The Upstate Update: June 2023

The Upstate Update is a digital newsletter curated and shared each month that offers insights into Upstate Forever's recent work, highlights upcoming events and volunteer opportunities, and shares other conservation and advocacy news.

We post the Upstate Update here on the Upstate Forever blog each month. If you would like to receive the Upstate Update directly in your email inbox, please sign up for the mailing list.

SC includes $10 million in new budget for the Saluda Grade Trail

The Saluda Grade Trail Conservancy, which includes Upstate Forever, is pleased to share that the South Carolina State Legislature recently included $10 million in the 2023-2024 budget towards the purchase of the Saluda Grade Trail, which will run through Northern Spartanburg and Greenville Counties into the mountains of Western North Carolina.

Read more in the June Upstate Update

Also in this month's newsletter:

• 25 years (and counting)
  We're celebrating a quarter-century of work in 2023! Head over to wyff4.com to hear from Founder and Senior Advisor Brad Wyche and Executive Director Andrea Cooper on UF’s successes over the past 25 years — and why our work is more important now than ever. Watch now

• Growth in rural Greenville County
  Scott Park, UF's Glenn Hilliard Director of Land Conservation, participated in a recent panel discussion hosted by the Post & Courier Greenville to discuss the impacts of growth in Greenville County on the region's rural areas. You can watch a recording of the conversation here.

• UF staff updates
  Please join us in welcoming the newest member to our team, Land Policy Grassroots Specialist Lovetta Walton! In this new role, Lovetta will work to mobilize citizens to advocate for land policies that balance economic development with other community priorities and educate residents on how to navigate local government land planning processes.

  We are also celebrating the anniversaries of two staff members this month. Stewardship & Land Restoration Manager Lauren Ulich joined our team in June 2021. Land Conservation Manager Chris Starker joined UF in 2008 and has been working with us to protect the Upstate's critical lands and waters for 15 years!

Plus, find a recap of the recent Electric Vehicle Energy Roundtable and learn about the latest updates to the "Restore Chattooga Gorge" initiative! 

Read more in the June Upstate Update