The Longleaf Leader - Winter 2020

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Our 25th Year of Blazing a Trail for Longleaf Restoration Volume Xii - issue 4

WiNTeR 2020

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

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L A N D O W N E R C O R N E R .......................................23 T E C H N O L O G Y C O R N E R .....................................26 R E G I O N A L U P D A T E S .........................................29 A R T S & L I T E R A T U R E ........................................40

President’s Message....................................................2 Calendar ....................................................................4 Letters from the Inbox ...............................................5 Understory Plant Spotlight........................................7 Wildlife Spotlight .....................................................8 2019 – A Banner Year for Longleaf ..........................10 The Alliance Teaches its 100th Longleaf Academy: A Look Back ............................................................14

Longleaf Destinations ..............................................44

P E O P L E .................................................................47 S U P P O R T T H E A L L I A N C E ................................50

R E S E A R C H N O T E S .............................................18

Heartpine ................................................................56

P U B L I S H E R The Longleaf Alliance, E D I T O R Carol Denhof, A S S I S T A N T E D I T O R Margaret Platt, D E S I G N Bellhouse Publishing A D V E R T I S I N G Carol Denhof 678.595.6405 – editor@longleafalliance.org C O V E R Sun shines through smoke during a sandhill restoration prescribed burn at Townsend Wildlife Management Area

in Long County, Georgia. Photo by Randy Tate.

The Longleaf Leader (USPS#) is an official publication of The Longleaf Alliance, 12130 Dixon Center Road, Andalusia, Alabama 36420 and is published 4 times a year. The Longleaf Alliance reserves the exclusive right to accept or reject advertising or editorial material submitted for publication. Advertising rates quoted upon request.Postmaster: Send address changes to The Longleaf Alliance, Address12130 Dixon Center Road, Andalusia, Alabama 36420. Periodicals Postage Paid at Montgomery, Alabama.

In accordance with Federal law and U.S. Department of Agriculture policy, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, or disability.

(Not all prohibited bases will apply to all programs.) To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, Room 326-W, Whitten Building, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call (202) 720-5964 (voice and TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

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president’s message

F

CAROL DENHOF ultimately increasing longleaf forest acreage. Their dedication and work in those early days laid the groundwork for the growth of our education and outreach programs under JJ BachantBrown and all of the work that LLA’s team is doing today. This early focus on restoration of longleaf pine can also be credited with the formation of the collaborative working partnerships that support the America’s Longleaf Restoration Initiative.

The original intent of The Longleaf Alliance continues today.

We have grown in size, the faces have changed, and our initial programs have evolved to meet ever-changing longleaf restoration needs. However, as an organization, we remain focused on our mission of ensuring the sustainable future of the longleaf ecosystem through partnerships, landowner assistance, and science-based education and outreach. Education and outreach remain as the cornerstone of our programs, and we continue to be the hub of the longleaf partnership wheel that includes state and federal agencies, research institutions, natural resource professionals, NGOs, universities, and private landowners. Looking back at this past year, we made an impact in the areas of outreach, habitat improvement, rare species restoration, longleaf restoration, and land protection. Through our programs, LLA reached nearly 250,000 people using a variety of outreach tools, provided 576 technical assists, assisted with burning on over 600,000 acres, restored rare species in South Carolina and Florida, and working with our partners protected over 15,000 acres along the Savannah River. It was a great year, and 2020 is going to be even better. Using our mission as a guide, I’m excited to be steering the ship forward into this celebration year and shaping the organization to endure and thrive for the next 25 years and more!

irst, let me say thank you to all that have reached out with encouragement and support as I transition from the role of Understory Coordinator to President.

