SANDY ISLAND -- Some undeveloped land in Georgetown County will be preserved.
State and local leaders gathered in Georgetown Friday for the transfer of the property to the Nature Conservancy.
The Department of Transportation gave them more than 9,000 acres of Sandy Island. Sandy Island is in Georgetown County (www.georgetowncountysc.org) where the Pee Dee meets the Waccamaw River.
It includes long-leaf pine forests, which are one of the most endangered types in North America.
"Sandy Island represents part of our heritage that really doesn't exist any where in the country," said Mark Robertson with the Nature Conservancy.
The DOT bought the land and preserved it in exchange for being able to build Carolina Bays Parkway and the Conway Bypass. The Nature conservancy put $1 million toward the land and has been taking care of it for the past 14 years.
