Slater Duck Pond Photo 7
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Open Space Institute Secures 'Slater' Property as Critical Habitat for South Carolina’s Southern Coast

JASPER COUNTY, SC (Nov. 2, 2021)—The Open Space Institute (OSI) announced today the protection of a key property on South Carolina’s southern coast – the 336-acre Slater Duck Ponds tract. Permanent conservation of this parcel protects essential wildlife habitat in one of the most vulnerable areas of the state, while creating new opportunities for recreation in a region with severely limited public access to nature.

This part of South Carolina – in Beaufort, Hampton, and Jasper counties – is simultaneously one of the most biologically diverse places in the Southeast and one of the fastest-growing. Most significantly, in a state with a half-century legacy of conservation successes, it is also one of the least protected.

Conservation of the Slater Duck Ponds property was made possible with funds from the South Carolina Conservation Bank. The tract supplements a historic achievement announced by OSI earlier this year, the conservation of the 3,800-acre Slater tract, nearby the Slater Duck Ponds property.

The Slater Duck Ponds property features more than 200 acres of beautiful, productive wetlands, which provide refuge for approximately 70 species classified as “Greatest Conservation Need” by the South Carolina Heritage Trust program and the State Wildlife Action Plan.

The two OSI-protected properties are located near Savannah, Hilton Head, Ridgeland, and Hardeeville, among the fastest-growing places in America. The protection of more than 4,000 acres, totaled, offers important opportunities for hunting, fishing, birding, hiking, and cycling in an area where the nearest similar public preserve is almost an hour away.

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