I am both humbled and honored to be taking over the leadership of The Longleaf Alliance on the eve of the organization’s 25th year of working to bring back the longleaf pine to the southeastern landscape. In this Silver Jubilee year, we will be taking the time to pause and reflect on not only the accomplishments of The Longleaf Alliance but also the incredible strides that the entire longleaf community has made in efforts to reach our common longleaf restoration goals. So much has changed since Rhett Johnson and Dean Gjerstad put their heads together and formed LLA in 1995 in response to both the urgent need to halt the decline of longleaf pine ecosystems and the growing demand for information on how to restore these forests. Despite the dominance of the other southern yellow pines in the southeastern US, there was an increasing number of landowners and managers who were beginning to see the appeal of longleaf – superior wood products, wildlife value, and the diversity of the ecosystem. They just needed the right guides to help them through the process of successfully establishing and managing the species. Mark Hainds joined the team in 1995 as a Research Associate working through Auburn University. Mark was instrumental in developing tried & true techniques for site preparation and planting that truly changed the game for longleaf establishment. A few years later, John McGuire completed the team as the first Outreach Coordinator.

Together, this small (but mighty!) group worked extensively with partners and traveled the region meeting landowners with the goal of improving people’s perception of longleaf and

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Longleaf Alliance Board of Directors Marc Walley – Chairman Reese Thompson – Vice Chairman Rufus Duncan – Secretary/Treasurer Barclay McFadden – Past Chairman Lynda Guerry Beam Robbie Fisher Patrick Franklin Amanda Haralson Ken Nichols Bill Owen Mickey Parker Mac Rhodes Salem Saloom Latimore Smith George Tyson Phillip Woods

Staff Carol Denhof President carol@longleafalliance.org

Vernon Compton GCPEP Director vernon@longleafalliance.org

Jessica Sandoval Biological Technician jessica@longleafalliance.org

Ad Platt Vice President of Operations ad@longleafalliance.org

Bobby Franklin SoLoACE Partnership Coordinator bobby@longleafalliance.org

Brian Schumann Ecosystem Support Senior Team Member brian@longleafalliance.org

Anne Rilling Vice President of Business anne@longleafalliance.org

Lucas Furman GIS Support Specialist lucas@longleafalliance.org

Kaiden Spurlock Ecosystem Support Team Supervisor kaiden@longleafalliance.org

Charlie Abeles Wildlife Biologist charlie@longleafalliance.org

Kelsea Heider Wetland Ecosystem Support Team Member kelsea@longleafalliance.org

Randy Tate Ft. Stewart/Altamaha Longleaf Restoration Partnership Coordinator randy@longleafalliance.org

Lisa Lord South Carolina Field Project Coordinator and Savannah River Watershed Project Director lisa@longleafalliance.org

Ben Tuttle Ecosystem Support Team Member benjamin@longleafalliance.org

Robert Abernethy Director of Special Projects robert@longleafalliance.org Nicholas Barys Wetland Ecosystem Support Team Leader nick@longleafalliance.org Lynnsey Basala Development Director lynnsey@longleafalliance.org

Joseph Mann Wetland Ecosystem Support Team Member joseph@longleafalliance.org

Ryan Bollinger Local Implementation Team Consul ryan_b@longleafalliance.org

Edward O’Daniels Cogongrass & Tyndall Project Coordinator edward@longleafalliance.org

Karen Zilliox Brown Technical Assistance & Training Specialist karen@longleafalliance.org

Alan Patterson Wetland Ecosystem Support Team Member alan@longleafalliance.org

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Donna Vassallo Ecosystem Support Senior Team Member donna@longleafalliance.org Casey White Administrative Assistant office@longleafalliance.org Bob Wilken Fire Specialist bob@longleafalliance.org

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UPCOMING EVENTS

2020 | Calendar January 14 - 16

May 12 – 14

October 20 – 23

Longleaf Academy: Longleaf 101

Longleaf Academy: Longleaf 101

13th Biennial Longleaf Conference

Blue Heron Nature Center Ridgeland, South Carolina

Pee Dee Research & Education Center Florence, South Carolinaa

Hotel Ballast Wilmington, North Carolina

February 11 - 13 Longleaf Academy: Fire & Longleaf 201

July 14 – 16

Tall Timbers Research Station Tallahassee, Florida

Longleaf Academy: Herbicides & Longleaf 201

March TBD

Cumberland County, North Carolina

Longleaf Academy: Herbicides & Longleaf 201

August 11 – 13

Solon Dixon Forestry Education Center Andalusia, Alabama

Event dates subject to change before registration opens. For more information, please visit The Longleaf Alliance website (https://www.longleafalliance.org).

