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The number of state forests in South Carolina could jump from five to seven.

A land conservation group bought a 1,644-acre forest tract in the Lowcountry with plans to transfer it to the state Forestry Commission for management.

Source: SC Forestry Commission

Thursday’s announcement from Dorchester County follows a 2,700-acre purchase in Jasper County two weeks ago by the Nature Conservancy that was expected to become the first new state forest in 20 years.

The Open Space Institute closed last week on its $11.35 million purchase of land called Beech Hill in Dorchester County, located between the Edisto River Wildlife Management Area and Givhans Ferry State Park, about 12 miles west of the fast-growing town of Summerville.

The organization, in a statement, described the property as “unusually high and dry for the Lowcountry,” putting it in higher demand for potential development as growth moves northwest out of Charleston.

According to the Open Space Institute, it will be open to the public with for hunting, hiking and biking.

“This forested landscape represents a renewable resource that provides a multitude of benefits, including clean water, scenic beauty, wildlife habitat and outdoor recreation,” State Forester Scott Phillips said in a statement.

“This is another win for our state, its residents, and wildlife as we continue working with our partners to ramp up efforts to conserve working forests.”

The land was previously used by WestRock to grow trees for its now-shuttered North Charleston paper mill.

The purchase includes funding from the Forestry Commission and the South Carolina Conservation Bank, as well as Dorchester County, which will contribute $4.1 million from its Greenbelt Program. County voters approved a 1-cent local sales tax for conservation in 2022.

Management of South Carolina’s protected forests is funded through timber sales on the properties, according to the Forestry Commission’s website.

A quarter of revenue earned from the new forest will go to the Dorchester County School District, according to information provided by the Open Space Institute.

The Nature Conservancy bought the Jasper County property, known as Chelsea Plantation, for $32 million. Originally nearly 6,000 acres, other parts of the tract had already been sold to home builders.

Jasper County property could become SC’s first new state forest in 20 years

“Developing Chelsea would have ushered in a new era of expansion in an already fast-growing region,” executive director Dale Threatt-Taylor said in a statement. “We weren’t willing to leave it to chance.”

The timeline for transferring that property to the state is still being discussed.

Before these two announcements, the last time land opened to the public as a new, protected state forest was in 2004, when the Forestry Commission acquired 12,000-acre Wee Tee State Forest in Williamsburg and Georgetown counties.

Conservation groups helped purchase land to add to the forest in 2023, bringing its total to 18,000 acres.

|Updated: May 13, 2025 at 2:34 PM EDT

DORCHESTER COUNTY, S.C. (WCSC) - The Dorchester County preliminary proposed budget for the upcoming year shows increases in spending needed for all of the major budget categories that reflect a growing population with growing needs.

Dorchester County held one of two public hearings on a proposed budget for the fiscal year of 2025-2026 in Summerville on Monday.

The Dorchester County proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2025-2026 involves total county funds of more than $250 million, $256,325,379 to be exact. Those are broken down between uses like general county operating, the library, capital spending, debt services, fire funding, water, sewer and stormwater.

The overall budget is 8% larger than the approved budget last year, and County Council Chairman Dave Chinnis says that’s possible without the county levying taxes because some new industry growth is helping pay for itself.

We’re looking at more growth and the Consumer Price Index, ultimately funding any of the differences. So growth paying for itself, in effect, is what we’re looking at,” Chinnis says.

Chinnis says he knows growth can sometimes be seen as something to avoid, but in terms of investment, it can be helpful to county finances. For example, he says the Google investment in the area made a big impact.

“It’s in our best interest. Google came in with property that ultimately, property taxes were under $1,000 for that property, and they come in when they pay their property taxes, even with their fee in lieu of their property taxes, pushing $2 million a year, nearly $1.3 million to the school district, about $600,000 for the county.”

At the public hearing, Dorchester School District Two did make an ask for county funding that would need to be paid by raising millage, or raising property taxes. School Board Chair Dr. Ashley Wimberly says the district values their relationships with businesses, but sees more money to increase pay as a necessity to be competitive in the area and keep quality staff.

“We recognize when we ask for a millage increase, we know that that is increasing taxes for those businesses, and we understand and appreciate what that does and some of the difficulties that might create for them. I’m just excited that we’ve had these good conversations and we are working together,” Wimberly says.

For context, the school district calculated their millage ask of 7.6 mils would equate to an additional cost of $228 per $500,00 worth of commercial property. County leaders say that’s something they will have to carefully consider.

“Schools, obviously, are part of what attracts people to the Lowcountry into Dorchester County. Next meeting, we’ll hear from District Four and the Career School. But ultimately, we try to operate at least within our means, and the middle-class citizen, we’re hit by the same price increases that everyone else is,” Chinnis says.

The general county operating fund is the main budget and pays for the majority of operations, including public safety, public works, judicial, economic development, health and welfare, general government, and community services. The proposed general fund for the upcoming year is more than $95 million compared to last year’s about $92 million. The money represents a 4.23% increase in the general county operating budget.

Of the listed county expenditures on the public hearing announcement, only one budget item reduced its spending. County Debt Service is proposed to go down 3.21% from $10.5 million to $10.1 million. The County Debt Service Fund helps fund property acquisition and other major building projects.

The Capital Fund Budget, which covers the cost of equipment and buildings with a useful life of more than one year, totals $6,458,749 in FY 2024-25. This fund is primarily supported by a 6.8 mill tax levy before reassessment rollback for capital improvements.

The proposed County Fire budget is $13.8 million, up 15.04% from last year’s allocated money. The fire budget covers the base operations for the countywide fire service.

The county budget includes projects $46 million in Special Revenue Funds, or money that comes in from special programs often required by law to be used for specific projects. These include revenues like the accommodations tax, hospitality tax, impact fees fund and grants that pay for services.

According to a Trident Technical College presentation, the county is proposing to commit $3.1 million in 2025-2026 to college operations. That money reflects 15.61% of county-related expenditures. The money helps pay for public safety, classroom equipment, maintenance and insurance. Dorchester County is being asked to contribute the least of the tri-county system for Trident Tech, with the college requesting $10.7 million from Charleston County and $6.1 million from Berkeley County.

Another budget public hearing will take place at the County Council Chambers at 201 Johnson Street, St. George, on May 19 at 4 p.m.

Copyright 2025 WCSC. All rights reserved.

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