Upstate Forever Announces New Conservation Easements in Laurens, Union Counties

Local conservation nonprofit Upstate Forever has permanently protected more than 800 acres across Laurens and Union counties through three new conservation easements. The newly protected lands preserve family farms, working forests, clean water, and wildlife habitat in an area of the Upstate facing immense development pressure.

“These three conservation projects demonstrate several ways landowners can choose to protect the places that matter to them,” said Scott Park, Upstate Forever’s Glenn Hilliard Director of Land Conservation. “Whether it’s a family who cared for their farm for generations or a landscape being restored to improve water quality, permanent land protection helps ensure these special places remain part of our communities for the future.”

Thomason Farm, situated on 219 acres in Laurens County, has been operated by the Thomason family for more than a century. Today, the fourth generation of landowners continues that tradition, raising cattle and cutting hay across a landscape of fields and forests. A spring-fed pond and tributary to Reedy Fork provide clean water in the Saluda River watershed and habitat for wildlife, while the farm’s open fields and rural views help preserve the agricultural character of an area facing increasing development pressure. This project received funding from the South Carolina Conservation Bank (SCCB) and Upstate Land Conservation Fund (ULCF).

Santuc Farm is located on 387 acres in Union County, where the same family has stewarded the land since the 1920s. The farm operated as a dairy for decades before transitioning to beef cattle, and today the landowners continue to manage its pastures and forests as a working farm. The property protects important riparian areas along Swift Run and several tributaries in the Tyger River watershed, while its rolling pastures and historic farmhouse and dairy structures preserve the rural heritage of the Santuc community. This project also received funding from the SCCB and ULCF.

“The ULCF is honored to play an important role in protecting the Thomason and Santuc Farms,” said Brad Wyche, chair of the Upstate Land Conservation Fund advisory committee. “We have now provided funding for more than 50 conservation projects in the Upstate and look forward to assisting in many more in the years ahead.”

Oak Grove Farm Mitigation Bank is a 233-acre protected area just south of the City of Union. Also located in the Tyger River Basin, this project contributes to an important network of streams, wetlands, and riparian habitat. It has been managed primarily for agriculture and forestry, but historic timber harvesting and agricultural conversion altered some of its streams and wetlands. Through this mitigation project, nearly 14,000 feet of stream will be restored, more than six acres of forested wetlands will be preserved, and more than 22 acres of freshwater wetlands will be enhanced — helping to restore natural functions to the landscape and resulting in improved water quality and wildlife habitat.

Amendments to existing easements

Occasionally, Upstate Forever works with landowners to amend existing conservation easements in order to protect additional land and strengthen restrictions that support the property’s long-term protection. 

Redbud Mountain, nestled between Old Highway State Highway 11 and Cherokee Foothills Scenic Highway, was originally protected by a conservation easement on approximately 28 acres in 2001. The landowners amended the easement in partnership with Upstate Forever's land trust in 2009, protecting an additional 45 acres. Most recently, the landowners have further amended the easement to strengthen residential development restrictions and increase forest protections as they prepare to list the protected property for sale.

Soapstone Baptist Church was established more than 150 years ago in Liberia, a small community settled by formerly enslaved African Americans and their families in Pickens County. In 2022, Upstate Forever, the SCCB, and the ULCF worked with Mable Owens Clarke — the sixth-generation steward and matriarch of Soapstone — to protect six acres that house the historic church, schoolhouse, and cemetery where formerly enslaved people were laid to rest. Recently, the conservation easement was amended to protect approximately 1.5 additional acres along Liberia Road. 

Partner projects

In addition to enacting and stewarding conservation easements, Upstate Forever works to further cooperative regional land protection by supporting conservation partners on projects that benefit the Upstate. In these instances, Upstate Forever may not take on a new conservation easement but provides other support integral to the effort’s success. Recent partner projects with the Spartanburg Area Conservancy (SPACE) and South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation & Tourism represent approximately 130 additional protected acres.