The Conservation Fund

Ceylon
Camden County, GA

The Conservation Fund (“TCF”) was loaned $4.7 million for the acquisition of the 16,000-acre Ceylon tract located along the Satilla River in Southeast Georgia, near the city of Woodbine. The purchase price of the property was $40 million with the balance of the acquisition funding provided by TCF and Open Space Institute (“OSI”), along with other third-party funders. With the intent of restoring the longleaf pine and all the plant and animal species that are dependent 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 (“GADNR”), 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. The transfer to GADNR will likely happen in two phases over time.