Longleaf Academy: Herbicides & Longleaf 201 Wesley Center Woodworth, Louisiana

WINTER 2020 MANAGEMENT CHECKLIST • Site Prep Burns: Sometimes, it is important to conduct a site prep burn prior to planting longleaf. Site prep burns can remove logging slash, lead to better planting jobs, stimulate early growth by increasing available nutrients, and decrease hot spots that may kill young seedlings in subsequent burns. On deep sands or sites with little logging slash, site-prep burns may not be needed; fuel can be saved until the first or secondyear burn.

• Evaluate Young Stands: Evaluate young stands to determine one-year survival and ensure adequate stocking using 1/100 or 1/50 ac plots. Wait until after the first frost when the grass stage longleaf is more easily seen.

• Prune Longleaf: In some stands that lack fuels or have a low stocking rate, mechanical pruning may be an option to avoid the “Old Field” growth form. Winter is the easiest time to prune and should be finished before the spring green-up. Pruning may not be practical in a large stand.

•Planting Longleaf: To take advantage of the winter precipitation and maximize survival, planting early is almost always better than late planting. After adequate soil moisture, the next most important factor in good survival is proper planting depth for your site prep treatment.

• Plant Native Warm Season Grasses: Later winter through early spring is the recommended time to plant our native understory species. Some plants require a cold-stratification period and need to be planted earlier.

• Prescribed Fire: Winter is a prime time to conduct fuel reduction burns in mature or sapling stands. Late December through the end of winter is a good time to introduce fire in young, healthy longleaf stands to help control unwanted wild pine seedlings and other competition. Use caution — or wait — when wanting to prescribe burn any drought-stressed stands.

• Herbicide Treatments: Basal bark and stem injection herbicide treatments are typically most effective at controlling unwanted or invasive trees and shrubs during the dormant season.

Give The Longleaf Alliance a call with any questions you may have pertaining to establishing or managing longleaf stands. 334.427.1029 [4]

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FROM THE INBOX

Q&A Q.

Dear Longleaf Alliance,

Still, more factors like the size of your tract, its operability, the contract length — as well as how “hungry” the bidders are — also impact bid prices. Then, there is the haul cost (the distance to the various markets). All these factors plus the type of wood, type of harvest, size of the tract to be cut, location, and demand play a role. Consider also that different operators will leave your tract in different conditions, and may make future site preparation more, or less expensive!

This is a critical time to have professional forestry guidance! As most of us only get a few chances in life to sell stands of timber, and because the condition of your tract after the sale can impact your management for years to come, we highly recommend hiring a registered forester or consultant to ensure you receive the best price when marketing your timber. Their expertise will be valuable throughout the planning, contracting, execution, monitoring, and closeout phases. Consulting foresters charge a percentage of the value of the timber sale as their commission for marketing timber, but their knowledge and relationships with existing markets should make you more money than they cost you, and likely more than you would have on your own. They can also guide you to competent tax advice and be a great resource in all your future restoration and management.

I’m in the process of planning a timber harvest on my property in preparation to plant longleaf pine next year. I’m confused! I’ve talked to four different companies and have gotten four different recommendations on harvesting, with four different prices. Do timber prices vary that much between buyers?

Sincerely, Confused

A.

Dear Confused,

Yes, timber prices often vary significantly from one buyer to another. If you’re selling an agricultural crop like cotton, you can call up several different cotton gins and get pretty close to the same price when you deliver to the gin. Not so with timber!

Different buyers will quote you different prices, which is called stumpage price – the amount paid to landowners after the logging cost is deducted. Stumpage will vary in part because buyers both estimate and market differently the various products that will be harvested from your land.

Pulpwood-sized trees that are used to make paper, in general, are less valuable than sawtimber trees, which are used to make lumber. Pole quality trees are the most valuable if there is a market within haul range. Trees harvested in a thinning operation will usually bring lower prices than those harvested in a clearcut; because more care has to be taken in thinning to avoid damaging the remaining trees, and lower quality wood is being removed.

Clearcut harvesting should bring higher prices because higher value mature trees are being removed and because all the trees are being cut, logging costs typically are lower.

