Newsletter: Working Hand in Hand to Protect Our Coast

Spring into April with this month’s South Coast Newsletter! In this edition, we share the good news about a conservation outcome for the Gregorie Neck property and the ongoing fight for more land protection in the South Coast. Learn how our advocacy contributed to protecting this historic landscape, plus get the latest updates about development threats at Chelsea and Tickton Hall along Hwy. 462 in rural Jasper County.

Gregorie Neck Permanently Protected

On March 28, I enjoyed a tour of the 4,400 acre Gregorie Neck property in Northern Jasper County, located near the headwaters of the Port Royal Sound. Within the Lowcountry Sentinel Landscape, Gregorie Neck boasts over 13-miles of river frontage along the Coosawhatchie and Tullifiny Rivers.

With its own access off I-95, it is easy to imagine that Gregorie Neck could have been lost to incompatible development. Large-scale development in this region threatens to compromise water quality and strain our shared regional infrastructure.

However, thanks to our partners at The Nature Conservancy, Open Land Trust, the State Conservation Bank, the Department of Defense, plus Beaufort and Jasper County leadership, and more, this property will be permanently protected with conservation easements, helping to ensure clean water for all downstream users.

Dale Threatt-Taylor, Executive Director for The Nature Conservancy in South Carolina, said this about the deal in the Post & Courier: “Developing Gregorie Neck would have had a huge impact on this region’s nature and wildlife, as well as its infrastructure needs and traffic. Instead, we hope this project now will accelerate regional land protection efforts.”

Working Hand in Hand to Save our Coast

Protecting Gregorie Neck represents a great win for the health of the Port Royal Sound, and it is also a shining example of how advocacy and land protection work hand-in-hand. The Conservation League’s community engagement and grassroots advocacy helps to educate and foster political and community support for land protection, opening the door to more conservation outcomes.

For example, the Conservation League supported Jasper County’s moratorium on large residential subdivisions in the Euhaw Planning Area that helped safeguard the property before the deal was inked. The moratorium was recently extended through July 31, 2024 to allow for thoughtful updates and responsible growth management practices to be incorporated into the county’s comprehensive plan and zoning standards

Our South Coast team also played a role in setting the table to make the protection of Gregorie Neck possible by spearheading a campaign with our conservation partners to get Beaufort County’s Greenspace Penny program on the ballot and approved by voters in 2022. Funds from the Greenspace Program are now contributing to the land protection at Gregorie Neck.

Beaufort County Invests Beyond its Borders

The Beaufort County Greenspace Program critically allows for spending outside of Beaufort County to protect land at a watershed scale. Wisely recognizing that the benefits of conserving land in Northern Jasper County will flow south, the Beaufort County County Council allocated $1 million dollars from the Greenspace Program to help fund Gregorie Neck’s protection.

While we celebrate this win, there is still more work to be done in Jasper County at places like Chelsea and Tickton Hall, located along rural Highway 462, where the threat of large-scale sprawl looms. Thankfully, we can now point to Gregorie Neck as a model for conservation success.

Read the latest article in the Post & Courier for updates on the Tickton Hall and Chelsea annexations and check out the Keep Chelsea Rural website for more ways to get involved. These are two fast-moving projects before the Town of Ridgeland, and it is imperative that we stay engaged and informed!