2022 in Review

As we enter the final days of 2022, we're pausing to reflect on the conservation successes this year has brought for Upstate Forever, our partners, and all who are proud to call Upstate South Carolina home. Thanks to your support, our team built upon the work we’ve been committed to since 1998. Take a look at just a few of this year’s successes below, and join us as we lay the foundation for another successful year to come.

Land protection, stewardship, and special projects

• Our nationally accredited land trust finalized permanent protections on important properties like the Tyger River Confluence at Nesbitt Shoals in Spartanburg County and Soapstone Baptist Church and grounds in Pickens County, with more projects slated to close in the weeks to come
• We completed monitoring site visits on approximately 160 properties encompassing nearly 30,000 acres permanently protected by UF, and launched a new stewardship initiative: our land management program
• Dozens of volunteers joined us to remove invasive plant species and litter from protected properties including Cancer Survivors Park, Long Branch Mitigation Site, and Chau Ram Expansion
• Alongside partners, we've worked diligently on an effort to purchase and transform the inactive Saluda Grade railroad corridor into a nearly 31-mile rail trail connecting the Western Carolinas

Safeguarding water quality and quantity

• Our Clean Water team worked with 40 landowners to implement water quality improvement projects in the Tyger River (Greenville and Spartanburg Counties) and Three & Twenty Creek Watersheds (Anderson and Pickens Counties)
• We worked with partners to educate Upstate residents on the journey your water travels from intake to tap, our work to safeguard resources through watershed-based plans, lawncare best practices, and more

Advocating for smarter growth

• Our Land Planning & Policy team continued to advocate for land use policies that balance economic development with other community priorities in the fastest-growing areas of the Upstate
• We equipped residents to participate in local planning processes through the inaugural Advocacy Training 101 workshop, latest Citizens Planning Academy series, and postcard-writing happy hour

Championing conservation and clean energy

• Our Energy and State Policy team members worked alongside partners at the Statehouse to lobby for and help pass eight bills that will strengthen protections against hazardous waste and unnecessary pipelines, bolster solar and wind industries, and give counties more tools for local land conservation
• We also worked to secure $18.5 million in the state budget to protect drinking water and support Upstate economic development and conservation projects, in addition to securing an unprecedented $92 million in one-time and recurring dollars for the South Carolina Conservation Bank and SCDNR’s land conservation program
• Finally, we continue to represent Upstate ratepayers at the SC Public Service Commission in several dockets with the goals of advancing clean energy, minimizing monthly bills, and holding pipeline companies accountable

With your support, we can carry this momentum into 2023 — Upstate Forever's 25th year — and beyond.

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