To find a registered forester or consultant, or if you’d like to learn more about selling timber, visit your state forestry commission or association web page or office, your county extension agent, or the Association of Consulting Foresters at www.acf-foresters.org.

Sincerely, The Longleaf Alliance

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y r o t s nder

PLANT SPOTLIGHT U

By Carol Denhof, The Longleaf Alliance

IRIS VERNA L. VAR. VERNA DWARF IRIS IRIS FAMILY – IRIDACEAE

Map showing distribution of dwarf iris.

USDA PLANTS Database.

Dwarf iris and longleaf pine cones at Hitchcock Woods in Aiken, South Carolina. Photo by Carol Denhof.

Description Dwarf iris emerges from the soil in late winter with basal, grasslike leaves, followed closely by the beautiful purple and orange-yellow flowers. The leaves of this perennial plant measure 4-18� and shoot up from long rhizomes that grow just under the soil surface. As the name implies, the flowering stem is very short, reaching a height of only 2 inches, and each stem holds a single flower. Flowering starts in late March and goes through May.

Wildlife/Medicinal Uses This species is bee-pollinated and provides a good nectar source early in the growing season.

Distribution & Habitat Dwarf iris can be found growing in pinelands from Virginia to Florida. It will usually be found in drier sites such as longleaf turkey oak habitat.

References Sorrie, B.A. 2011. A Field Guide to Wildflowers of the Sandhills Region. The University of North Carolina Press.

Chapel Hill, NC. 378pp.

Plant Availability This plant is readily available through native plant nurseries. It is easy to divide once established in a garden setting.

USDA, NRCS. 2019. The PLANTS Database (http://plants.usda.gov, 4 November 2019). National Plant Data Team, Greensboro, NC 27401-4901 USA.

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WILDLIFE SPOTLIGHT

By Lisa Lord, The Longleaf Alliance

Red-cockaded WoodpeckeR (PICOIDES BOREALIS)

Red-cockaded woodpeckers (RCWs) are on their way to as conservation partners became invested in RCW conservation recovery, and in South Carolina, state and private lands play a and found strategies that work, including the Safe Harbor crucial role in getting them Program, which began in 1995 there. With limited federal as a way for the US Fish and lands to harbor RCWs, state Wildlife Service to ease and private lands are essential as regulatory burdens associated support populations by with the Endangered Species increasing connectivity between Act. Landowners are assigned a populations, providing dispersal “baseline,” which is the number corridors, and buffering against of active clusters on their natural disasters. property at the time the RCWs excavate their cavities agreement is signed. They are in living pine trees. They have allowed “incidental take” if the complex social systems, living population expands above the in family groups with one or baseline. more male “helpers” that assist Beyond the Safe Harbor the breeding pair by brooding, Program, another valuable tool cleaning waste from the cavity, for increasing the size of small and feeding the young that the populations or isolated groups is breeding pair produces. RCWs translocation. In 2016, The also provide benefits to other Longleaf Alliance began cavity-dependent species by working with federal, state, and creating habitat. private partners in South Red-cockaded woodpeckers Carolina to translocate RCWs once had an estimated historic from the Francis Marion population of over 1 million National Forest to state and Captured RCW for translocation. groups, but when they were private lands with suitable Photo by Lisa Lord. federally listed (when the habitat enrolled in Safe Harbor.

Endangered Species Act passed Ralph Costa serves as a in 1973), fewer than 10,000 consultant and the project individual birds remained. Before restoration got underway in leader. Biologist Larry Wood monitors the RCW population the 1980s, RCW populations were steeply declining. The on the Forest and identifies the birds to be translocated each bright side is that this has reversed course over recent decades year. Each fall, RCW biologists from several states gather to [8]

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References Bonnie, R. 1997. Safe harbor for the red-cockaded woodpecker.

Journal of Forestry (95): 17-22 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 2003. Recovery plan for the red-cockaded woodpecker (Picoides borealis): second revision. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Atlanta, GA. 296 pp.

assist with these translocations. Through 2019, 72 RCWs were translocated to thirteen different properties as part of this program. The number of birds retained and breeding, in general, has been above the range-wide average. One of the recipient properties and success stories is Hitchcock Woods in Aiken, South Carolina, which had no RCWs in 2015 and now has 8 active clusters with 28-30 RCWs on-site.

