COUNTY — More than 350 acres of land in northern Pickens County has been added to the list of properties protected by Upstate Forever.

The conservation organization announced Tuesday that it is now protecting the 353-acre Grassy Knob tract, along with the 135-acre Gilkey Creek tract in Cherokee County, through wetland and stream mitigation partnerships.

Working closely with the S.C. Department of Transportation, Upstate Forever identified strategic projects that would satisfy the mitigation requirements for the impacts to waterways by local highway improvements, helping keep the much-needed infrastructure projects on time and on budget while protecting local headwater streams and critical habitat areas, the release said.

According to the S.C. Conservation Bank website, the Grassy Knob tract in Pickens County is the first mountain in the southern viewshed when standing

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