(AP) -- The 1,500 acre-plantation along the Coosaw River where Gov. Mark Sanford grew up is being protected under a $2.5 million conservation agreement.
The Beaufort Gazette reported Thursday that county open land trust executive director Ann Bluntzer said the deal will help preserve water quality and reduce the threat of development around the Marine Corps Air Station in Beaufort.
Bluntzer says the trust approached the family last year and coordinated a purchase between the county and the air station.
Two-thirds of the cost was paid by the Pentagon and the rest by the county.
She says the family agreed to sell development rights at a reduced rate and donated 25 percent of the value.
Sanford's brother, John, says the family didn't want the land developed.
(Copyright ©2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