Completed artificial RCW insert with paint. Photo by Mark Pavlovsky.

Partnership team gathered for Fall 2019 RCW translocation. Photo by Lisa Lord.

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Gopher tortoise eggs that were collected and used to headstart gopher tortoises for restoration. Photo by Lisa Lord.

2019

A Banner Year for Longleaf The Longleaf Alliance made significant strides to achieve our mission of ensuring the sustainable future of longleaf pine ecosystems in 2019. From Academies to gopher tortoises to prescribed fire, all of our programs fit within the framework we have set to achieve our key strategic longleaf objectives. We would like to share some of the key successes that LLA has accomplished over the past year.

GROWING — We raise awareness, increase engagement, and grow a love for longleaf across the range.

Burner Bob® The need for extensive prescribed fire outreach and education for the general public has become increasingly important as more people are living and working in the wildland/urban interface. In the face of wildfires that continue to threaten areas [ 10 ]

around the United States, teaching the public about the benefits of “Good Fires” can have a significant impact on the landscapes around us.

To help spread the word about Good Fires, the prescribed fire community now has an Ambassador in the form of a Bobwhite Quail named Burner Bob®. Created by Georgia private landowner Reese Thompson, Burner Bob devotes his days explaining to people that the longleaf forest, with its many plants and animals, has evolved by being burned regularly. The forests need fire to survive. He goes about the land, telling the story, and showing people how to control burn safely. He is a “Cool Dude with a Hot Message®.”

The Longleaf Alliance manages the Burner Bob outreach activities. They include appearances at public prescribed firerelated events, a Burner Bob® Facebook page, website resources

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Burner Bob® at the screening of “Secrets of the Longleaf Pine” in Brunswick, GA. Photo by Amy Schuler.

Partners from the Choctawhatchee Basin Alliance (CBA), the WEST, the EST, and Virginia Tech who worked together to make significant progress in the wetland pictured on Eglin Air Force Base. Photo by Kelly Jones.

via The Alliance page (www.longleafalliance.org), coloring books for school-aged children, and online videos. Since 2017, a total of 22,000 coloring books have been printed and distributed to children across the southeastern US. Facebook and YouTube provide a platform for reaching a tremendous number of people as well. Since January 2019, Burner Bob® has made a total of seven appearances at festivals that have a focus on wise use of prescribed fire.

and a dozen more ecological attributes. The initial results are extremely encouraging, though not quite ready to publish.

Data collection, ground-truthing of the spatial model, and analysis will take place in all the LITs over the next three years and, after post-processing, will yield an interactive longleaf occurrence web map for managers to use and explore.

IMPROVING FOREST HEALTH – Through active stewardship we improve the condition of longleaf ecosystems across the range.

South Carolina Rare Species Projects The Longleaf Alliance (LLA) continued initiatives focused on the recovery of federal and state endangered wildlife species, including the red-cockaded woodpecker, gopher tortoise, and Carolina gopher frog. Grants from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), International Paper, American Forests, and the USFWS Coastal Program provided the funding to restore these endangered species. In the fall of 2019, partners in SC gathered again to translocate 21 RCWs from the Francis Marion National Forest to state and private lands with suitable habitat in South Carolina to restore their RCW populations.

Altogether since 2017, 72 RCWs have been translocated as part of this state and private lands recovery initiative. Also, 20 birds from the Apalachicola National Forest in Florida were translocated last fall to state and federal lands across the southeast to restore their RCW populations. LLA continues to support RCW restoration on the Conecuh National Forest, Blackwater River State Forest, and the Desoto National Forest.

We also focus on the wildlife species a little closer to the ground. As part of a partnership with the University of Georgia

UNDERSTANDING — We collect and share technical information about longleaf through science-based education, outreach, and technical assistance through methods best for each audience.

The Southeastern LEO Geodatabase Project The Southeastern Longleaf Ecosystem Occurrence Geodatabase Project (LEO) is underway with field data collectors deployed in the DeSoto-Camp Shelby and Gulf Coastal Plain LITs, and soon the Chattahoochee Fall Line. The project aims to produce a comprehensive, ground-truthed map of the longleaf pine ecosystem across its range, focusing first on the areas within the Longleaf Implementation Teams (LITs).

