LOANS
THE CONSERVATION FUND
Ceylon, Camden County, GA | 16,000 acres | $4.7 million
The Conservation Fund was loaned $4.7 million for the acquisition of the 16,000-acre Ceylon tract located along the Satilla River in Southeast Georgia. The purchase price of the property was $40 million with the balance of the acquisition funding provided by TCF, Open Space Institute, and other third-party funders. With the intent of restoring the longleaf pine and the species that depend on this fire-based ecosystem and to keep the gopher tortoise from being designated as an endangered species, TCF and OSI will work with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, the U.S. Navy and other federal agencies to find funding and support to permanently protect the property under conservation easements and to transfer the property to the GADNR for a new wildlife management area.
LOWCOUNTRY LAND TRUST
Hyde Park, Berkeley County, SC | 604 acres | $1.0 million
Lowcountry Land Trust was loaned $1.0 million for the acquisition of the historic 604-acre Hyde Park property located on the East Branch of the Cooper River in Berkeley County, SC. The purchase price of the property was $3.6 million with the balance of the acquisition funding provided by LLT from a revolving fund established by the SC Ports Authority with LLT for land protection in the East Branch of the Cooper River Corridor. Upon loan payoff LLT hopes to dedicate part or all the property for some form of public use, or, to sell the property subject to an LLT conservation easement.
SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN
HIGHLANDS CONSERVANCY
Big Creek, Macon County, NC | 110 acres | $700,000
Southern Appalachian Highland Conservancy (“SAHC”) was loaned $700,000 to facilitate SAHC’s purchase of the 110-acre Big Creek tract in Highlands, Macon County, NC. The purchase price of the property was $1.59 million with the balance of the acquisition funding provided by SAHC and third parties. The property contains a significant stretch of Big Creek, a headwater tributary to the Wild & Scenic Chattooga River and is surrounded by the US Forest Service on three sides. Upon loan payoff SAHC hopes to transfer the property to an entity that will provide some form of public access and recreation.
OPEN SPACE INSTITUTE
Southern Power Tract, Wayne County, GA | 2,418 acres | $2.0 million
Open Space Institute was loaned $2 million to facilitate their purchase of the 2,418-acre Southern Power tract in Wayne County, GA. The value of the property was about $5.8 million at purchase and loan closing, with the balance of the acquisition funding provided by Southern Power and Knobloch Family Foundation. The property is especially important for the Gopher Tortoise Conservation Initiative effort to permanently protect 65 of the 122 viable tortoise populations in GA. The property also contains Hairy Rattleweed, a highly endangered plant which only occurs in GA and then only within Wayne and Brantley Counties. It is intended upon loan payoff that the property will be transferred to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources for public use.
THE NATURE CONSERVANCY
Gap Creek, Greenville County, SC | 955 acres | $1.5 million
The Nature Conservancy was loaned $1.5 million for the acquisition of the 955-acre Gap Creek tract located in northern Greenville County, SC. The purchase price of the property was $3.7 million with the balance of the acquisition funding provided by third parties. Funding for repayment of the loan and the reimbursement of the original purchase price was provided in part by TNC equity, the SC Conservation Bank, Duke Energy Water Resources Fund, Open Space Institute’s Resilient Landscape Initiative, the Graham Foundation, Campbell Foundation, and multiple generous private donors. Upon loan payoff, TNC transferred the property to SC Parks, Recreation & Tourism as an addition to the Mountain Bridge Wilderness Area.
THE NATURE CONSERVANCY
Turnip Top, Oconee County, SC | 792 acres | $1.0 million
The Nature Conservancy was loaned $1 million to facilitate their purchase of the 792-acre Turnip Top tract in Oconee County, SC. The purchase price of the property was $1.9 million with the balance of the acquisition funding provided by TNC, the SC Conservation Bank and third parties. The property’s connectivity to 46,000 acres of publicly protected land will enhance the forest and freshwater resilience of the area while tripling the size of the SC Department of Natural Resources’s Stumphouse Mountain Heritage Preserve. It is intended upon loan payoff that the property will be transferred to SCDNR for public use.