Stateline Blue Ridge Tract

The northeast corner of Greenville County, with its dramatic escarpment, high ridgelines and myriad headwater streams has attracted enormous conservation initiatives over the past thirty years. The watersheds that fuel the water supply for the cities of Tryon, Greenville, and Landrum originate here. Naturaland Trust, The Nature Conservancy and the Department of Natural Resources have worked to buffer these landscapes and groups like the Palmetto Trail have worked to make them easily accessible to the public. Spanning the borders of North and South Carolina, we worked with another conservation group, Conserving Carolina, to leverage funding and add to this tapestry of protected public land. Conserving Carolina tackled 30 acres on the North Carolina side of the line and Naturaland Trust targeted 36 acres on the South Carolina side.

Dug Hill Road is a short drive from the rapidly expanding downtown of Landrum. Winding through the mountain landscape towards the border of North Carolina, you pass Lake Lanier, a vibrant mountain lake community, the trailhead for the Palmetto Trail, and the Blue Wall Preserve owned and managed by The Nature Conservancy. Dug Hill Ridge overlooks the foothills with Hogback Mountain just to the west and the Chestnut Ridge Heritage Trust Preserve directly south. Through tremendous effort over the last thirty years, these mountain landscapes have been protected to improve the water quality and scenic viewshed for residents of the Upstate. 

The Stateline Blue Ridge Tract builds upon the decades of work by many organizations, agencies, and county officials. Naturaland Trust itself owns and manages 120 acres adjacent to this property. We found out about this opportunity because of a great partner, Madelon Wallace, who is a real estate agent representing the sellers. She knew of our work in the area and contacted us in hopes we would prevent the property being converted to a small development. Naturaland Trust raised the majority of the funding through a grant with the SC Conservation Bank and used its own funding to cover the deficit.

Conserving Carolina placed an easement on their side of the border and allowed a single home to be built at the existing homesite. With this one project, we have helped further protect the viewshed of the South Carolina border; added significant acreage to existing preserves for public recreation and wildlife; protected a headwaters tributary to Vaughn Creek; and collaborated with a North Carolinian land trust to double the impact acreage of the Stateline Blue Ridge Tract.