Florida Natural Areas Inventory (FNAI) and The Longleaf Alliance are working in close coordination to deliver a relevant, valuable tool for conservation planning and tracking progress toward range-wide goals. For this process, FNAI produces a survey map of the LIT area, and The Longleaf Alliance then finds the appropriate solution for each LIT for conducting data collection with a blend of partner participation and contractors.

Field data collectors are trained on how to conduct a standardized rapid assessment of the survey points that inform us on longleaf dominance, pyrogenic understory characteristics, [ 11 ]

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Savannah River Ecology Lab (SREL), we have been headstarting gopher tortoises since 2017. This fall, 52 more one-year-old tortoises were released, continuing to put two populations on the road to recovery. LLA also initiated another project with SREL this year to support gopher frog recovery by surveying private lands for gopher frogs and assisting landowners with improving the habitat for this species on their land.

the GCPEP landscape, several LLA teams are helping, including the EST (Ecosystem Support Team), WEST (Wetland Ecosystem Support Team), and the AMBBIS (reticulated flatwoods salamander) team. Due to the excellent collaboration among the land managers, teams, and other partners, outstanding progress was made over the past year, particularly with recovery efforts associated with the endangered reticulated flatwoods salamander.

Restoration efforts center on both mechanical treatments and prescribed fire. Chainsaws are used to clear unwanted and overly dense trees from ponds, which are hauled to an upland area with an emphasis on minimizing impact to the grasses found throughout the ecotone. Trees and debris removed from the ponds are piled strategically to encourage desired fire behavior around the wetlands. Any cut stumps are treated with herbicides after tree removal to prevent resprouting and new growth. Over the past year, teams completed work in 10 ponds and began or continued work on several additional ponds. The teams also assisted with 14,458 acres of prescribed fire, targeting the wetlands being restored. In addition, the AMBBIS initiated a reticulated flatwoods salamander captive rearing program and successfully released 246 salamanders into wetlands on Escribano Point Wildlife Management Area.

Partner emphasis on both habitat restoration and collaboration is leading to increased hope for the recovery of the reticulated flatwoods salamander.

Restoration of Isolated Wetlands in the GCPEP Landscape

DIVERSE FORESTS CONSERVED — We work with landowners to ensure the future of longleaf through conservation of high quality, diverse longleaf forests across generations.

Land Protection Advances Because of the significant relationship between forests and water, LLA is a lead partner in the Savannah River Clean Water Fund (SRCWF), which supports the protection of water quality in the Lower Savannah River Basin. The Savannah River watershed provides drinking water to more than 1.5 million people in two states and was formed in 2014 to help facilitate a holistic approach to land protection in the 2.79 million-acre watershed.

In 2019, two private properties, Groton Plantation and Big Snooks, totaling 14,165 acres, were the first conservation easements to receive funding through the SRCWF due to their drinking water utility partners, Beaufort-Jasper Water and Sewer Authority, and the City of Savannah. The transactions were made possible through the leadership of The Nature Conservancy and Lowcountry Land Trust and local and national funding partners, including the South Carolina Conservation Bank, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation through Walmart’s ‘Acres for America’ Program, and The Longleaf Alliance. The conservation easements will ensure that the forests on the properties are never converted to uses detracting from water quality.

Oxbow lake on Big Snooks property in South Carolina. Photo by Josh Bell.

Wetlands of the southeastern coastal plains were historically influenced by recurring fires that would have maintained these habitats as early successional vegetative communities dominated by a dense herbaceous layer. Fire suppression has resulted in wetlands that are now dominated instead by a woody over-story that prevents the use of these habitats by many of the rare and declining species that depend on them.

Unfortunately, fire-dependent wetland communities are especially difficult to treat with prescribed fire, and land managers often lack the resources required to apply fire in these challenging habitats effectively. To assist partners with addressing the challenges with restoring isolated wetlands in [ 12 ]

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At 13, 868 acres, Groton Plantation is the largest private conservation easement in South Carolina. The property buffers the already protected floodplain forest for 10 miles, and the upland longleaf pine forests have some of the highest quality wildlife habitats in the state and harbor a population of RCWs. The 297-acre Big Snooks tract has mature bottomland hardwood forests, a natural oxbow lake, and longleaf pine, which provides habitat for gopher tortoises that live there. The property is positioned between two publicly owned lands, further enhancing its environmental benefits.

