Lowcountry Land Trust, a nonprofit committed to preserving Lowcountry landscapes and waterways for current and future generations, is proud to announce the permanent protection of an additional portion of Fairfield Plantation—an ecologically rich and historically significant property located on the South Santee River at the gateway to Charleston County along both sides of U.S. Highway 17.
This conservation success adds 254 acres to an already impressive network of protected lands in the region. Fairfield Plantation lies within a mosaic of large private conservation easements, reinforcing a nearly contiguous landscape of preserved forest and wetlands that shields the Santee Delta from increasing development pressure encroaching from the south. The conserved property also sits in direct proximity to more than 350,000 acres of publicly protected lands, including Francis Marion National Forest (259,000 acres), Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge (66,306 acres), Santee Coastal Heritage Preserve (24,000 acres), and Hampton Plantation State Historic Site (300 acres).
In 2013, the landowners placed 480 acres of Fairfield Plantation into a perpetual conservation easement with Lowcountry Land Trust. In 2024, they returned to complete their conservation vision by bargain-selling an easement on an additional 254 acres of the property.
“Thanks to this private family’s excellent stewardship and their generous donation of value in placing a conservation easement on the remainder of Fairfield Plantation, the Santee Delta will continue to thrive in its ecologically rich, relatively natural state,” said Hunter Allen, who managed the project for Lowcountry Land Trust. “We’re proud to help secure the future for this remarkable part of the Lowcountry.”
Fairfield Plantation’s conservation easement expansion now stands as a powerful example of how public-private partnerships, community values, and landowner generosity can unite to preserve the Lowcountry’s natural and cultural heritage. The protection of Fairfield Plantation was made possible in part through funding from the Charleston County Greenbelt Program, underscoring the collaborative nature of conservation in the region.
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