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Duck Haven
146 acres | Pickens County
Nestled along the Saluda River near Easley, Duck Haven is a 146-acre former peach orchard and cattle farm permanently protected through a conservation easement with Upstate Forever.
Owned by the Smith family since at least the late 1800s, the property preserves a remarkable mix of farmland, wetlands, forests, and wildlife habitat in one of the Upstate’s fastest-growing regions.
Project funders include Easley Combined Utilities, Pickens County Conservation Bank, SCCB, Sustain SC, ULCF, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, and Upstate Forever.
Protecting the Saluda River and Wildlife Habitat
Duck Haven includes approximately one mile of frontage along the Saluda River, more than 7,700 linear feet of streams and tributaries, and 46 acres of freshwater wetlands and floodplain habitat. Forested riparian buffers throughout the property help protect water quality flowing into Saluda Lake, an important drinking water source for the Easley area.
The property’s diverse landscapes — including open fields, ponds, mixed hardwood and pine forests, wetlands, and regenerating orchard land — provide valuable habitat for a wide variety of species.
A Family Legacy Preserved
For generations, the Smith family cultivated peaches, plums, apples, strawberries, muscadines, peanuts, beans, and cattle on the property.
Though the orchards were eventually phased out and much of the land returned naturally to forest, Duck Haven remains deeply connected to the family’s history and identity.
Shortly before we lost Mother to COVID in late 2021, I promised her I would find a way to keep our land together. Our conservation easement honors many generations of our family for their hard work and sacrifices.
While Mother didn’t live to see the easement in her lifetime, her children have. Young, third cousins will never witness developers and heavy equipment move in. Wildlife will keep their homes. It’s my home too. I love this place! It’s special the way it is, and with Upstate Forever’s help, it’s together, forever, and protected.
I kept my promise. I’m sharing our story publicly to just maybe plant a seed: ‘If I can do it, so can you.’
– Duck Haven landowner Alice Smith
Conserving Land in a Rapidly Growing Area
As development pressure continues to spread across Pickens County, conservation of Duck Haven helps protect rural character, wildlife habitat, and water quality within the Saluda watershed.
The conservation easement permanently prevents subdivision and large-scale development while allowing the family to continue residential, agricultural, and recreational uses of the land.
Want to protect your land?
Conservation easements are a voluntary, permanent way landowners can protect special places from development. For more information about partnering with UF to conserve your property, please contact our nationally-accredited Land Trust at landtrust@upstateforever.org.
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