Forestlands being marketed by large corporations, development pressure around the Cooper River in Berkeley County, and increased interest by plantation owners in private conservation have led to the creation of an ad hoc partnership to step up preservation efforts.  A coalition of conservation organizations including LOLT, Ducks Unlimited, The Nature Conservancy, Lord Berkeley Conservation Trust, and the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources held a series of meetings with landowners in this region to advise them on voluntary ways to preserve the rural character and natural beauty of this important region of the Lowcountry.