Mission
Naturaland Trust protects South Carolina’s Blue Ridge mountains and special places in the Piedmont.
For over 50 years, we have worked to save the Blue Ridge escarpment of South Carolina – the magnificent ‘Blue Wall’ – a land of waterfalls, mountain forests, wildlife, and rare plant species. These open and wild spaces of the Upstate are now easily accessible to the public. Jocassee Gorges, Raven Cliff Falls, Jones Gap State Park, Caesar’s Head State Park, Stumphouse Mountain, the South Saluda River, the Swamp Rabbit Trail, the Reedy River, and the Cherokee Foothills National Scenic Highway (Highway 11) – Naturaland Trust has played a key role in protecting these special places and many more.
How We Work
Naturaland Trust purchases property fee simple for permanent protection and public enjoyment. Our land protection work is funded through private donations and winning competitive local, state and national grants. Donors see an immediate and permanent result when gifting to Naturaland Trust. 100% of the funding that we receive through donations or grants goes directly to the costs of purchasing property, not overhead.
Once we acquire a property, we either become the longterm stewards and managers of the property, or subject to a conservation easement we often donate the property to a state or federal agency like SC State Parks, SC Department of Natural Resources, or the Sumter National Forest. We work with conservation partners across the state to accomplish our goals of protecting the vital forests, watersheds, rivers and public spaces of South Carolina’s Blue Ridge mountains.
