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Conservation Bank asks for recurring funding and $20M nonrecurring to protect farmland and public lands
Summary
Leaders of the South Carolina Conservation Bank and its director briefed the subcommittee on a year of land conservation projects, reported protection of 30,000 acres and requested recurring and one‑time funds including $5.5 million recurring and $20 million nonrecurring, plus $3 million for a working farmland program.
Mike McShane, chair of the South Carolina Conservation Bank, and the bank’s director presented the bank’s annual report and a multi‑part budget request to the Criminal Justice Budget Subcommittee.
Director West summarized recent accomplishments: the bank completed 64 projects protecting about 30,000 acres — bringing the program’s historic total to more than 400,000 acres — and distributed roughly $83.6 million in awards this past year, the director said. “At $839 an acre, which…is pretty good bang for the buck,” Director West told the committee.
The bank’s budget pitch: the bank requested $5.5 million in additional recurring funding for its conservation programs, $20 million nonrecurring for the bank’s general program authority, and $3 million nonrecurring specifically for working farmland protection. The bank also sought authority for reimbursements that may come to the state through some programs and asked for continued provisos that enable interagency grants and carry forward authority.
Examples cited: projects highlighted to the committee included public land expansions (Saluda Bluffs, a new Lancaster/Catawba‑river state park tract) and a large private working‑lands conservation easement in Jasper County that includes 8 miles of Port Royal Sound frontage and buffers a military installation. McShane said $75 million of the year’s awards went to new public lands and about $7.9 million to private working lands.
Why it matters: McShane and director West said the bank’s leveraging of state funds helps secure federal grants — citing a recent $50 million federal Forest Legacy grant — and that recurring and one‑time funds enable rapid placement of strategic easements in a state that added 91,000 residents last year.
Proviso and program notes: the bank asked for reauthorization of four provisos including the ability to make a $4 million grant to the Department of Natural Resources and carry‑forward authority for trust and general funds; staff said these provisos helped leverage other federal funding.
Ending: McShane told the panel the bank is focusing on both public recreation lands and working farmland protection and urged continued investment so the agency can match federal opportunities and act quickly on strategic properties.
