With five streams, rock outcrops and mature timber, the 262-acre Graystone tract in North Augusta is a perfect candidate for preservation.

"We've got a lot of different ideas for this property," said Hazel Langrall, the acting director of the Central Savannah River Land Trust -- the site's new owner.

The land trust, formed in 2001, works to protect stream borders and sensitive natural areas through conservation easements that leave private ownership intact.

The Graystone tract was a fee-simple gift to the organization from the Knox family and its charitable foundation.

"Because we own it outright, there is so much more we can do," Ms. Langrall said. "There could be a living classroom, or boardwalks. There could even be some development."

The parcel straddles the Aiken-Edgefield county line and includes frontage on Martintown Road near Interstate 20.

Behind the choice frontage are deep ravines and a host of Fall Line ecosystems where hillsides are dotted with relict trillium, an endangered wildflower found along the Savannah River.

Current plans include resource management, forest restoration and removal of unwanted invasive plants, Ms. Langrall said.

Down the road, though, the land trust's ownership of the property could enable it to benefit from using some of the road frontage for other purposes, while keeping the sensitive areas intact.

"Development isn't wrong or bad," Ms. Langrall said. "It can work in concert with conservation."

It might be possible, she said, to allow limited development to generate money that could endow acquisition of other sensitive natural areas elsewhere.

"The Knoxes gave it to us for whatever purpose we deem best, which gives us a lot of flexibility," she said. "It is a wonderful, wonderful gift."

The land trust works on multiple levels to acquire and preserve important areas, either through permanent conservation easements that offer landowners tax credits or by using grants and other funding sources to simply acquire important lands.