County trust reports new conservation proposals and five-year tally of protected land

Carlton Owen and board member Molly Comensky updated the Greenville County Committee on Finance on the Historic Natural Resources Trust’s recent activity and four projects the board is expected to consider.

Owen said the Trust has completed about 30 projects protecting ‘‘a little over 2,600 acres’’ and that the Trust has invested roughly $6.4 million of county money while protecting nearly $39 million in real estate value. The board previewed four grant proposals: Little Mountain (about 125 acres, a conservation easement along scenic Highway 11 to preserve viewshed and water quality for Barton Creek), the Bates House (11 acres and a National Register–listed historic structure that could be part of a regional county park), and two Stone Family Farm projects together conserving roughly 250 acres of farmland and natural woodlands.

On the record, Owen and Comensky explained conservation easements used by the Trust are generally perpetual and pass with the title; they said easements typically do not convey public access rights and that agricultural or forestry uses may remain under private control. The board expects to vote on the projects at its next meeting; the Trust’s presentation was informational and did not include a committee vote to allocate funds at this meeting.

Committee members asked about protections provided by easements and broader land-protection strategy; presenters said easements are a long-term mechanism to preserve open space and ecological services and noted the Trust’s leverage ratio (county dollars to real estate value) varies by project.