At its April 8 meeting, Beaufort County Council authorized the purchase and acquisition of two properties through its Rural and Critical Lands Preservation Program.

The first property is known as Pinckney Point and is located in southern Beaufort County on both the Okatie and Colleton Rivers. The land consists of 229 acres of undeveloped river frontage, including more than 70 acres of maritime forest, a hammock island and all associated marshland.  This land was originally going to be developed with 70 homes, each with its own septic system, causing possible further degradation of the Colleton and Okatie rivers through damage from stormwater runoff. Because of this, the county felt it was environmentally important to buy and preserve the land from future development.

“Pinckney Point could be the crown jewel of the Okatie/Colleton, connecting all protected properties to date, preserving a geographically unique landscape, and offering a central location from which to operate a regional conservation park complex. A true eco-tourism attraction,” said Open Lands Trust Executive Director, Patty Kennedy.

Pinckney Point will be acquired for $6.95M.

The second property voted on last Monday was a small parcel located in the Town of Port Royal at 601 Old Fort Road. The less than 1 acre of land is being acquired to provide better access to the Fort Frederick boat landing owned by the SC Department of Natural Resources, and the historic Fort Frederick site acquired by the Rural and Critical Lands Program in 2005. The purchase price of the property is $75,000.
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