The Pacolet Area Conservancy was founded in 1989 as a non-profit, volunteer-based land trust with the mission to protect and conserve the Foothills area's natural resources. Particular emphasis was placed by our founders on the lands and waterways of particular scenic, ecological and agricultural significance in the Pacolet and Green River watersheds. PAC now owns, holds conservation easements on, or is helping to protect by other means, some 7000 acres. It actively pursues further acquisitions and easements throughout the Foothills and Upstate South Carolina.

In 2007, we began our fourteenth year of water quality monitoring in the North Pacolet watershed through the Volunteer Water Information Network in partnership with the Environmental Quality Institute at the University of North Carolina/Asheville, Riverlink Inc., the Environmental Conservation Organization (ECO) of Henderson County, among many other organizations in western North Carolina. Educational efforts include school programs on watersheds and conservation and public events emphasizing the remarkable variety of plant and animal life which inhabit Polk County. Our 1993 survey, for example, identified 42 significant plant species in the county, twelve of which are rare or threatened.

PAC is also a key member of the Polk County Greenways Association, whose mission is to develop a series of hiking trails and public access points along the Pacolet River. The first portion of this greenway has been completed with the help of a $50,000 grant obtained by PAC from the North Carolina Division of Parks and Recreation.

Home   Conservation Strategies    Water Quality    Volunteering    Contact Us