Board approves two Lowcountry Land Trust easements protecting more than 1,400 acres near South Santee River

Lowcountry Land Trust secured subcommittee approval for two adjacent conservation easements that together protect roughly 1,400 acres near the South Santee River. The subcommittee approved separate motions to fund the Montgomery Tract and the larger AC 2 tract during a Greenbelt advisory subcommittee meeting.

The Montgomery Tract, a 311.8-acre rural tract that fronts the South Santee River and includes broken rice-field wetlands and Montgomery Creek, was approved for a Greenbelt rural grant request of $460,000, with the land trust reporting a 231 percent match. The AC 2 tract, presenting more than 1,100 acres of pine timber, longleaf stands and forested wetlands near Rutledge Road and Highway 17, was approved for a rural request of $922,500, with an advertised match of roughly 269 percent.

The easements prohibit subdivision beyond limited building envelopes and restrict impervious surfaces and commercial uses unrelated to forestry or conservation. Lowcountry Land Trust staff said the Montgomery parcel contains nearly three-quarters of a mile of frontage on the South Santee River and that both tracts sit adjacent to existing protected lands including Francis Marion National Forest and Hampton Plantation, increasing regional habitat connectivity. The trust also noted longleaf pine stands and wetlands that the group plans to document in baseline surveys as part of easement conditions.

Board members asked whether timber and current outdoor-recreation uses, such as leased hunting, would continue; presenters confirmed leases and forestry management would be governed by the easement terms and baseline documentation. Subcommittee members moved and seconded approval for each tract; the chair called the voice votes and recorded approvals.

The approvals are recommendations to the full Greenbelt advisory board for final review and will appear on the board's docket for subsequent consideration.

The projects were presented by Hunter Allen of Lowcountry Land Trust and discussed with Greenbelt staff and subcommittee members. The subcommittee vote approved the Montgomery Tract and the AC 2 tract for the funding amounts presented and with the described restrictions. The grants and easement documents will be finalized through standard due-diligence steps including baseline inventories and recorded easement instruments.