Conservation Easements
Lake Contestee's Bright Future

     Abused, neglected and polluted for decades, Lake Conestee — on the Reedy River just six miles from downtown Greenville – is now a valued and respected resource.

Lake Conestee: An oasis of water, trees and beauty in the middle of the rapidly developing Upstate.

There is widespread support for restoring the lake just as the river in the downtown area is being restored and then linking the two areas with a beautiful greenway. In addition to being an important environmental restoration, this project will help lead the entire Conestee community – once a hub in the textile boom days – on a path toward economic recovery.

For over five years, Upstate Forever has been working closely with the Conestee Foundation, a nonprofit organization established to acquire, protect and revitalize the lake and its surrounding lands. The Foundation currently owns the original 145-acre lake bed and the adjoining 112 acre “Henderson Farm” tract. These properties are bordered upstream by extensive public lands owned by the City of Greenville and Western Carolina Regional Sewer Authority. The Conestee Foundation’s vision is to work jointly with these two agencies, along with Greenville County, to create a 600 to 800 acre Lake Conestee Nature Park, a spectacular complex of hiking and biking trails, boardwalks, boating and fishing facilities, group activity areas, and an environmental education center — indeed, the Upstate’s version of “Central Park.”

Last year the Foundation received a $675,000 “challenge grant” from the South Carolina Conservation Bank to retire the debt on the Henderson Farm tract. The Foundation had to raise the same amount from other sources by the end of this year, and it recently achieved that goal through a combination of government grants and private foundation gifts. In fact, one foundation was so excited about the project that it gave the Foundation more than it asked for! Upstate Forever, in turn, has received a conservation easement ensuring the protection of the lake bed and Henderson Farm tract. The Foundation is now focused on developing, with widespread public input, a master plan for the nature park and on acquiring another key parcel.

In the late 1960s, when a determined group of garden club members presented the idea of a park at Reedy River Falls, many called it a crazy idea. That was the same reaction ten years ago to the idea of a park at Lake Conestee. You don’t hear that comment anymore.

Upstate Forever Plays Key Role in Upstate Mitigation Bank

     Upstate Forever has received a conservation easement on approximately 530 acres along Grove Creek in southern Greenville County – the site of the first approved “mitigation bank” in our region. Under the federal Clean Water Act, government permits are required for many activities that disturb rivers, streams and wetlands. Where the permitting agency determines that impacts to these resources are unavoidable, the developer must mitigate for these impacts by creating, restoring or enhancing the same resource either on-site or off-site.

Grove Creek, an important tributary to the Saluda River.

A mitigation bank is a significant off-site area for which a comprehensive restoration/enhancement plan has been adopted and approved by several government agencies. In lieu of implementing on-site mitigation, the developer basically makes a payment “to the bank,” and those funds are used to implement a portion of the restoration plan.

Mitigation banks can be “win-wins” because instead of many small, scattered mitigation sites that are often not well maintained, a large and significant area is restored and preserved forever.

The plan for the Grove Creek site provides restoration of both several miles of eroded streambanks and many acres of wetlands. The conservation easement received by Upstate Forever on the property allows the restoration to proceed and prohibits any development of the site.