To avoid double counting acres where multiple programs contributed to the acquisition of a single parcel, the parcel acreage is only aggregated under the program that provided the majority of funding. For example, if the chart displays a dollar amount greater than $0, but also shows 0 acres, it is because the program was not the primary contributor for any parcels in that year.
Local data coming soon.
In 2000, South Carolina began the Land Legacy Initiative, which established the need for a dedicated funding source to acquire environmentally sensitive lands. The initiative also aimed to encourage cooperation and innovative partnerships among landowners, state agencies, municipalities, and non-profit organizations to work together in order to meet these objectives. The South Carolina General Assembly, in a bipartisan effort, passed the South Carolina Conservation Bank Act. The Act was signed and ratified by the Governor in April 2002. Though the Act was passed in 2002, funding, derived through the real estate transfer tax, did not begin until July 2004. The Bank established a grant application process in fiscal year 2004-05. A local match is encouraged but not required.* Late in 2008, the General Assembly voted to transfer the balance of the Bank's funds for Fiscal Year 2009 (about $7 million) to the fund fuel for school buses. The Fiscal Year 2010 budget is not yet finalized.
| Year | Acres | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 24,093.3 | $32,537,061 |
| Total | 24,093.3 | $32,537,061 |
The South Carolina Heritage Land Trust Program was created in 1976 to help prevent habitat loss by protecting critical endangered species sites through land acquisition. Enabling legislation directed the Department of Natural Resources, in concert with other state agencies, to set aside a system of heritage preserves to be protected for the benefit of present and future generations. The program succeeded initially through a combination of property donations and federal grants. In subsequent years, federal funding decreased. State funding for acquiring heritage preserves was added to the act in 1986, using part of the real estate transfer tax to create the Heritage Land Trust Fund.**
*Title 48 Chapter 59 S.C. Code of Laws Act 200
**(Sec. 51-17-20, 1976 S.C. Code of Laws); (Sec. 51-17-115)
| Year | Acres | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 414.0 | $207,783 |
| 1999 | 767.0 | $1,144,880 |
| 2000 | 2,184.0 | $4,912,022 |
| 2001 | 1,869.0 | $4,901,096 |
| 2002 | 1,001.0 | $2,068,019 |
| 2003 | 372.0 | $449,753 |
| 2004 | 948.0 | $329,042 |
| 2005 | 8,657.0 | $5,242,362 |
| Total | 16,212.0 | $19,254,957 |