Staff Report
Published Dec. 8, 2011

Upstate Forever partnered with John S. and Robert M. Rainey to protect Cherokee Farms, a 182-acre parcel of land in Belton.

Upstate Forever partnered with John S. and Robert M. Rainey to protect Cherokee Farms, a 182-acre parcel of land in Belton. (Photo/Provided)

The Anderson County property is primarily composed of pastures and hay fields. It also includes a buffer of hardwood forest around tributaries to Cherokee Creek and three small ponds, providing habitat for wildlife.

The Raineys plan to protect additional acreage in the future.

The tract is now permanently protected by a conservation agreement. A voluntary contract between a landowner and a qualified land trust, a conservation 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 81 properties, protecting a total of 15,799 acres in the Upstate.

Upstate Forever is a nonprofit, membership-based organization promoting growth and the protection of land in the Upstate.

Upstate Forever’s three program areas are land trust, sustainable communities, and clean air and water. Founded in 1998, Upstate Forever now has more than 1,800 members, two offices and a staff of 18.