Lowcountry Land Trust is excited to celebrate its incredible accomplishments of 2025 with you, our dedicated community of trustees, donors, volunteers, and champions for conservation. The year saw measurable landscape-scale conservation impact, organizational milestones, and an increased effort to create more public access opportunities to protected land across the Lowcountry, reinforcing the organization’s strength as it enters its 40th year.
Support from sustaining donors, including members of the Longleaf Society, corporate impact partners, and contributors to the profoundly impactful funds honoring David Maybank Warder and Sam Carlton, made the outcomes listed below possible. This support ensures that Lowcountry Land Trust can continue its important work of conserving the region’s iconic and cherished landscapes and waterways for current and future generations.
As Lowcountry Land Trust begins to celebrate its 40th anniversary, the momentum built in 2025 is shaping what comes next. With new leadership, strong partnerships, and a clear vision for the future, the organization is poised to protect more land, expand public access, and deepen the role conservation plays in the lives of Lowcountry residents.
Keep reading below the map, or view the 2025 Impact Report to learn more.
Major Organizational Milestones
- Organizational leadership evolved with the hiring of Matt Williams as president and CEO and Kate Parks Schaefer as chief conservation officer. Together with staff, they will continue to focus on accelerating the pace of land conservation, supporting public education and programming at the Lowcountry Center for Conservation, and bringing to life the nationally-significant Angel Oak Preserve.
- The opening of the Lowcountry Center for Conservation marked a new chapter. The Center for Conservation is the organization’s first permanent headquarters and a new hub for public education, collaborative partnerships, and conservation leadership. Located on the historic Ashem Farm, the Lowcountry Center for Conservation, specifically the Sam Carlton Room, serves as a convening space for conservation partners committed to protecting landscapes and waterways throughout the region.
- The fiscal year 2025 audit revealed that 91% of the organization’s expenses are directly allocated to mission-related activities, with just 6.4% dedicated to fundraising and 2.6% to management and general operations.
- Lowcountry Land Trust was also one of only two organizations nationwide selected to host a Land Trust Alliance Fellow, a competitive, yearlong fellowship focused on advancing community lands projects. The fellowship brought Emelyn Talento to the Lowcountry, where she works alongside staff to support conservation efforts that prioritize public access, community connection, and equitable use of protected land.
Significant Land Conservation Achievements
- The Land Trust finalized 19 conservation projects, permanently protecting 2,275 acres across the Lowcountry. Nine of those properties, totaling 1,118 acres, are slated to become publicly accessible parks with education, interpretation, and recreational opportunities, reflecting the organization’s commitment to community-centered conservation. The other 50% of acres protected by Lowcountry Land Trust in 2025 represent rural, landscape-scale conservation efforts, a priority of partners across the state.
- With its partners, the Land Trust achieved a rare conservation first for the region by leading a voluntary mitigation project at the Barry Tract, protecting 67 acres along the Ashley River Road National Scenic Byway. The project paired Atlantic Packaging’s voluntary land-use offset with Dorchester County’s creation of a future county park, offering a new model for balancing growth and building public benefit.
- The future Angel Oak Preserve received national recognition and was designated a Community Forest, drawing continued praise for its preservation-focused design plans and reinforcing its significance as both a cultural and environmental landmark. In 2025, the Land Trust and its partners prepared the tree for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places, showcasing the importance of the project.
- Stewardship remained a core priority, with 100% of Lowcountry Land Trust’s protected properties, 552 in total, monitored by staff, trained volunteers, and technology, underscoring the organization’s efficiency and long-term commitment to land protected in perpetuity.
