January 13, 2025 (Source: Business Insider) — The first time I visited Greenville, South Carolina, I was shocked in the best way possible. As someone who had traveled the US extensively, I didn’t expect to find a perfect blend of Southern charm, big-city amenities, and vibrant art and culture all in one place. After a few…
DetailsContributor: Dameon Kennedy (February 11, 2024) The headlines are right—Greenville continues to grow quickly. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Greenville County grew from 451,000 people in 2010 to nearly 548,000 by 2022—an increase of 21%. The influx of new residents isn’t slowing down, either, with the Greenville Chamber of Commerce estimating that the county’s…
DetailsThe Momentum and Tanglewood Bike Clubs, wrapping up their third year as regular users of The Preserve at River West, have continued to be gracious partners and grateful stewards of our land. In addition to weekly use of the 1.5 mile paved loop, they also hold special events for the Tanglewood middle schoolers as well…
DetailsUpstate Ultra Race Series hosted its annual Back 9 race again this year at the Preserve at RiverWest. This race consists of a 3, 6, or 9 hour race option around a 2.5 mile scenic route with a 225 foot elevation change. Challenging on all levels! Runners had the option to camp for the weekend…
DetailsSource: Greenville News (September 1, 2022) – The mountains and foothills of northwestern South Carolina are a place of singular beauty and abundant natural resources, causing people to flock here for centuries. That growth has exploded exponentially in recent decades and, if left unchecked, it has the potential to destroy the very things that drew…
DetailsMarch 4, 2022 (Source: Greenville News) – With large tracts of land turning into subdivision seemingly overnight to accommodate the Upstate’s growth, the city of Mauldin is celebrating the grand opening of a 120-acre park that will forever keep green in Greenville. A ribbon-cutting ceremony Friday at The Preserve at Lakewood, the DidierGroup’s second privately owned…
DetailsSource: Greenville Journal (January 13, 2022) – Hank Didier knows from experience the importance of protecting the environment. As an Orlando attorney who tried cases involving the Takata airbag failures and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, Didier spent more than 20 years as a successful environmental and consumer product safety…
DetailsDecember 9, 2021 (Source: WSPA) — If you’re hoping to buy or sell a home in Greenville next year, you might want to start searching now. According to the latest housing forecast released by Realtor.com, the Greenville metro area is predicted to be the seventh “hottest” housing market out of all metro areas in the…
DetailsSource: Greenville Journal (May 28, 2021) Members of the Tanglewood Middle School Bike Club saved a fawn during their last meeting of the school year on Wednesday, May 26. Students found baby deer on a bridge on property donated by Ethos Project and Hank Didier, according to a social media post from Greenville County Schools. Maureen Phend,…
DetailsMay 9, 2021 (Source: Wall Street Journal) -Rising stars such as Greenville, S.C., Des Moines, Iowa, and Provo, Utah, built out vibrant economies even before the pandemic; now, they are drawing new workers and businesses The pandemic is accelerating growth in midsize cities, positioning them to lead the charge in the nation’s economic rebound. Even…
DetailsOctober 11, 2020 – Source: Forbes/Peter Taylor – Amid all the uncertainty brought on by COVID-19 over the past six months, one thing is assured: the pandemic has re-ordered real estate markets across the board on an unprecedented scale. Some of this may be irreversible. Real estate’s re-sorting this time isn’t just based on markets…
DetailsNovember 23, 2020 (Source: Greenville Magaine/David Dykes/L. C. Leach III) Be it large or small commercial, industrial, office, retail, residential, or space devoted to tourism and greenery, the current real estate market in South Carolina is a boom looking for a place to erupt. And during the inaugural SC Leadership Exchange webinar in November, real…
DetailsSource: The Hill/Robert Ramsay (September 18, 2020) With summer coming to a close, Americans will soon be renewing the traditions of autumn. Fall is my absolute favorite season for outdoor recreation. It is well known that spending time outside provides so many benefits for our health and general well-being while allowing us to respect social…
Details(September 18, 2020) – Greenville, SC – Upstate Ultra, a race and trail event organizer in Greenville, SC hosted an ultra event on The Preserve at RiverWest which represents 200+ acres of conserved property just three miles from downtown Main Street on Saturday, September 19, 2020. The 6-12-24 Hour Race was held at the former…
DetailsIt’s a design that, builders say, reduces the reliance on cars, decreases automotive emissions, and leads to healthier residents.
