Date: April 18, 2023

Time: 6:00 p.m.

Location: Landrum Library

Speakers: Kristen Austin, Upstate Conservation Director for The Nature Conservancy

The Blue Wall Preserve, located just outside of Landrum, SC, is a 575-acre preserve owned and managed by TNC the past 25 years. The Preserve has a unique story how it was acquired, and how the property is being used today. The statewide, Palmetto Trail goes through the property and has become a popular hiking destination in recent years.  TNC is now in the process of developing a dam removal project. During the presentation, you’ll learn about the Blue Wall Preserve and how the dam removal project will restore the hydrology of Vaughn’s Creek, a South Carolina Outstanding Resource Water and headwater to the Broad River Basin.

Kristen has worked with The Nature Conservancy (TNC) since 1998 when she began her career at TNC as statewide volunteer coordinator in Missouri to advance land management projects on Nature Conservancy preserves. She then launched a grassland conservation program in SW MO working with farmers and ranchers on grassland habitat management to benefit conservation and the local economy.  In 2004, Kristen transferred to the Conservancy’s South Carolina Chapter to establish an office in Greenville to work from the Blue Ridge to the Piedmont.

As Upstate conservation director for The Nature Conservancy, Kristen focuses on forest and freshwater initiatives across 19 counties in the upper portion of South Carolina. She works with her colleagues and partners on multiple natural resource management projects to create tangible, lasting conservation results.

Join us for a hike on the Preserve on April 14th during our Spring Hiking Series!

Contact Pam Torlina, pam@conservingcarolina.org, with questions or for more information.