Logging is an integral part of the South Carolina story. It’s hard to drive anywhere in the state without passing a parcel that is not included in the 70% of SC that is logged. Forestry is a major economic engine in every corner of the state and helps provide for countless families.

While logging has a tremendous impact on the state’s economy, it also has a tremendous impact on the health and quality of the water in our streams, rivers, and lakes. Many local landowners and loggers follow the state’s Best Management Practices (BMP’s). Their roots in our state are deep and they care about the longevity of wellbeing of their community. However, there are other interests in this arena who do not feel any sort of connection to the land or state of South Carolina.

As the global economy continues to remove the human experience from the art of land management, out of state, Wall Street investors, have begun to buy up land and log it with reckless abandon and complete disregard to the wellbeing of the local communities. Further, these absentee property owners do not keep up with their properties, leaving the land vulnerable to pirate logging, a form of robbery not just of the property owner but the local community at large.

In order to ensure that communities are respected and waters are kept clean, we write to implore you to take action. We ask that...

All landowners engaged in logging be held to the same high standard that many already operate at. We ask that you enact legislation that requires all logging operations have a Land Management Plan, a free service provided by South Carolina Forestry Commission.1 These plans ensure that every property will have a plan to be logged in accordance with BMP’s and the state will have a record of what properties are being harvested.

Increase funding for the SC Forestry Commission in order to increase the number of staff to engage landowners and foresters in the BMP’s.

Enact at Study Bill, directing DHEC to study the impact of logging runoff on the health of SC creeks and streams.

It is imperative that we protect the land of South Carolina to protect our waters. We thank you for your leadership and look forward to a South Carolina where logging and clean water are one.