Beaufort County Greenspace Program
Discover the Green Space Program’s protected lands.
Located at the headwaters of the Port Royal Sound, this 4,400 acre peninsula is forever protected from development.
Gregorie Neck is an undeveloped 4,400 acre peninsula located in Jasper County. It’s bounded by the Tulifinny and Coosawhatchie Rivers, which drain into the salt marshes at the headwaters of the Broad River and Port Royal Sound. The property has direct access to Highway 17 and Interstate 95, conveniently connecting the property to the economic centers and ports in Charleston and Savannah.
Such conditions made Gregorie Neck highly valuable land for residential and commercial development. Fortunately, the Nature Conservancy took swift action to purchase the property, and working with the Open Land Trust secured funding through the South Carolina Conservation State Bank, the Department of Defense’s Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration (REPI) program, and the Beaufort County Green Space Program to place a permanent conservation easement on the entire 4,400 acres.
This project was the first project the Beaufort County Green Space Program funded. The County’s share in the conservation easement totaled $1,000,000, only a 7.4% of the total cost of the $13M easement. With the easement in place, Gregorie Neck is protected in perpetuity from development of any kind, saving several homesteads as is allowed through the conservation easement terms. Even though the property is located in Jasper County, preventing residential, commercial, and industrial development on Gregorie Neck provides invaluable benefits to Beaufort County citizens because of the property’s location in the Port Royal Sound and along transportation corridors that serve the County.
One of the last large properties left on Hilton Head Island finds protection through the Green Space Program.
At 26.69 acres, the Mitchelville Tract represents one of the last large, undeveloped tracts on Hilton Head Island. And while its size alone makes it noteworthy, the beachfront Mitchelville tract is also uniquely situated next to a public passive park and is a culturally significant tract of land located in Historic Mitchelville.
Those conditions alone made this property worthy of protection through the Green Space Program, but protection also removed high-density development rights from the property, preserving the rural character that has managed to linger in this part of Hilton Head Island. Such qualities got the notice of the Town of Hilton Head Island, who submitted the property to the Green Space Program for consideration as a fee simple project.
The Mitchelville Road Tract was the second project the Beaufort County Green Space Program funded, but was the first fee simple project. The County’s share in purchasing the property totaled $10,902,500, comprising 93% of the total cost of the nearly $12M property. But, such a unique property that safeguards water quality, preserves maritime forest, maintains resilience against sea level rise, protects culturally significant resources, and has an opportunity for public access is well worth the price tag. The property will be owned and operated by the Town of Hilton Head Island, who has expressed an interest in merging the Mitchelville Road Tract with the abutting Fish Haul Creek Park in order to expand public access to the beach and offer the opportunity to enjoy this special slice of paradise.
At nearly 900 acres, Essex Farms helps fill a gap in a conservation corridor stretching from the ACE Basin to the Savannah River.
Essex Farms was the first Farmland Preservation project funded by the Green Space Program. Located on the banks of Little Barnwell and Briars Creeks, this active timber farm encompasses a variety of habitats and represents roughly eight miles of waterfrontage in the Wimbee Creek watershed. Its protection benefits our natural landscape and rural economy.
In addition to protecting important habitats and rural economies, Essex Farms flanks two miles of rural county roads, protecting these viewsheds forever. And, due to its location within the airspace used to train marine pilots, keeping Essex Farms working timberlands prevents it from being developed in a way that would undermine the military mission of the Marine Corps Air Station (Beaufort), further protecting critical economies in our region.
As a Farmland Preservation project, Essex Farms will remain in private ownership, but now has the benefit of a protective conservation easement, held by the Open Land Trust. The County’s share in purchasing the conservation easement totaled $560,000, comprising 19% of the total cost of the nearly $3M easement. The Open Land Trust worked with both the South Carolina Conservation State Bank and the Department of Defense’s Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration (REPI) program to secure the remainder of the funds. By leveraging these financial partnerships, the Open Land Trust stretched the value of the Green Space Fund allowing the County to utilize taxpayer dollars to protect more land than would be possible otherwise.