UPSTATE S.C. — Conservation nonprofit Upstate Forever closed out 2025 by permanently protecting more than 2,100 additional acres through conservation easements across the Upstate of South Carolina and western North Carolina, including several properties that directly impact the Lake Hartwell watershed.
The newly conserved lands span seven South Carolina counties—Anderson, Oconee, Greenville, Laurens, Pickens, and Spartanburg—as well as Polk County, N.C. In total, nine new and amended conservation easements were completed during the final months of the year.
“We had a strong finish to 2025,” said Scott Park, Upstate Forever’s Glenn Hilliard Director of Land Conservation. “These properties reflect the diversity of the region and the commitment of landowners who want to see their land protected for future generations.”
The protected acreage includes working farms, managed timberlands, and forested and mixed-use properties. Together, they safeguard prime farmland, wildlife habitat, and critical water resources—benefits that are especially significant for Lake Hartwell, which relies on healthy upstream lands to maintain water quality and ecological balance.
“Protecting farms, forests, and streams upstream is one of the most effective ways to safeguard Lake Hartwell’s water quality and natural beauty for future generations.”
Several of the conserved properties lie within tributary systems that flow directly into Lake Hartwell. In Anderson County, Echols Farm preserves 72 acres of open fields, timber, and mixed forests while protecting streams and wetlands associated with Three and Twenty Creek, a direct tributary of the lake. Nearby, Big Garvin Creek Farm protects 253 acres of rolling pastureland, forested creek buffers, and a large pond within the same watershed, helping reduce runoff and preserve agricultural land in an area experiencing increasing development pressure.
Stevenson Century Farm, a 132-acre fourth-generation cattle and poultry operation located along the Anderson–Oconee County line, conserves extensive prime farmland soils and more than 4,000 feet of tributary streams that feed into Lake Hartwell. The project also connects with other conserved properties in the area, strengthening long-term protection of both farmland and water resources.
In Greenville County, Moore Farm at Horsepen Creek preserves nearly 70 acres of prime farmland and buffers Horsepen Creek from nearby suburban development, improving water quality downstream. Additional large-scale projects completed in 2025 include RML Timber in Laurens County, a 1,219-acre sustainably managed forest, the second-largest conservation easement in Upstate Forever’s history, and an expansion of the Warrior Mountain conservation easement, which added more than 57 acres of hardwood forest and riparian habitat through a full landowner donation.
In Pickens County, Duck Haven protects 146 acres of fields, wetlands, and forests along the Saluda River, preserving habitat for threatened and endangered species while maintaining the property’s agricultural and recreational uses.
Additional conservation efforts include Foster Fields in Spartanburg County, which protects pastureland and stream corridors near Croft State Park, and Long Lane Farm in Polk County, N.C., an equestrian property that safeguards scenic views, riparian corridors, and habitat for federally protected species.
In total, Upstate Forever protected more than 2,700 acres through conservation easements in 2025 and supported partner-led conservation projects that accounted for an additional 2,500 acres across the region. Since its founding in 1998, the organization has permanently conserved nearly 44,000 acres, working to protect the lands and waters that define the Upstate including those that sustain Lake Hartwell.
