Scout Motors project leads to new nature preserve near Columbia. Here’s a look

Extending through a flood plain in eastern Richland County is a creek that looks a lot like the impressive, tea-colored streams at nearby Congaree National Park.

The creek winds through a dense canopy of hardwood trees that lean over the water, shading the stream at a time of year when the trees are without leaves.

But just a few hundred yards away, is a barren field of tree stumps and limbs that hardly qualifies as an unspoiled landscape.

Both of these sites — the beautiful and not-so-beautiful — are part of a nearly 5,000-acre tract that is being protected to offset the loss of wetlands at a new electric vehicle plant on the other side of the county.

The plan is to make sure that the dark, untouched swamps remain that way, while restoring the open fields into natural hardwood forests like those that once dominated eastern Richland County. The property will eventually become a state nature preserve open to the public.

Those involved in the protection and restoration effort showed off the property Thursday during ceremonies to commemorate the land being saved. One day, they hope the entire tract, including the barren land, will resemble the 27,000-acre national park, which is known for its forested floodplain of giant trees and gurgling creeks.

“It’s going to be pretty cool to have this asset basically 15 to 20 minutes from downtown Columbia,’’ said Scott Phillips, who heads the state Forestry Commission. “And the national park is only a couple of miles down from here.’’

The land, off Bluff Road, hugs the Congaree River southeast of Columbia. The property has historically been used for farming, forestry and hunting. The Millaree Hunt Club, used for years by affluent sportsmen, is on the land, in an area of the county known for exclusive hunting preserves. The Millaree property contains a lodge and several outbuildings that will eventually be used by the state.

When the land becomes a state preserve, it will be overseen by the S.C. Forestry Commission. But unlike some state forests, it will be used less for timber production and more for public recreation and hunting, officials say. That’s because it is considered “mitigation’’ land, or property acquired to make up for the loss of wetlands at the Scout Motors electric vehicle site in northern Richland County.

“It really is a new venture for us,’’ Phillips said. “This will be our first foray into wetlands mitigation.‘’

“We are really excited about this opportunity to move into this side of conservation.’’

The 5,000 acres will be transferred to the forestry commission by a conservation group in the next 3 to 7 years, Phillips said.

That group, the Open Space Institute, acquired the property this past October from two large landowners: Congaree River LLC- Beidler Family Offices and FBSC LLC-Ann Marie Boardman, for about $27 million, county property records show.

The S.C. Department of Commerce provided the money to the institute for the purchase, the group said. The Open Space Institute often buys property to protect it, then deeds it to state or federal agencies when they are ready to take over.

During Thursday’s tour, officials with Water and Land Solutions, a consulting firm overseeing restoration of the property for the state, showed off areas like Mill Creek, the virtually unspoiled stream that runs for miles. The tangle of hardwoods along its bank and gently flowing water left Leslie Skardon marveling at what she saw.

“Mill Creek — it’s beautiful,’’ said Skardon, chief executive at SustainSC, a commerce and conservation group.

The tour, conducted from small recreational vehicles, passed not only Mill Creek and cutover land, but also a canal dug years ago to divert water, as well as deep swamps with trees rising from the water. Birds soared overhead, including a great blue heron and various songbirds, like cardinals. Deer stands, a tribute to the property’s hunting legacy, were easy to spot. The land also includes historic sites.

Work to restore the property will include plugging ditches that were installed for agriculture and forestry, which will restore natural wetlands. Culverts will be removed from road crossings to return creeks to their natural flow.

Pine trees will be chopped down and replaced by native hardwoods, including cherry bark oak and bald cypress, said Bob Perry a former state wildlife department biologist who now works for Water and Land Solutions. Some clearing already has occurred, in addition to past clearing for commercial forestry.

Thursday’s events follow a series of issues last year over whether the Scout project was taking too much of a toll on wetlands and creeks at its Blythewood project site.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the state Department of Natural Resources questioned the impact, in part because it appeared work was done without federal approval to fill wetlands. The DNR also questioned whether the wetlands offset plan was strong enough.

At one point, Scout stopped work on the project in Blythewood until the EPA and the DNR’s concerns could be addressed. But the work was restarted and efforts to complete the offset project in eastern Richland County moved ahead.

Skardon said protection of the creek and other parts of the property show how industries, like Scout, can work to protect the environment.

It was insightful to “be at the Scout Motors groundbreaking last week, and see the commerce side of it, and be here today to truly understand the conservation impact,’’ she said.

The $2 billion Scout Motors project has been hailed as one of the biggest economic development projects in the Columbia area in years. The company, a subsidiary of Volkswagen, will employ as many as 4,000 people in the effort to make electric sports utility vehicles. The company’s Blythewood project site is expected to transform the area around the once sleepy town north of Columbia.