Dorchester commission recommends conservation easement for roughly 297-acre UTI tract near St. George

The Dorchester County Greenbelt Advisory Commission voted to recommend approval of a conservation-easement application for the roughly 296.74-acre UTI tract along the southern edge of the Town of St. George.

The recommendation, made after an executive session and a motion to approve the application, will be forwarded as the commission's formal recommendation. Commissioners voiced support for the project’s water-quality and conservation benefits during a public presentation and follow-up questions.

Applicant representative (name not specified), who presented the application, said the property includes planted loblolly pine stands, food plots, freshwater wetlands and a portion of the headwaters of Grand Branch. The presenter said the tract is mapped as high priority under the statewide conservation-priority mapping used by the South Carolina Conservation Bank and that the bank approved matching funds at its December 2024 board meeting. "I'm gonna keep this sweet," the applicant representative told the…