EnvironmentSunday, November 8
Conservation groups seal a deal to permanently protect Awendaw's 229-acre White Tract
The Morning Mount Pleasant team
Two decades of fighting over a patch of Awendaw is ending. Conservation groups announced Nov. 6 a deal to permanently shield the 229-acre White Tract, which sits next to the Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge, from development.
The White Tract by the numbers
- 229
- acres in the White Tract
- 100,000+
- birds migrate through each year, Kobrovsky said
- 20
- years of advocacy to protect it
Sources: Live 5 News, Post and Courier
In 2006, the tract was approved for development. A big point of tension was septic tanks, which conservationists say would pollute the area and beyond town lines. Under the settlement agreement, Pulte Home Company said, the Open Space Institute can permanently preserve the land, which it called "a unique opportunity."
“The marsh is a filter for our groundwater, which is our drinking water here. It buffers our communities, even our broader communities into Mount Pleasant, from storms and flooding.”
- Original plan: more than 200 homes, all on septic
- Closing: both parties will officially close in December
- Legal challenges: the settlement brings them to an end
- Long-term plan: eventually fold it into Cape Romain
The White Tract went from approved homes to a protection deal
- 2006White Tract is approved for development.
- Aug. 2026A Charleston County Council agenda item makes the deal public.
- Nov. 6Conservation groups announce the settlement.
- Dec. 2026Both parties will officially close on the agreement.
Sources: Live 5 News, Post and Courier
Sources: Live 5 News, Post and Courier