Dorchester County purchase could bring SC state forest count to 7
A 1,644-acre forest tract in Dorchester County, known as Beech Hill, is to be preserved as a South Carolina state forest. (Photo provided by Brown Land + Plantation Advisors)
The number of state forests in South Carolina could jump from five to seven.
A land conservation group bought a 1,644-acre forest tract in the Lowcountry with plans to transfer it to the state Forestry Commission for management.
Harbison State Forest in Richland County
Manchester State Forest in Clarendon and Sumter counties
Poe Creek State Forest in Oconee and Pickens counties
Sand Hills State Forest in Chesterfield and Darlington counties
Wee Tee State Forest in Williamsburg and Georgetown counties
Source: SC Forestry Commission
Thursday's announcement from Dorchester County follows a 2,700-acre purchase in Jasper County two weeks ago by the Nature Conservancy that was expected to become the first new state forest in 20 years.
The Open Space Institute closed last week on its $11.35 million purchase of land called Beech Hill in Dorchester County, located between the Edisto River Wildlife Management Area and Givhans Ferry State Park, about 12 miles west of the fast-growing town of Summerville.
The organization, in a statement, described the property as 'unusually high and dry for the Lowcountry,' putting it in higher demand for potential development as growth moves northwest out of Charleston.
According to the Open Space Institute, it will be open to the public with for hunting, hiking and biking.
'This forested landscape represents a renewable resource that provides a multitude of benefits, including clean water, scenic beauty, wildlife habitat and outdoor recreation,' State Forester Scott Phillips said in a statement.
'This is another win for our state, its residents, and wildlife as we continue working with our partners to ramp up efforts to conserve working forests.'
The land was previously used by WestRock to grow trees for its now-shuttered North Charleston paper mill.
The purchase includes funding from the Forestry Commission and the South Carolina Conservation Bank, as well as Dorchester County, which will contribute $4.1 million from its Greenbelt Program. County voters approved a 1-cent local sales tax for conservation in 2022.
Management of South Carolina's protected forests is funded through timber sales on the properties, according to the Forestry Commission's website.
A quarter of revenue earned from the new forest will go to the Dorchester County School District, according to information provided by the Open Space Institute.
The Nature Conservancy bought the Jasper County property, known as Chelsea Plantation, for $32 million. Originally nearly 6,000 acres, other parts of the tract had already been sold to home builders.
Jasper County property could become SC's first new state forest in 20 years
'Developing Chelsea would have ushered in a new era of expansion in an already fast-growing region,' executive director Dale Threatt-Taylor said in a statement. 'We weren't willing to leave it to chance.'
The timeline for transferring that property to the state is still being discussed.
Before these two announcements, the last time land opened to the public as a new, protected state forest was in 2004, when the Forestry Commission acquired 12,000-acre Wee Tee State Forest in Williamsburg and Georgetown counties.
Conservation groups helped purchase land to add to the forest in 2023, bringing its total to 18,000 acres.
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