ECOSYSTEMS RESTORED — Through advocacy, policies, assistance, partners, and our own management actions. we facilitate the expansion of longleaf ecosystems across the range.

Longleaf Pine Planting Projects The goal of reaching 8 million acres of longleaf pine by 2025 remains a priority for America’s Longleaf Restoration Initiative.

The Longleaf Alliance, working in collaboration with restoration partners, planted 1.8 million seedlings in fiscal year 2019. Planting projects were completed on both private and public land, and funding was provided by Arbor Day Foundation, American Forests, National Forest Foundation, USFWS Partners Program, National Fish & Wildlife Foundation, and National Wild Turkey Federation. We also continued our tree planting program with Appalachian Mountain Brewing and initiated a new program with GeorgiaPacific’s Aria® brand. These tree-planting projects will grow in 2020, and plans are shaping up to plant over 3 million seedlings across the southeast.

Planted longleaf pine seedling.

Photo by Carol Denhof.

to get to” parts of the range. We aim to respond to all requests, wherever there is interest in restoring longleaf. As this issue goes to press, we are heading to Wakefield, Virginia to finally bring the Academy program to the state. The VA LL 101 is not just the long-awaited first in the state, but is expected to be the largest class yet, and is #101 overall. This large number of attendees is indicative of the great interest and energized partners bringing longleaf back in Virginia, and the format will be expanded to a full three days to enable multiple field trips to see the progress.

To reach a variety of different audiences, Ad Platt spent a fun and productive week with the Texas LIT in meetings, site visits, and three all-day Field Workshops back-to-back; one for REITs/TIMOs and Texas Forest Service Staff, one for Agency partners and landowners, and one for Consulting Foresters and landowners.

Increasingly, college students, as well as new agency or company staff, attend Academies, and that can only be good for the future. Our current staff lives across much of the longleaf range, and we aim to cover it all.

Expanding longleaf restoration across the range The longleaf ecosystem restoration effort is generally regarded as the largest native ecosystem restoration effort underway in the country. It is powered by a tremendous partnership effort, guided by a 33-member Longleaf Partnership Council, and making progress across a nine-state range. The foundation of this effort is the sharing of knowledge, understanding, and best approaches for success in managing across a variety of community types and a vast geographic range of over 1,200 miles. Since the founding of The Alliance in 1995, outreach and technical assistance have remained the left and right hands of The Alliance. Like the helping hands shown on our logo, their importance only increases as more landowners join in this effort and as our progress continues to grow.

Workshops and field days help attract new and beginning landowners. Attending a Longleaf Academy program remains the most significant predictor of success. And technical assists continue every day by a variety of methods from phone, email, website, or best of all, in person. Assists, Academies, and Workshops are continually occurring, including in those “hard

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The alliaNce Teaches iTs 100Th loNgleaf academy: a look Back

By Karen Z. Brown, The Longleaf Alliance

Ad Platt instructing Longleaf 101 students in the field at Blackwater River State Forest, FL. Photo by Karen Brown.

right information, so Rhett, Dean, and Mark decided they had to take their expertise on the road.

This was the basis for the Longleaf Academy, and at that time, they were 1-day events. Reception to the longleaf message was sometimes a mixed bag, occasionally hostile, depending on a landowner’s successes or, more often, failures up to that point. The Alliance crisscrossed rural Georgia and Alabama, presenting at a grueling pace of back-to-back (to back) workshops for months on end. (In fact, if we counted all these single-day Academies, we would have surpassed the 100mark long ago.)

Still, they felt like there was never enough time to address all that they should. And they were learning more all the time about longleaf as their networks grew. In fact, some of what we now understand came from managers that we have met along the way. But there were always more topics they felt needed to be included. And the demand was growing. How could we address the need?

