Two South Carolina state agencies working on land buys in Florence, Horry counties valued at $12M
Documents included in Wednesday's Joint Bond Review Committee show involvement by the state Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism on a 111.2-acre project abutting Waties Island and a nearly 4,600-acre acquisition that's part of Snow's Island in Florence County — with a combined purchase price of more than $12 million.
The New York-based Open Space Institute in February said it secured 115 acres on and around Waties Island, South Carolina's last pristine barrier island that spans 22 miles from Myrtle Beach to the North Carolina border.
'The project was established as a donation, however, due to the availability of federal funds to reimburse the state for its initial contribution, the property will now be purchased,' the agenda says. 'The property is one of the last remaining undeveloped and unprotected barrier islands of this size in the southeastern United States.'
Locking up the land would protect 'key ecological services afford by this open space to the larger built environment around it,' state officials said.
Open Space Institute is offering the land for $2 million, which would be paid for using National American Wetlands Conservation Grant Act funds.
Just before Christmas, Gov. Henry McMaster visited Snow's Island in Florence County to celebrate a landmark land preservation deal totaling 7,600 acres.
A full project estimate shows $1.5 million from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and $8.5 million from the federal Forest Service.
* * *
Adam Benson joined the News13 digital team in January 2024. He is a veteran South Carolina reporter with previous stops at the Greenwood Index-Journal, Post & Courier and The Sun News in Myrtle Beach. Adam is a Boston native and University of Utah graduate. Follow Adam on X, formerly Twitter, at @AdamNewshound12. See more of his work here.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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