Staff Report
Published Feb. 27, 2012

Upstate Forever has partnered with landowner John W. Allen to protect Allen Farm, a 798-acre parcel in Walhalla.

The tract is mostly forested, with the remainder including open fields, pasture for livestock, two small ponds, roads and trails. Coneross Creek, the water source for the city of Walhalla, flows through the property that is adjacent to Buzzard Roost Heritage Preserve in Oconee County.

The tract is now permanently protected by a conservation agreement, which is a voluntary contract between a landowner and a qualified land trust. The agreement retains private ownership for the landowner, who relinquishes some or all of the rights to develop a property.

Upstate Forever’s Land Trust program now holds conservation agreements on 84 properties, protecting a total of 16,262 acres in the Upstate.

Upstate Forever is a nonprofit, membership-based organization promoting sensible growth and the protection of special places in the Upstate region of South Carolina. It focuses on three areas: land trust, sustainable communities and clean air and water. Founded in 1998, Upstate Forever now has more than 1,800 members.