CHARLESTON, SC – A brand new program by Audubon South Carolina will assist household landowners throughout the state make their forests extra productive and ecologically wholesome. The initiative is supported by a $1.24 million grant from the U.S. Division of Agriculture and can begin with a sequence of landowner workshops.
“The tip objective is to assist households maintain possession of their properties within the face of rising growth strain,” stated Tim Evans, land conservation director at Audubon South Carolina. “When household forests keep intact, so does wildlife habitat. There are numerous alternatives for landowners to generate further revenue whereas enhancing the ecological well being of their forests, from voluntary carbon markets to sustainable forestry. The secret is ensuring they’ve the knowledge and assets they should make selections.”
Audubon has employed three workers to implement this system. See under for particular workshop dates starting this fall.
Maintaining household forests productive and intact is more and more important in South Carolina, the fastest-growing state within the nation. Improvement strain has put the state on observe to lose 30 p.c of its forests over the following 50 years, threatening forest-dependent birds just like the Wooden Thrush and Brown-headed Nuthatch.
Household landowners are key to the answer. Most of South Carolina’s forests are household owned—greater than eight million of the state’s 12.9 million acres of forestland.
For the workshop sequence, Audubon workers will present trainings on voluntary carbon markets, which permit landowners to receives a commission for shielding and rising bushes that take up carbon dioxide. The revenue comes from governments, corporations and even people who purchase carbon credit to offset their emissions, basically paying landowners to guard their forest.
Audubon will provide assets on forming cooperatives that provide higher scale to make carbon markets possible for smaller landowners.
“Smaller forested tracts don’t at all times have sufficient scale to qualify for carbon markets,” Working Lands Program Supervisor Erin Giebner stated. “However in the event you can deliver a number of landowners collectively, then you may qualify and begin producing revenue that may be the distinction between a household holding or promoting their land.”
The second part of this system shall be on-site technical help. Audubon workers shall be accessible to go to landowners on their property to speak via particular administration and conservation alternatives for his or her property.
The initiative is a part of Audubon South Carolina’s broader Wholesome Forests program, which promotes bird- and climate-friendly forestry to preserve, handle, and restore important forestland. Audubon already employs many of those forestry methods—from hardwood restoration to prescribed burns—on the 30,000 acres of land we personal and handle throughout the state. Be taught extra about Working Lands at Audubon South Carolina.
Pee Dee Landowner Workshop and Subject Tour
Date: September 17, 2026
Time: 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Location:
Pee Dee Analysis and Training Middle
2200 Pocket Street, Florence, SC 29506
Sandhills Landowner Workshop and Subject Tour
Date: October 8, 2026
Time: 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Location:
Sandhills Analysis and Training Middle
900 Clemson Street, Columbia, SC 29229
Upstate Landowner Workshop and Subject Tour
Date: November 18, 2026
Time: 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Location:
BearnLee Tree Farm, Laurens, SC
Tackle shall be shared with registered contributors.
About Audubon South Carolina
Audubon South Carolina protects birds and the locations they want, proper right here in South Carolina. We’re the state workplace of the Nationwide Audubon Society, which has a couple of million members and a century-long observe document of success. In South Carolina, we symbolize practically 30,000 members and supporters, 10 Audubon chapters and chook membership companions, two Audubon sanctuaries, one nature heart, and greater than 30,000 acres of land that we personal or handle utilizing bird- and climate-friendly forestry. Be taught extra about what we do and the way to assist at sc.audubon.org. Observe us on Fb at @scaudubon and Instagram at @audubon_sc.
