Arcadia, Florida

The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources is seeking to purchase 3,492 acres known as the Arcadia Tract in Georgetown County, aiming to place the coastal land under conservation rather than allow long-planned development. The property, near the DeBordieu Colony and Prince George communities east of U.S. Highway 17, had been zoned for decades for a large-scale project that could have included nearly 3,400 homes, over a million square feet of office space, and a golf course.

Georgetown County Council unanimously approved a letter of support for the sale on September 8, a required step in the state's approval process. Nonprofit land trusts Open Space Institute and Ducks Unlimited/Wetlands America Trust plan to buy the property and hold stewardship until it transfers to SCDNR, which says it will explore public-use opportunities. The proposal must also go before the Georgetown County School District, since removing the property from the tax map affects local tax revenue.