The Black River Preserve is located in Clarendon County, approximately 9 miles north of Manning, SC. The property consists of 1604 +/- acres of natural bottomland hardwood and 3.5 miles of Black River frontage. The acreage offered is entirely wooded and encapsulates nearly 750 acres of agriculture fields, which are not included in the offering. The fields are planted annually in corn or soybeans; these highly productive fields are a natural magnet for all wild game, including deer, turkeys, and hogs, which are plentiful in the region.
The Black River Preserve offering is unique in many ways. Most of this acreage can be described as usable bottomland in that it is not a muck swamp. The unusual shape allows the property to hunt across a vast area with a significant agricultural presence as the focal point in the center. The soil composition allows existing roads and UTV trails to access 90% of the property, which is highly unusual for a tract of this size located in a river basin.
The Black River originates in Lee County and makes its way towards the coast for nearly 150 miles before merging with the Pee Dee River in Georgetown County. Just a few miles south of this property, the Black River was recently designated as a scenic state river and provides a navigable nature trail for canoes and kayakers. This iconic river is a natural draw for wintering waterfowl. It provides exciting fishing opportunities for redbreast, bluegill, warmouth, large-mouth bass, and catfish.
A portion of the Black River Preserve is enrolled in a Wetland Reserve Program (WRP) easement consisting of 1150+/- acres. This easement aims to protect the functional values that these pristine bottomlands provide and enhance their natural habitat in perpetuity. The easement allows for recreational activities, including hunting, fishing, hiking, and wildlife observation. There are approximately 454 +/- acres not enrolled in the WRP and are unaffected by the easement. This may allow the next owner to create additional food plots, shooting lanes, and waterfowl impoundments or take advantage of the financial incentives of enrolling this additional acreage into a WRP.
In addition, there may be an opportunity for the new owner of Black Creek Preserve to lease the adjacent fields through an annually negotiated lease should there be an interest.
From Exit 122 on I-95, take Highway 521 for miles to Georgia Pacific Road and turn left. Take Georgia Pacific Road for 1.1 miles to Highway 301, continue north on Highway 301 for 5.7 miles, and the property will be on the right.
After honorably serving in the United States Air Force, Todd began his forest industry career with a small privately owned family business in 1993. Working in procurement and private land management for 9 years, he gained valuable hands-on forestry experience. This eventually led to a full-time career in land brokerage in 2002. Todd began his brokerage career with Shaw, McLeod, Belser and Hurlbutt which later became American Forest Management, one of the largest forestry management and brokerage firms in the United States. After a successful 16 year career with American Forest Management, Todd had a strong desire to expand his presence in all aspects of rural land brokerage. This led Todd to open his own brokerage firm Crosby Land Company, Inc. in 2018. Licensed in South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama and North Carolina, Crosby Land Company Inc. specializes in high-end sporting properties, agricultural land, historical properties, conservation, and investment grade timberland. Todd and his wife, Melissa, have four children and reside on their property, Holly Bluff, in the "Ace Basin" in coastal South Carolina.