Photo of regeneration post prescribed burn in Oconee County

The Steward: Spring 2024

Spring has sprung and summer is almost upon us! Our stewardship team has been ramping up our annual site visits and we look forward to visiting with each of our dedicated landowners throughout the year.

Read on to meet our new team member, check out our new landowner resource guide, and learn more about the results of a prescribed burn in Oconee County.

Sincerely,

Lauren Ulich

Stewardship & Land Restoration Manager

Ericka L. Berg

Land Stewardship Coordinator

Trevor Freeman

Land Stewardship Specialist

Meet Trevor Freeman, the new Land Stewardship Associate!

Trevor Freeman is excited to join Upstate Forever as the Land Stewardship Specialist, helping to monitor and conserve a wide array of lands and natural resources and to build or maintain relationships with landowners in over 70 properties. In a little over a month on the job, he has enjoyed exploring the wide range of lands and resources Upstate Forever helps protect with conservation easements, from the Piedmont to the mountains. 

Trevor grew up on a cattle farm in Rutherford County, North Carolina, where his family has deep roots and ties to the land. He appreciates learning about similar memories and connections to place among so many of our easement holders. He is an alumnus of Appalachian State and East Carolina universities and has an MA in American history. He has years of experience working in parks, historic sites, and museums, and has led numerous outdoor interpretive hikes and paddles exploring environmental and social history for public audiences in western NC. He is particularly interested in the relationship between people and the natural environment and is passionate about connecting others to this knowledge of place. He has also served as an AmeriCorps trails coordinator in the Hickory Nut Gorge, a biologically and historically rich area which has long inspired his interest in conservation.  

In his free time Trevor is an avid fly fisher and hiker, enjoys a leisurely river paddle, plays guitar, banjo, and mandolin, and loves live music. He also continues to research, write, and speak on the American Revolutionary War and other local history topics.  

Please join us in welcoming Trevor to the Upstate!

Did you know that cost-share is available for prescribed fire?

Do you have problems such as woody encroachment in your pastures, invasive species, lack of quality native forage for deer and turkey, or high fuel loads? Prescribed fire may be an effective management tool to consider for your property. Fortunately, NRCS programs, such as EQIP, are available to offset the costs of fire break establishment and burning.

We recently partnered with an Oconee landowner, NRCS, SC Forestry Commission to reintroduce fire on a property containing a mix of forest and grassland. The 200-acre burn conducted this March will help promote native plant diversity to support a variety of game and non-game species.

We would love to chat with you about the myriad of benefits that fire can bring to your property and associated funding opportunities! Email Lulich@upstateforever.org to learn more.

Check out our new Landowner Resource Guide

Our stewardship team is proud to serve as a helpful resource on all things related to easement stewardship and land management. To address commonly asked questions, our staff created this quick reference guide that is useful for our new and established landowners. Please review for a quick refresher on annual monitoring, reserved rights and more.

Prescribed Fire 101

Before you go, enjoy some recent photos from the field

Striking flowers of the aptly named Showy Orchis (Galearis spectabilis), a perennial orchid typically seen in rich, moist, shady woods, ravines, and stream valleys throughout the Southeast.

Non-venomous Corn Snake (Pantherophis guttatus) swimming in a small creek. Not to be confused with the venomous copperhead or water moccasin!

Stewardship staff from across the state gathered at Edisto Island for a day of camaraderie and peer-to-peer learning. Attendees are engaged members of the South Carolina Land Trust Network.

Native saxifrage (possibly Micranthes virginiensis) growing on a rock wall along a creek on a conserved property near the Blue Ridge Escarpment.

Land Trust Accreditation

As a nationally accredited land trust, we hold ourselves to high standards. We have met the highest national quality standards for protecting important natural places and working lands forever. We have completed a rigorous review process; exhibited strong ethical practices; and demonstrated fiscal accountability, responsible governance and lasting stewardship of the lands we conserve.