Conservation Easements

The Land Trust currently holds 5 Conservation Easements totaling 250 acres; 4 on St. Simons Island and one in Liberty County (in a partnership with the Georgia Land Trust). These donated easements protect significant conservation values including wildlife habitat, plant species, scenic vistas and important wetlands to their area ecology. The property owners of each easement also made a significant gift to the Land Trust’s Stewardship Fund, which now exceeds $225,000, and is maintained to enforce the provisions of each conservation easement if ever needed. Two of the more significant easements are highlighted below:

Myrtle Easement on the Frederica River, 5.8 acres - 2007

  • A conservation easement of 5.8 acres on the Frederica River includes the remains of five tabby slave cabins and a stand of live oak trees that are more than 100 years old.
  • This conservation easement preserved the historic, aesthetic and ecological conservation values of the property by limiting its use to 4 home sites as opposed to 18.
  • The Land Trust is tremendously grateful to the donor for his vision, generosity and appreciation of the Land Trust mission. The donor also made a significant cash contribution that will be held in a stewardship fund to protect the property should a legal challenge ever come about in the future.

Liberty County (Ft. Stewart) Property, 200 acres - 2008

  • The Land Trust accepted a conservation easement from the Georgia Land Trust, who purchased 200 acres of the Ft. Stewart strategic buffering program surrounding the 278,000 acre U. S. Army training facility.
  • The property has a significant stand of endangered long leaf pine trees which are important to the habitat of the cockaided woodpecker, an endangered species which feeds and nests at Ft. Stewart. Three mating pair of the species live on the property, as well as the rare flatwood salamander and indigo snake.
  • The property is being managed to expand the stand of long leaf pine and to preserve an 80 acre pristine wetland, both important to the preservation and expansion of habitat for these endangered species.

Frederica Park Fact Sheet
Conservation Highlights
Conservation Easements