The permanent protection of over 4,000 acres of land, lush with forests and marshes and settled between miles of riverfront, is a win-win for a pair not typically thought of in tandem: conservation efforts and military readiness.
But in Beaufort County, environmentalists and military personnel have worked together for decades to conserve land. Recently, they turned to Jasper County.
The Nature Conservancy purchased the 4,409-acre Gregorie Neck property, which is in the heart of the Port Royal Sound, for $35 million on Feb. 14. The Conservancy and the Beaufort-based Open Land Trust finalized the private conservation easement for Gregorie Neck on July 25.
Nearly as large as The Sea Pines Resort on Hilton Head Island, Gregory Neck is considered one of the biggest undeveloped waterfront properties in the state and sits on a peninsula with deep-water access of the Coosawhatchie and Tulifinny rivers. It extends along 1.7 miles of I-95.
Dotted with only a historic estate, three houses and a horse stable, the 4,409-acre property fronts 13 miles of river. It’s marked with dense upland forests of pine and hardwood trees, fishing ponds full of bass and bluegill, 30 acres of shrimp ponds that are home to migratory waterfowl and wading birds.
Largely undeveloped, the Gregorie Neck tract is also a suitable overfly zone for training pilots flying out of Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort. The now-conserved stretch is dark, clear and quiet, passing…
