The Preserve contains both hardwood and evergreen forest, extensive wetlands, and a rich diversity of reptiles, mammals, and birds.

[1] In 2016 the state of South Carolina made the privately owned facility a wildlife sanctuary.

In 2000 the Conestee Foundation, a 501(c)(3) conservation organization, was formed to lead the revitalization of the lake as a wetlands through the development of the nature preserve, and the foundation used settlement funds from a June 1996 Colonial Pipeline spill to purchase the lake and the dam.

Once safety studies of the brownfield were complete, it was determined that no harm would result if the toxic sediment were left in place.

[3] In December 2016, inspectors from the state Department of Health and Environmental Control rated Conestee Dam, which is not keyed into the bedrock, in poor condition due to deterioration of mortar and water seepage.