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Conservation Bank asks Legislature for $5.5M recurring, $23M one‑time to protect farms, parks and working lands
Summary
Chairman Mike McShane and Director Riley West told the Senate Finance Committee the Conservation Bank issued 64 grants in 2024 protecting more than 30,000 acres and is requesting $5.5 million recurring plus $20 million one‑time and an additional $3 million one‑time for working agricultural lands.
Mike McShane, chairman of the South Carolina Conservation Bank board, and Riley West, the bank’s director, told the Senate Finance Committee the bank needs increased recurring and one‑time funding to continue protecting land statewide as population growth increases development pressure.
McShane asked for $5.5 million in recurring funding, a $20 million nonrecurring allocation and an additional $3 million nonrecurring appropriation targeted to the bank’s working agricultural lands program; together the nonrecurring requests total $23 million.
Why it matters: West said the bank issued 64 grants in 2024 that protected more than 30,000 acres and put the agency’s historical total above 400,000 acres — roughly 2% of South Carolina’s land mass — arguing the funding helps preserve farmland, wildlife corridors and public access near population centers.
Key details
- 2024 activity:…
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