Upstate Forest protected

A 1,600-acre tract of land in Pickens County now belongs to residents of South Carolina.  Late last month, conservationists purchased the Nine Times Forest off S.C. Highway 11 in the mountains of northern PickensCounty. The property below the Jocassee Gorges contains three mountains, as well as streams, creeks and stands of hardwoods. The Naturaland Trust and Upstate Forever raised over $3.5 million to purchase the property from Crescent Communities, with a $1.5 million state Conservation Bank grant and a $1 million contribution from Duke Energy as part of its relicensing agreement. The organizations hope to combine the land with an adjacent 560-acre property to create a public preserve to eventually be used for fishing, hiking, and hunting.