Pee Dee Land Trust and Black Creek Land Trust Announce Consolidation

COLUMBIA, SC – On December 4^th, 2014 the Black Creek Land Trust and Pee Dee Land Trust finalized an agreement to consolidate their land protection efforts under the stewardship of Pee Dee Land Trust.

The Black Creek Land Trust (BCLT) is one of the earliest land trusts in South Carolina, founded in 1981 when a group of conservation-minded citizens from Hartsville, Darlington, and Florence joined together to form a non-profit organization to “hold in trust, to protect, and to manage, the land in the Black Creek Watershed for the public good.”  Black Creek rises in the Sandhills of Chesterfield County and flows south and east through farms and forests, through the town of Hartsville, and past Darlington to its confluence with the Great Pee Dee River near Florence. Black Creek has long been the focus of residents with a strong conservation ethic, including those who formed the Black Creek Protective Association in the 1940’s as one of South Carolina’s first watershed-focused conservation groups.

For more than 3 decades, the board and members of BCLT provided options for landowners concerned about preserving their family land and traditional landscapes of forest, farm, and streams. Carefully guided by the strong conservation ethic of founders such as Jay James, Ben Williamson, Lucas Dargan, and the Segars family (Al, Kenny, and Mary). BCLT has protected a total of nearly 3,400 acres of family farm and forest land, natural areas, and historic sites, primarily in Darlington and Florence Counties.

PDLT will accept full responsibility for long-term stewardship of two nature preserves in Darlington County:

• the Woods and Louise Macfarlan Dargan Preserve, a maturing 217-acre tract of rich woodland located at the confluence of Swift Creek and Black Creek, east of Darlington, donated by Mrs. Dargan;
• the Mozingo Preserve, a 50-acre tract of maturing woodland located on Black Creek just west of the bridge on Society Hill Road north of Darlington, donated by the Mozingo family.

PDLT Executive Director David Harper expressed that “the board and staff of the Pee Dee Land Trust are deeply honored to be marking our 15^th year as an organization by accepting these two nature preserves.  These properties will allow us the opportunity to reach broader audiences and offer adults and children in the community an opportunity to experience the magic of Black Creek and the majesty of these woodlands.  We are excited to begin working with school groups and scout groups to help us document the plants and animals that call these preserves home.”

In addition, PDLT will accept donation of six conservation easements originally granted to BCLT to preserve 3,140 acres of privately owned properties along Black Creek. These include tracts with mixed pine-oak uplands, bottomland hardwood forest, productive farmland and pine plantations, and historic properties including Segars Mill Pond near Hartsville.

In a recent announcement, Jay James, co-founder of the Black Creek Land Trust stated:

“We rest assured that our lands, our easements, and our vision are in the hands of friends, a like-minded Board, and capable professional staff…you share our love of where we call home, our land, Black Creek and other waters, and all of God’s creatures that depend on man’s good stewardship of creation.”

The consolidation with Black Creek Land Trust will bring the total acreage of land on which PDLT holds conservation easements to more than 20,000 acres. Now in its 15th year, PDLT is a nationally-accredited, non-profit land trust that has grown to include a staff of four, a board of 21 members representing the 9 county region it serves along the Pee Dee River from the Sandhills to the Grand Strand and Winyah Bay.  The PDLT board will form a committee to oversee its new Black Creek Program.

In the words of PDLT board Chairman Buddy Brand, “we welcome new members and landowners who share our devotion to the protection of Black Creek, and look forward to future events and conservation projects to continue the great success started by the Black Creek Land Trust.”