S.C. Bobwhite Initiative to be Featured at Land Trust Annual Meeting

S.C. Bobwhite Initiative to be Featured at Land Trust Annual Meeting

Michael Hook, Small Game Program Leader with the S.C. Department of Natural Resources, will be the guest speaker when the Upper Savannah Land Trust holds its annual meeting on March 16 at the Arts Center at the Federal Building in Greenwood.

Hook will talk about activities with the S.C. Bobwhite Initiative, which was established in 2015 to restore bobwhite populations to early-1980s levels. South Carolina’s heritage of quail hunting rivals those of Georgia and Texas, yet the state’s bird populations continue to dwindle. Also, many other species of grassland birds are exhibiting substantial declines in South Carolina.

The science exists to build and sustain proper quail landscapes as do the resources to put the science into practice. What has been lacking is the muscle and effort to bring these together and put them to work. Learn more about this Initiative during the Land Trust meeting.

The doors open at 5:30 p.m. for silent auction and refreshments. Dinner by Shealy’s Barbeque will be at 6:30 p.m. Landowners who have donated conservation easements will be recognized and a short business meeting will be held.  The Peggy Adams Conservation Award will be presented to someone who has made a significant contribution to conservation in the Lakelands area.

There will be a drawing for a CZ Redhead Premier O/U 20 gauge shotgun. Raffle tickets for the gun will be available from board members or at the door for $20 apiece, three for $50 or seven for $100.

Proceeds from the gun drawing and silent auction will be used to promote conservation of farms, forestland and special natural areas in the Lakelands.

There is no charge to attend for financial donors of USLT. Cost for others is $20. The public is welcomed. Dress is casual.

Sponsors for the event are AgSouth Farm Credit, Countybank Trust Services, Ken Driggers Conservation Services, McDonald Patrick Poston Hemphill & Roper LLC, Log Creek Timber Co., Stone & Associates, Tedford & Associates, Colombo Energy and the Greenwood County Soil & Water Conservation District.

Please RSVP to Rick Green at rgreen@uppersavannah.com or 864-941-8072.

Upper Savannah Land Trust is a private, nonprofit conservation organization that assists landowners in Abbeville, Anderson, Edgefield, Greenwood, Laurens, McCormick, Newberry and Saluda counties to conserve their land.

Since its inception in 2000, the organization has protected more than 42,000 acres of agricultural, forested, scenic, historic and ecologically important properties. The Trust considers itself a tool for landowners who are interested in seeing their properties remain in their natural state for farming, timber and recreation.