Land Protection

2025-2026 Session: The legislative session starts in January 2025, and CVSC will continue to work with elected officials to preserve land and protect South Carolina’s cultural resources through state and local tools and funding.

Read more about our legislative priorities.

Last Session (2023–2024): CVSC’s land protection efforts are framed around doubling the amount of protected land in South Carolina. In the 2023-2024 legislative session, we supported land protection funding and advanced tools to aid conservation efforts across the state.

• Trail Tax Credits: Many of the public trails in South Carolina access private property, and this bill provides an incentive for more landowners to open their land to public trails with a tax credit. This bill was passed and signed by the Governor.
• Rosenwald Day Resolution: Rosenwald Schools were perhaps the most impactful philanthropic effort for African-American education in the first half of the 20th century. These schools were built across the Southeast, nearly 500 in South Carolina, to provide state-of-the-art education facilities for African-American students at a time when they were being denied access to quality education. CVSC is working with community groups and lawmakers to raise awareness of these schools and develop a protection network for the remaining school sites in South Carolina. With the help of Rep. Henegan, Sen. Stephens, and Sen. Fanning, CVSC was successful in establishing February 28th, as South Carolina Rosenwald School Day. CVSC will continue to work with the legislature and a wide array of partners to advance the protection, restoration, and interpretation of these important cultural landmarks. 
• SC Rosenwald Schools Trail Study Funding: CVSC secured funding from the General Assembly to undertake a feasibility study on the establishment of a Rosenwald Schools State Park Network. The funding was received in 2023 and kicked off in 2024, with a completed report expected in 2025.
• Agricultural Working Lands Preservation Act: The Working Agricultural Lands Bill, emphasizes South Carolina’s efforts to preserve its agricultural heritage. This bill provides permanent protection to farmlands actively used for crop production or livestock raising by creating a specific fund to conserve these lands. Introduced by Representative Patrick Haddon in 2023, this bill encountered a brief roadblock in the Senate after passing the House. After some corrective actions, H.3951 passed the Senate Finance Committee and ultimately passed in the Senate. Governor McMaster signed the bill at Cottle Strawberry Farms, which demonstrates how integral these farms are to our communities and emphasizes the importance of preserving them.
• Transferable Development Rights: Transferrable Development Rights (TDRs) are a powerful tool that local governments can wield to protect vulnerable lands and target density in areas that are best suited for it. This legislation established the framework for TDR programs across the state and garnered interest from many legislators who want to minimize sprawl. Despite interest, this bill did not make it to a floor vote.

Approximately 3 million acres of land and water are protected throughout South Carolina, covering about 15% of the state. These protected properties include private and publicly owned property, including working farms and forests, picturesque mountains and marshes, and unique cultural and historic sites. 

CVSC is committed to the bold vision of doubling those 3 million acres and is actively working to identify and advocate for policies, tools, and funding streams that would empower nonprofit partners and state and local governments to reach this target. We support the acquisition and enhancement of protected lands through public and private funding streams and creative policies, understanding that more land protection is good for the quality of life in the Palmetto State.

In this effort, managing South Carolina’s rapid growth and increasing our state’s resilience is of utmost importance. Recent Census data indicates we are the fastest-growing state in the nation, which means now is the time to act. CVSC is working with stakeholders to develop strategies for responsible growth that preserve our state’s wealth of natural resources and quality of life.

As South Carolina pursues a bold goal of doubling the amount of protected land and water, we must recognize that traditional land protection efforts have been dominated by protection of large tracts of land, typically owned by higher-wealth individuals. These efforts have been immensely successful and have protected millions of unique properties across our state. 

These traditional efforts can and should be a part of the land protection toolbox, but, if South Carolina seeks to rapidly protect an additional 3 million acres of the Palmetto State,  the conservation movement must broaden our efforts. We must expand the traditional definition of ‘protected lands’ to make room for new options and tools that preserve working lands, historic and cultural sites, and other community-centered approaches for protecting land and water resources. We must add new tools to the toolbox that make conservation accessible to individuals who rely on the land and water for wealth generation, that expand land protection beyond the small subset of the population that willing to place perpetual restrictions on their property, and that recognize that both individuals and communities have deep, personal connections to the land that must be respected and valued.  

In addition, we must recognize that protecting millions of acres of land and water is only one part of the puzzle. We must ensure that the public is provided access to some of these protected sites. Green spaces provide affordable recreational opportunities and support the mental well-being of people who use them. Community access to these spaces is as much a conservation issue as it is a public health issue. 

Rosenwald Schools are a living symbol of the movement to educate African American communities after Reconstruction. Now, we have an opportunity to weave the story of land protection into their cultural legacy. Protecting these buildings, their stories, and the lands they rest on represents a new way of looking at conservation and those it impacts.

CVSC, the WeGOJA Foundation, Rosenwald community groups, and other state and local partners have formed a working group to initiate the protection of Rosenwald School sites across the state. To raise awareness surrounding this project, the General Assembly passed a bill recognizing February 28, as Rosenwald School Day. 

CVSC was also successful in securing funding for the SC Rosenwald Schools Trail Study, which will lay out a master plan for a potential Rosenwald Schools State Park Network. In 2025, the study will deliver a proposal that South Carolina State Parks can use to develop an initial trail that highlights the rich history of our state’s Rosenwald Schools. CVSC will continue to tirelessly advocate for the findings in the study to bring this park network to life.

Learn more about South Carolina Rosenwald Schools.

South Carolina is one of the nation’s fastest-growing states and needs to manage unprecedented growth while preserving its natural beauty and distinct character. The SC Prosper & Preserve initiative offers a comprehensive approach to combat sprawl, the root cause of land loss, through two key sustainable planning tools: Transferable Development Rights (TDR) and Concurrent Infrastructure Requirements (CIR). 

TDRs provide a market-based solution, allowing landowners in designated areas to sell their development rights, which developers can then purchase. This increases density in designated growth zones and incentivizes the protection of valuable landscapes without public funding. Complementing this, CIR ensures that infrastructure demands from new development are met by the developers themselves by ensuring that vital infrastructure such as roads, schools, water, and sewer systems can handle increased demand. CIR would prevent overburdened systems and guide growth towards areas with existing capacity. 

By strategically implementing TDRs and CIR, South Carolina can channel growth responsibly, safeguarding its unique landscapes and working towards the ambitious goal of doubling protected lands, ensuring a prosperous and preserved future for all South Carolinians.