Working Agricultural Lands Protection Act (H.3951)

This legislation was introduced in the House of Representative in 2023 by Rep. Patrick Haddon, a family farmer and State Representative from Greenville. The bill creates a special program within the South Carolina Conservation Bank designed solely for the purpose of funding conservation easements on working farmlands in the state. Not only will this bill significantly help family farms withstand the pressures of development and stay in business, but it will also preserve wildlife habitat throughout the state when farmlands are protected by a perpetual conservation easement. SC Wildlife Federation, along with our conservation partners, strongly advocated in favor of this legislation and worked over the course of two legislative sessions to ensure its passage. Originally introduced in February of 2023, the Working Agricultural Lands Protection Act recently received final approval by the General Assembly and has now been signed into law by the Governor.

A ceremonial bill signing event was held at Cottle Farms in Hopkins, SC and attended by many supporters of the bill.

Representatives from several conservation organizations, including SCWF, posed for a photo with Governor Henry McMaster after the bill signing ceremony at Cottle Farms in Hopkins.

Banner image by Leonard Vaughan.