Longleaf Pine Land Management: Benefits to Wildlife

LAND

M GMT of Longleaf Pine

Benefits to

WILDLIFE The Orianne Society

1,748 plants are endemic to the Longleaf Pine ecosystem, and 31.8% of native flora in North America is found in the Coastal Plain.

Over 6,000 PLANT and ANIMAL species call Longleaf Pine habitats home.

Only 3%, roughly 3 MILLION ACRES from what was 90 MILLION ACRES, of historic Longleaf Pine forests remains today.

Photo Š Pete Oxford

Prescribed fire keeps the Longleaf Pine ecosystem healthy and enables native flora and wildlife to thrive, but fire suppression in the past 100 years has left this diverse ecosystem in peril.

The Longleaf Pine ecosystem is ONE of the most endangered in the United States.

29 Longleaf Pine species are listed as THREATENED or ENDANGERED.

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PLANTS and WILDLIFE living in the Longleaf Pine ecosystem are not only adapted to fire, they depend on it for their SURVIVAL.

Prescribed burns should be conducted on 2-3 year intervals under optimal circumstances.

Prescribed fire is one of the most efficient and cost effective means to improve wildlife habitat.

Longleaf Pine groundcover is the most diverse vegetation in North America.

Regular prescribed fires limit populations of damaging insects and disease.

At least 40 arthropod species are attracted to fires, providing food sources for wildlife such as Quail.

Gopher Tortoise burrows provide shelter for around 300 species, making them a keystone species in the Longleaf Pine ecosystem.

60% of amphibians and reptiles in the Southeast are found in Longleaf Pine habitats.

Deer, turkey and other game species depend on prescribed fires for foraging variety and cover.

75% of plants in the Longleaf Pine ecosystem are pollinated by insects.

The endangered Red-cockaded Woodpecker is a keystone species for 27 others and is one of few birds that excavate cavities in live trees.

Photo Š Pete Oxford

Recent fires allow raptors to find prey more easily.

LAND RESTORATION

POPULATION RESTORATION

INVENTORY & MONITORING

CONSERVATION PLANNING

EDUCATION & OUTREACH

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3 EDUCATION

RESEARCH

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SCIENCE

Our three-pronged approach to conservation allows us to plan our research projects strategically so we can maximize our results, both in the field and in our plans for the future.

APPLIED CONSERVATION

The Orianne Society works to conserve WILDLIFE and the HABITATS they need to persist.

We are dedicated to increasing our conservation footprint by protecting and restoring this vital fire forest ecosystem with our land management activities.

PRIVATE LAND PARTNERSHIPS

RESTORING GROUNDCOVER

PLANTING LONGLEAF PINE

Longleaf Pine dominated the southeastern landscape that the early settlers found, a landscape characterized by tall trees, little to no midstory, and a diversity of groundcover including Wiregrass and numerous wildflowers and forbs. But with commercial harvesting and fire suppression of the late 1800s and early 1900s, this diverse landscape has declined to dangerously low levels.

The Orianne Society is working to restore and conserve Longleaf Pine habitats in South Georgia for the thousands of plant and animal species that call this diverse ecosystem home.

Photo Š Pete Oxford

PRESCRIBED BURNING

We’ve planted over 453,300 Longleaf Pine seedlings and consistently apply prescribed fire to restore the OISP to its natural state.

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The Orianne Indigo Snake Preserve (OISP) is comprised of 48,704 acres: 2,607 acres The Orianne Society 10,343 acres Conservation Partners 35,754 acres Private Landowners

453,300

48,704

16,000

We’ve applied prescribed fire to over 16,000 acres on the OISP and private lands since 2010.

We have prepared over 200 miles of fire lines to control prescribed burns on the OISP.

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Restore native groundcover on 560 acres.

Increase the size of the Orianne Indigo Snake Preserve.

Photo Š Brannon Knight

Restore 9,850 acres using prescribed fire.

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9,850

Enroll 120 landowners in our partnership network.

NOW WHAT?

YOU CAN HELP! @OrianneSociety

Our private land partners allow us to expand the range of our restoration work within the Longleaf Pine ecosystem while improving habitat and increasing wildlife diversity on partners’ property.

TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE LAND MANAGEMENT ADVICE GROUNDCOVER RESTORATION HABITAT IMPROVEMENT

We currently work with over 30 landowners as well as several agencies such as Georgia Department of Natural Resources, The Nature Conservancy and Longleaf Alliance to restore and conserve land.

We have around 20 volunteers that contribute to our land program each year.

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You can support our land restoration efforts financially by making an online donation, becoming an Orianne member, giving the gift of stock or including us in your planned giving.

Learn more about ways to give at www.OrianneSociety.org/Take-Action

We have two primary volunteer opportunities at our Orianne Indigo Snake Preserve:

Groundcover Seed Collection Volunteers help us collect seed in preparation for planting.

Trained Fire Management Volunteers living in South Georgia assist us with prescribed burns.

For more information about how YOU can help, please email us at info@oriannesociety.org.

Word of mouth and social media are crucial to our work—the more people that know about what we’re doing, the more we are able to do for conservation!

TALK ABOUT US FOLLOW US LIKE, SHARE + RETWEET

The Orianne Society 100 Phoenix Rd. Athens, GA 30605 706-353-7800 info@oriannesociety.org www.OrianneSociety.org @OrianneSociety

Cover Photos: Longleaf Pine © Kevin Stohlgren; Gopher Tortoise © Pete Oxford; Quail © Giff Beaton

“A vast forest of the most stately pine trees that can be imagined.”