A Second Chance for Chelsea

A Story of Partnership and the Power of Community

At the Open Land Trust, we are in the business of forever and this spring, forever is now in reach for one of the Lowcountry’s most iconic landscapes.

Chelsea is a 2,700-acre property with saltmarsh, maritime forest, and 7 miles of creek frontage along Hazzard Creek in Jasper County in the heart of the Port Royal Sound.  The Nature Conservancy purchased Chelsea this spring, and OLT and others will help protect it from development – forever.  It’s a moment worth celebrating, not just for what was saved, but for how it was saved.

This land was almost lost.

In 2019, Chelsea Plantation changed hands and plans soon emerged for several large-scale developments. When proposals for over 1,400 homes, multi-family housing, mini-storage and commercial space surfaced, the community rose up.

Local residents, neighbors, and grassroots advocates rallied under the banner of Keep Chelsea Rural and this collective voice — firm, passionate, and rooted in love for the land—bought us time.

And time gave conservation a second chance.

Partnership Makes it Possible

With bold leadership and vision, The Nature Conservancy stepped in with a model that makes large-scale conservation possible. Through the “buy, protect, sell” approach, they bought Chelsea with the intent to eventually transfer the land to the South Carolina Forestry Commission, creating the region’s first state forest.

We are honored to be a partner in the protection of Chelsea, ensuring that this extraordinary landscape will remain protected for wildlife, for water quality, for future generations, and for the community that fought so hard to “Keep Chelsea Rural”.

This success didn’t happen overnight and the work isn’t done. It will take continued collaboration from conservation partners, local citizens, and regional, state, and federal agencies to see Chelsea become a public state forest. But for now, we know this land is safe.

Conservation Is Personal

In a full-circle moment, it was a job at Chelsea that first brought our Director of Land Stewardship, Caylor Romines, to South Carolina. He and his wife lived on the property and it is where they started their life together. Their first dog is buried there. He knew the family who had loved and cared for that land for generations and he cared for it too.

After the 2019 sale of Chelsea and the looming threat of development, Caylor found a new home with Open Land Trust and has been here stewarding protected land ever since.

Now, through his role at OLT, Caylor will support permanent conservation at Chelsea. He’ll walk the same trails, monitor the same forests, and care for the same landscape he once called home.

“It’s a rare and humbling thing to care for the same land across seasons of your own life,” Caylor reflects. “I get to be part of its past, present, and future and that means more than I can begin to explain.”

A Landscape Rooted in Hope

This story is a reminder that conservation takes courage and collaboration. That development pressure is real, but so is the power of people coming together. And that even when something feels lost, it’s never too late to fight for what matters.

Chelsea’s protection is a big domino to fall and we believe it will lead to many more, just as the protection of Gregorie Neck helped pave the way for Chelsea.  The certainty of conservation next door is important to neighbors.  Every acre we save strengthens the natural and cultural fabric of our coast, the health of our waterways, and the legacy we leave behind.

“This land was part of the fabric of the community for generations. People just assumed it would always stay that way,” said Kate Schaefer, our Director of Land Protection. “But conservation isn’t guaranteed—it’s a choice. And this time, we got to make the right one.”

At the Open Land Trust, we protect land. But we also protect hope.

And in Chelsea, hope just got a second chance.

Read more about the Chelsea purchase in the Post & Courier