Record year for Land Trust

As the need for growth restraints has become increasingly evident in coastal South Carolina, there's great satisfaction in the Lowcountry Open Land Trust's report that it has helped preserve more than 10,000 acres in the last year alone. It was the 22-year-old Land Trust's best year ever.

Not surprisingly, the non-profit's good work was greatly assisted by contributions for land preservation from the local Greenbelt Program and the state Conservation Bank. Land Trust Executive Director Will Haynie reports that landowners received $7.7 million to encourage the preservation of 7,700 acres.

Mr. Haynie notes, however, that even landowners who received payments for conservation easements still contributed far more in value than they actually received.

"Most landowners who received partial payment from the conservation banks donated at least $3 in appraised value for every $1 of incentive payment they received," he said. In addition, conservation easements enable the preservation of tracts at substantially less cost than acquisition.

The Charleston County Greenbelt Advisory Board has supported payments for rural easements that have a particular value as habitat or as a natural barrier to development, supporting the county's efforts to limit urban sprawl. In some instances, easements have been purchased adjacent park land or an existing nature preserve or the Francis Marion National Forest to provide a broader expanse of habitat in perpetuity. For some easements, a measure of public access has been provided.

Mr. Haynie is correct when he says that "the Lowcountry land ethic has been and remains very strong." That's why local conservation initiatives based on private donations, such as the ACE Basin, have been so successful.

But clearly Charleston County and the state offer an important incentive to increase the pace of land preservation. That fact should be borne in mind by the Legislature when it considers Gov. Mark Sanford's recommendation for a $50 million one-time supplement to the Conservation Bank for next fiscal year.

Charleston County residents who voted for the half-cent local option sales tax can take satisfaction in the conservation results reported on Friday by the Land Trust.

Without the revenue generated from the local option sales tax, there wouldn't be a local source of public revenue for land and easement purchases in support of countywide conservation and planning goals.