Oconee County conservation board hears application to protect 553‑acre Keyes family farm

The Oconee County Conservation Bank Board on April 8 considered an application from the South Carolina Farm Bureau Land Trust and landowner Lee Keyes to place a conservation easement on about 553 acres of Keyes family land in Oconee County.

Board chair Emily Jones opened the discussion and asked Richard, a representative of the South Carolina Farm Bureau Land Trust, and landowner Lee Keyes to introduce the project. Richard said the land trust was organized as a 501(c)(3) in 2021 and has closed 15 easements while managing roughly 50 easements in process statewide. He described the Keyes property as having significant water resources, saying the property “has about a mile and a half of stream frontage on Little Chostowee Creek,” which flows to Lake Hartwell. Keyes said his family has farmed the land for generations and that he wants the property preserved for future generations.

The board did not vote on funding. Instead members discussed technical details raised in the application, asked for clarifications, and agreed to schedule a site visit before the board’s May meeting. Emily Jones said members who visit the site will report back at the May meeting so the board can score the application under its criteria sheet; the board’s application rules require farm‑land projects to reach at…