As of today, the Chelsea property in Jasper County will be permanently protected. This is a monumental win for conservation, rural land use planning and maintaining the character of Jasper County.
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Over the past years, the Conservation League played a critical role in preventing this property from being annexed and intensely developed, partnering with, informing, and rallying community members to advocate against annexation, which would have brought unprecedented and incompatible growth to rural Jasper County.
Today, The Nature Conservancy announced the purchase of the 2,713-acre property, which will be protected with a conservation easement held by the Open Land Trust and, eventually, accessible to the public in the future.
“The Conservation League’s role in protecting Chelsea is the epitome of our advocacy work,” said Faith Rivers James, Executive Director of the Coastal Conservation League. “Our team is often first to engage on the ground, bringing community members to the table to express their views to local government. We are thrilled that Chelsea will be protected through a conservation easement that will safeguard the community.”
The Chelsea tract has high conservation potential because of its proximity to the Broad River and Port Royal Sound. Landscape-scale conservation like this helps ensure clean air and water for the entire region. Hunting, fishing, and spending time on the water are a quintessential part of the Lowcountry experience.
In 2019, the Chelsea property including South, West and North tracts, was sold. In 2024, a developer requested to annex the property, trying to bring the land into the town of Ridgeland, which would have upzoned the land and allowed for large-scale development. The plan proposed a development agreement that would have allowed over 2,000 homes to be built in a rural area of the county along Highway 462. Despite Rural Preservation zoning, a lack of infrastructure like roads, water and sewer, and significant community opposition, the developers intended to move forward with a plan to forever alter this landscape and community.
The Conservation League and community partners rallied together to advocate against the proposed annexation and development request for the property.
“The Conservation League’s advocacy laid the groundwork for our land trust partners to purchase this important piece of land,” said Grant McClure, South Coast Project Manager for the Coastal Conservation League. “These grassroots advocacy efforts on the front end were essential in setting the stage for this conservation outcome. We couldn’t do this critical work without the community’s buy in.”
Learn more about Chelsea here
What Is Next For Jasper County?
While we celebrate this win, there is still more work to be done in Jasper County. In conjunction with opposing annexation, the Conservation League has been working with the Town of Ridgeland to update their comprehensive plan, urging them to implement a growth boundary to better define where and how the town will develop in the future.
Several other large tracts have been targeted for development, including the 1,520-acre Tickton Hall property. Tickton was once considered a part of Chelsea and features 9,000 linear feet of river frontage, a family cemetery, and a publicly leased boat landing. The property has been managed historically for upland bird hunting. A highly debated development proposes 3,000 single-family residential homes, in addition to commercial uses. The developer has also proposed up to 75 private docks on Euhaw Creek, a tributary of the Broad River.
Like Chelsea, the request to annex Tickton into the Town of Ridgeland was placed on hold because of advocacy against the move, and the community’s activism and opposition. However, Tickton is still very much at risk and a serious development threat, especially given the scale of what is being proposed.
Large tracts within the “Euhaw District” like Chelsea and Tickton Hall have intact conservation values, forming key wildlife corridors and offering resilience benefits like flood mitigation. As sea level rise continues to impact our coastline, safeguarding additional lands along the Broad River and its tributaries is also key to buffer against storms and protect communities. Critically, the land is this corridor lack infrastructure to accommodate large-scale growth and would stretch Town and County resources thin to provide services.
The Conservation League will continue to encourage Jasper County as it works to implement stronger rural zoning for the Euhaw District along Highway 462. Likewise, we’ll continue to advocate for a conservation outcome for Tickton Hall, building on the momentum of Chelsea’s protection.