Message From the Executive Director:

• Did you hear the Governor?!

Articles:

• Sprawl Report
• Dan Burden Rocks the Upstate!
• The ReGenesis Project
• The Saluda-Reedy Watershed Project Receives 1.5 Million!

Upstate Conservation:

• First Easement in Union County
• Chauga Watershed Project
• "The Cotton Patch"
• Green Space Donated to Greenville

Upstate Forever News:

• Staff News
• News from the Board

"The Cotton Patch" Is Preserved

    The stunning 400-acre property in Polk County known as “The Cotton Patch” has been preserved through a conservation easement granted to Upstate Forever.

	One of the many breathtaking views from The Cotton Patch.

    The Cotton Patch has almost three miles of frontage along both sides of the North Pacolet River, one of the region’s most important freshwater resources and the most significant tributary to Lake Blalock, a principal source of drinking water for Spartanburg County. The conservation easement contains stringent provisions to protect the river and the adjoining riparian lands. The Spartanburg Water System has expressed its strong support for the conservation easement and its river protection provisions.

    The Cotton Patch is located in close proximity to Four Columns and Fairview Farms, two major tracts that also border the North Pacolet River and are protected by conservation easements granted to Upstate Forever. The total river frontage protected by all three easements exceeds five miles.

    In 1992, the Cotton Patch was acquired by Robert H. Wallace, Jr., who brought a keen appreciation of the land’s value and potential. Shortly after acquiring the property, Mr. Wallace agreed to designate it as a “Stewardship Forest” under a program developed by the U.S. Forest Service. The Cotton Patch’s Forest Stewardship Program was among the first of its kind in North Carolina and the first ever in Polk County.

    The property contains eight rare species of plants, including the rare white walnut tree and the very rare bristly sarsaparilla. According to The Natural Heritage Program List of Rare Plants in North Carolina (Jaime Amoroso editor, 1999), the latter species has never before been found in the state.

    Under the conservation easement, the property may be subdivided into no more than eight residential tracts. On each of these tracts only one single-family residence and a few small ancillary structures associated with the residence may be built. Approximately two-thirds of the property will be common open space on which no development of any kind is permitted.