Heroes of Conservation: 2008 Finalist

Charles Lane, The Wetlands Warrior
Real-Estate Developer, Charleston, S.C.

Charles Lane helped form the ACE Basin Task Force in 1989, hoping to protect 90,000 acres surrounding the Ashepoo, Combahee, and Edisto River estuaries. The group has preserved 172,000 acres that were under the threat of development, and now has set a goal of saving 250,000 acres.

We grew up with a place in the country, and whenever we went there, I would say we were going to heaven. We were always taking care of that property, and it sort of developed a special spot in my heart for nature. One time, my father and I were driving out there, and I noticed another stoplight had popped up on the road. My father looked at me and said, "My generation had to fight the war. We had to deal with the Depression. Your generation is going to have to deal with growth." I'll never forget that conversation.

I had always been involved in conservation groups. I was on the board of Delta Waterfowl and Ducks Unlimited in my 30s. When I was 22, I moved to Greenville, S.C., and my first investment was a 40-acre beaver pond where I could duck hunt. But I knew I wanted to move back to Charleston-my wife and I were both from there. We moved back in 1987 and within two weeks, I found out that a major resort was under development just 3 miles from my home. It was billed as the "next Hilton Head," and I thought: They're going to destroy heaven.

Working with private landowners, the South Carolina wildlife department, Ducks Unlimited, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Nature Conservancy, we stopped that development. And we've stopped the development of a lot of land here in the ACE Basin. This area has a hunting history that other parts of the South Carolina coast do not. Northern industrialists bought these properties in the 1920s for duck hunting. Now, that's what they'll always be used for.

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Finalists Paul Morrow Jim Cummins Jeff Olson Ronnie Luster Steve Simmons Chris Tompkins Previous Months September August July June May April March February January