DetailsLast spring, I invited Dr. Patrick McMillan, Hilliard Professor of Environmental Sustainability at Clemson and Director of the SC Botanical Garden, to speak at one of Upstate Forever’s events. He urged us all to take a moment to be awed by our region’s natural wonders, and to appreciate how beautiful — and unusual — the…
DetailsTax write-offs and cash payments normally reimburse owners with only a fraction of the value given up and the costs incurred by landowners who choose to protect their lands by placing conservation easements on them.
DetailsSource: The Hill (April 11, 2018) – A healthy environment plays a central role in ensuring the well-being of our country and our communities. That’s why protecting it for future generations is so important. Of the many ways we can safeguard our environment, land conservation has served as an especially important tool in preserving open spaces,…
DetailsLast week in Bartow I sat through an entire day of presentations by Florida farmers and ranchers looking to sell a conservation easement (essentially, the development rights) to the state through the Rural and Family Lands Program, one of the primary land conservation programs in our state. Speaker after speaker — several moved to tears…
DetailsOur environment plays an essential role in providing a high quality of life for our country, our communities and our children. That’s why protecting it is so important. There are countless ways everyone can contribute to this mission but in recent years, land conservation has been a distinctly valuable tool for preserving the health of…
DetailsThink you know the South — BBQ, country music, pickup trucks? Nope. Put your assumptions on hold when you visit Greenville, South Carolina, because here you’ll find far more fun, food, and straight-up personality than those typical Southern staples imply. Once you visit, you’ll realize that, out of the dozens of “Greenvilles” around the country,…
DetailsConsidered by many as a founding father of wildlife ecology and land preservation, Aldo Leopold believed “conservation will ultimately boil down to rewarding the private landowner who conserves in the public interest.” The conservation movement he helped inspire is now debating the appropriateness of those rewards when the land is owned by a real-estate partnership. I labor on the front lines of this debate as the head…
DetailsSource: Greenville News (May 25, 2017) – A new report released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau probably won’t shock many who’ve watched the fast-paced development and influx of jobs in Greenville within the past decade. The city of Greenville, according to the bureau’s latest population figures, is the fourth-fastest-growing city in the nation —…
DetailsBy: Jim Strickland, published in Tampa Bay Times (January 27, 2017) – Beyond our beaches and theme parks lies a Florida still unknown to many — Florida’s ranchlands. Off the beaten track, these lands are our last frontier. I consider myself blessed to live and work as a rancher in this magical landscape we call…
DetailsKeeping You Informed of New IRS Notice 2017-10 “Listing Notice 2017-10” as to “Syndicated Conservation Easement Transactions” was issued by the Treasury Department last week and represents the IRS’s decision to more actively address abuses the Department and Agency see occurring with people or entities misusing or simply thwarting the valid conservation purposes of Section…
DetailsEd Kulesa has made sure that the 101-acre farm on which he’s lived for 50 years will never be developed. He’s had offers from people who wanted to build a housing development and put in a gravel pit.
DetailsThe threatened Gunnison sage grouse used to thrive on the sage brush plains in Dolores County. But as farms, roads, and subdivisions encroached on critical habitat, their numbers diminished, triggering action by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to list them as threatened under the Endangered Species Act last year.
DetailsCongress last week approved a bill that makes tax incentives permanent for agreements that conserve land and preserve open space. Lands conservancies are calling it the most important legislation in decades for their movement.
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