By Brandon Lockett/staff By Maddy Quon
JOHNS ISLAND — After 66 acres of land was successfully preserved, Charleston County Parks has plans to give residents public waterfront access by creating a new park.
Located off Old Pond Road, the property provides direct access to Simmons Creek, which feeds into the Stono River. The preservation is part of a years-long effort to add more public access to water for Johns Island residents, according to Natalie Olson, Sea Islands program director at the Lowcountry Land Trust.
The effort started in 2018 when the Johns Island Community Conservation Initiative, funded by the Donnelley Foundation dedicated to land conservation, identified a growing concern through a series of workshops with residents: Johns Island’s rapid growth and continuing development have reduced residents’ access to waterways.
As residential development has expanded on the island, Olson said, public waterfront access has been cut off and limited to just a few spots, like the John P. Limehouse Boat Landing.
She added that residents of the island deserve to have public waterfront access and shouldn’t have to leave Johns Island to find it.
“We’re surrounded by a beautiful and bountiful resource that has always been part of the culture and natural heritage of the Sea Islands, but the access to it is so limited,” Olson said. “This is an effort not only to restore access, but to bring it to safeguard it for future generations.”
The 66 acres were initially two separate parcels of land: one 13 acre parcel owned by Joanne Nason and a 53 acre property owned by Gary McLaurin.
McLaurin donated the 53 acres to Lowcountry Land Trust in 2020, and the Land Trust purchased the other 13 acres from Nason’s estate for $930,000 in 2023 on a loan. Olson said they spent the next two years granting conservation easements — preserving the green space and ensuring no development happens — and applying for grants to help pay off the loan.