A bill to reauthorize the S.C. Conservation Bank – which has protected almost 160,000 acres of wildlife habitat and historic places – for another five years, has passed its final Senate hurdle and has been sent to Gov. Nikki Haley for her signature.
Although she supported the bank as a legislator, the S.C. Camo Coalition is taking no chances on a possible change of heart and has launched a campaign to have supporters contact the governor and urge her to sign the bill into law.
“Thanks to the support of many of you, a bill to reauthorize the S.C. Conservation Bank for five more years has slowly made its way through the Legislature over the past 15 months and now it’s on Governor Haley’s desk,” the Camo Coalition said in an email blast Thursday to members of the two-dozen outdoor organizations that belong to the coalition.
The Conservation Bank was scheduled to shut down in 2013 unless the General Assembly agreed to keep it open, and its future was in doubt when Sen. Lee Bright, R-Spartanburg, placed an objection on the bill to reauthorize it. However, after Cary Chamblee, a registered lobbyist for the S.C. Wildlife Federation and the Sierra Club, met with Bright, he dropped his opposition and allowed the bill to move forward.
Bright said he opposed the bill originally because he believed South Carolina has plenty of open land, and he questioned whether the government should operate a land-protection agency.
The Senate moved quickly this week to give the bill final approval. It had already passed the House, so only a few minor adjustments had to be ironed out before it was sent to the governor.
“There will be significant opportunity for at least five more years of protecting some of South Carolina’s most iconic land areas,” said Chamblee, who added that the formula for funding the bank will provide between $9 million and $10 million this year for protecting lands.
“All the land purchased over the last nine-plus years is excellent wildlife habitat, and over a third of that, some 54,000 acres, has gone into the (S.C. Department of Natural Resources’) Wildlife Management Area Program,” Chamblee said.
The bulk of the land brought into the WMA program was in the Woodbury tract, a 25,668-acre site in Marion County, and in Hamilton Ridge, a 13,281-acre tract in Hampton County.
Chamblee also pointed out that the bank has been a real bargain for South Carolina citizens.
“Over the life of the bank, the average cost to the bank has been about $524 an acre. The remaining cost has been borne by private contributions, non-profits and federal funding,” he said. “The bank does not own or buy land itself. It provides grants to three state agencies to acquire land – the Department of Natural Resources; Parks, Recreation and Tourism; and the S.C. Forestry Commission.”
The SCDNR has taken the most advantage of the banks’ funding, he said, and all the land acquired goes into the WMA program for public use.
“The extension and funding for the Conservation Bank was the top priority for the Camo Coalition and the South Carolina Wildlife Federation this year,” said Chamblee. “It’s passage was a tremendous success for the future of hunting and fishing in South Carolina.”
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