3,000 Acres Saved So Far
Protecting What Matters, Part 1: Results to Date
Greenville County Council created the Historic & Natural Resources Trust with a simple mission: Save the places that make Greenville County special -- before they're gone. And it's working.
In its first five years, the Trust invested $7 million in local taxpayer funds to help conservation partners protect:
$43.35 MILLION IN REAL ESTATE VALUE
34 PROJECTS
3,000+ ACRES.
That's more than $6 in protected real-estate value for every $1 of local investment.
What Did We Protect?
OUR MOUNTAINS & RIVERS: One-third of the projects are in northern Greenville County—adding land to Jones Gap and Caesars Head State Parks and protecting reaches of the South Saluda, Middle Saluda, and North Saluda Rivers.
PARIS MOUNTAIN: Five projects have expanded the footprint of the state's 2nd most visited state park—Paris Mountain—by 20%.
WORKING FARMS & FORESTS: Another third of the projects protect privately owned farms and forests through perpetual conservation easements—keeping land in private hands while limiting future development. Those easements protected nearly 1,500 acres while using only 20% of the Trust's total investment.
MORE PLACES FOR PEOPLE: The Trust helped secure land for Greenville County's first new regional park in more than 15 years at Oakland Plantation, expanded Southside Park, helped assemble nearly 12 acres along the Saluda River for what can become Piedmont Mill Village's "Central Park," and added nearly 18 acres just north of the City of Greenville's Unity Park to protect natural wetlands and reduce downstream flooding.
The Bigger Story
These aren't simply acres on a map. They are forests that clean our air. Floodplains that hold water. Farms that remain farms. Habitats where wildlife can survive. Parks where children can explore. Rivers people can reach. Trails where families can exercise.
Land protected permanently now doesn't have to be rescued again. In just five years, projects have reached 9 of Greenville County's 12 Council districts. 3,000 ACRES DOWN - 1/2 of 1% of the County's total land. A generation's work still ahead.
Greenville County will continue to grow. The question is not whether we grow. It's what we choose to save while we grow.
