Lowcountry Land Trust outlines conservation priorities to Dorchester commission
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Summary
Kate Parks Shaffer, chief conservation officer at Lowcountry Land Trust, told the Dorchester County Conservation and Greenbelt Advisory Commission that partners protected more than 2,000 acres in 2025, and that GIS analysis shows 97% of county residents live within 5 miles of existing public access; she urged combining fee purchases and easements to expand corridors.
Kate Parks Shaffer, chief conservation officer at Lowcountry Land Trust, presented the trust’s 2025 work and local priorities to the Dorchester County Conservation and Greenbelt Advisory Commission on April 1. Shaffer said Lowcountry Land Trust protected more than 2,000 acres across 19 transactions last year, including three projects in Dorchester County, and highlighted recent local projects such as the Night Track, the Berry Tract and Young’s Farm.
Shaffer said the trust’s GIS analysis shows 97% of Dorchester County residents live within 5 miles “of a public access point,” adding that 92% live within 4 miles, 85% within 3 miles and 75% within 2 miles. She urged the commission to use those measures when weighing whether to recommend easements or fee-simple acquisitions, because “counties uniquely know where that pent up demand is.”
The presentation reviewed tradeoffs between fee acquisitions, which guarantee public access but can be costly, and conservation easements, which keep land on tax rolls and allow landowners to remain in place while protecting conservation values. Shaffer used regional examples to illustrate how partners can combine fee purchases and easements to protect large corridors: “By working together, you can have this outsized impact,” she said, describing a Jasper County project where fee purchases plus easements protected thousands of acres.
Shaffer also presented land-cover change data for 2014–2024, saying Dorchester County “did lose 5,700 acres of evergreen forest and 4,700 acres of cultivated cropland,” a loss she said helps explain voter interest in conservation funding. She encouraged the commission to continue site visits and to prioritize projects that deliver measurable public benefits such as water access, habitat connectivity and resilience to flooding.
The commission discussed past council decisions that have favored fee acquisitions that provide public access, and members asked staff and Lowcountry Land Trust about ways to frame easements to secure public support. Shaffer offered to share slides and datasets used in the presentation and to follow up by email with maps and captions so commissioners can answer questions from candidates and council members.
The meeting summary: commissioners were urged to continue outreach to landowners, coordinate with partner organizations, and use the trust’s data to explain the public benefits of recommended projects.
