Upstate Forever closes on over 2,100 acres of conservation easements across seven counties

In the final months of 2025, local conservation nonprofit Upstate Forever worked with landowners and partners to close on more than 2,100 additional acres of conservation easements across seven counties: Anderson, Oconee, Greenville, Laurens, Pickens and Spartanburg in South Carolina, and Polk County in North Carolina. The protected properties include mostly active agricultural land as well as forested and mixed landscapes that safeguard waterways, wildlife habitat and rural character throughout the Upstate.