LANCASTER COUNTY, S.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — Hundreds of acres in a fast-growing area of Lancaster County will be preserved, thanks to a public-private partnership that includes the Catawba Nation.
On Monday, the local Native American tribe said that the Nisbet Tract along the Catawba River was once proposed for a residential development. But the collaboration between the Catawba Nation; S.C. Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism; the Nesbit family; and the Open Space Institute will create 600 acres in public open space.
The land between the Sun City and Van Wyck communities consists of one mile of frontage on the Catawba River in the heart of the Catawba Nation’s ancestral lands. Lancaster was the fastest-growing county in metro Charlotte from 2020 to 2022, at a rate of 8.9 percent.
The Nisbets have owned the land for more than 100 years, and entered into an option agreement with OSI, a leading land conservation organization that specializes in public use, to purchase the property.
The rolling, river-front property is home to mature piedmont hardwood and floodplain forests, a host of wildlife species, and a 5-acre pond. Once secured, it would contribute to a growing network of protected lands and provide publicly accessible open space, outdoor recreation opportunities, and clean air and water.
“Our father, William Oliver Nisbet, believed in family, fellowship, and community involvement,” said Caroline Nisbet Hewett. “We are proud and truly honored for the opportunity to continue Oliver Nisbet’s legacy by preserving this property for the use and enjoyment of generations to come. We are thankful to Open Space Institute for their assistance to help turn the land into a community space.”
OSI intends to purchase the property by the end of 2023 and will hold title to the property until the state is prepared to accept the land as a donation.
Formerly part of the Catawba Nation’s vast 144,000-acre South Carolina territory, the Nisbet Tract includes an active clay vein of Catawba clay that is regarded as a sacred living resource by the Nation. Tribe members once inhabited most of the Piedmont area of South Carolina and North Carolina and parts of Virginia.
The tribe says Catawba clay is the lifeblood of the Catawba Nation and has been used continuously by the Catawba people to make their namesake pottery and sustain their community for more than 6,000 years.
During the Great Depression, Catawba women made and sold pottery to help Catawba people survive. In modern times, Catawba pottery has become a well-regarded form of Native American art with pieces made from the clay located on the Nisbet Tract featured in museums throughout the world.
“Catawba citizens have been creating functional and artistic vessels from the clay holes on the Nisbet Tract for over a century,” said Chief Bill Harris. “The Nation acknowledges the Nisbet family’s long friendship in allowing citizens access to the clay to safeguard this important cultural practice. We also thank OSI and SCPRT for their commitment to partnering with the Catawba Nation to preserve and protect all Catawba cultural resources on the Nisbet Tract and ensure Catawba citizens access to the clay holes in perpetuity.”
A focus of the partnership is to ensure that the Nation has perpetual access to and co-management of the Nisbet clay pit. An existing 151-acre conservation easement placed on the property by the Nisbet family and held by the Katawba Valley Land Trust includes the clay pits and the riverfront that provides additional protection to the property’s ecological and cultural resources.
OSI is simultaneously seeking funding from the South Carolina Conservation Bank, Lancaster County and foundation and corporate partners. The Knobloch Family Foundation, Lancaster County, Duke Energy and Arras Foundation have committed funding support.
CHARLOTTE (QUEEN CITY NEWS) – Does the Internal Revenue Service owe you money?
According to the federal agency, nationwide there are $1 billion in unclaimed funds from 2020. The money is part of COVID-19 stimulus funds.
This means millions of dollars unclaimed in North and South Carolina. An IRS spokesperson says over $29 million in North Carolina and over $12 million in South Carolina. These are the checks sent out by the government during the pandemic.
Many people received the $1,200 sent out by the government to stimulate the economy in the spring of 2020.
Many people received the funds because the IRS had a prior tax return, a W-4 from an employer was on file, or they were receiving some kind of government assistance.
“There’s a three-year statute of limitations and the government keeps the money,” adds Rodney Foushee, spokesperson for the Internal Revenue Service. “So, the deadline is May 17 of this year. There was an extension back then because of COVID, so folks have until May 17, 2024, to file for those 2020 credits.”
However, the people the agency is looking for could be retirees who worked a part-time job, students who didn’t think they needed to file, or someone who by chance forgot to file.
“We estimate about 30,000 people in North Carolina still haven’t filed for those COVID credits and all they have to do is file an income tax return,” said Foushee.
On average the check could mean an extra $895 in the pocket of qualified North Carolina taxpayers and $840 for South Carolina residents who didn’t claim the credit. To check and see if you have a credit for 2020 or 2021, click here.