And so, the 3-day Academy format was developed. Rhett, Dean and Mark, and later John McGuire, began presenting this longer format exclusively at the Solon Dixon Center in

This past October, The Longleaf Alliance celebrated its 100th Longleaf Academy. The Academies were born from The Alliance’s core commitment to outreach and education that has been part of our mission since our beginnings. At that time, longleaf was still treated like a novelty, though the movement was building to restore the ecosystem that once blanketed 90 million acres of the southeast.

The Longleaf Alliance’s founders, Rhett Johnson and Dean Gjerstad, steered the early research on longleaf establishment; not much was known prior to that, and what managers were acting on was misguided. Mark Hainds was hired as the Alliance’s first employee, Research Coordinator, a joint position with Auburn University. Mark was tasked with identifying the obstacles longleaf managers and producers were facing and to figure out the answers. He wanted to troubleshoot the planting failures he was seeing and hearing about at this time.

It’s Mark’s work on proper planting depths for longleaf seedlings that we still teach today in Longleaf 101. Before that, containerized longleaf was being planted like bareroot seedlings, or planted like loblolly. Total failures were disheartening, but not uncommon. People just didn’t have the

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1.

3.

2.

4.

1. The 100th Academy was held in Gainesville, FL at the Austin Cary-Stern Learning Center in October 2019. Photo by Ryan Mitchell. 2. A landowner works on his burn plan with the help of his classmates during Fire & Longleaf. Photo by Randy Tate. 3. Mark Hainds discussing seedling quality characteristics with Longleaf 101 students. Photo by LLA. 4. Ryan Mitchell instructs during Longleaf 101. Photo by Karen Brown. first presented in 2015, and Groundcover Restoration was developed and first offered in 2018. At each turn, we listened to our supporters and partners to rise and meet the need for knowledge on all aspects of longleaf restoration.

We’ve taken the program on the road more than ever before in the last several years, up to 11 Academies each year. That wouldn’t be possible without the sustaining sponsorship from all our LIT partners and other benefactors, allowing us to bring Academies to the places that want and need it most. And allowing us to keep learning from you, too.

The Academy program continues to evolve around changing needs and changing times to address the challenges managers are facing and to deliver the material where and how it’s needed.

At its core, however, we strive to stay true to the principles that the founders of The Alliance set back in 1995. As Rhett has said, “We always wanted to be honest brokers of information.

We weren’t going to be salesmen. If you choose to plant

Andalusia, Alabama, where The Longleaf Alliance is based.

After some time, the model had to change again to respond to the needs. Many state and federal agencies were tightening budgets for training and travel, making it impossible to come to us for a Longleaf Academy.

So, once again, it became clear that the Academies had to go back on the road. JJ Bachant-Brown’s role as Outreach Coordinator grew as she was tasked with scouting suitable locations for meeting space and field tours and building much of the course framework that we follow today.

The Understory Diversity Academy was introduced during this period and held for the first time at the Jones Ecological Research Center in 2011. Herbicides & Longleaf was unveiled next, with Mark Hainds’ thousands of trials on chemical rates, applications, timings, and results providing the basis for that curriculum. We developed a Gopher Tortoise Academy in response to a specific partner request in Mississippi. Fire & Longleaf was

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4. Rhett Johnson instructing at the Solon Dixon Center in 2018. Photo by Karen Brown. 5. Rhett Johnson teaching in the field during an early Longleaf 101 at Fort Stewart. Photo by LLA. 6. Mark Hainds instructing on understory species during an early Longleaf 101. Photo by LLA. courses offered Through the longleaf academy program:

longleaf, we’ll help you be successful. And it didn’t matter if you have 10 acres or 10,000. Those 10 acres are the most important acres in the world to you. We wouldn’t turn down anyone for assistance that asked for it. It may have been a bad business model. But it’s a good human model. It’s one of the reasons we stayed tired all the time, but it was the right thing to do.”

To date, we have trained 2,600 students in all nine states of the longleaf range. In November of 2019, the 101st Academy, Longleaf 101, was held for the first time in Virginia.

Longleaf 101

Understory Diversity 201

Herbicides & Longleaf 201 Fire & Longleaf 201

Gopher Tortoise 301

Groundcover Restoration 201

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RESEARCH NOTES

By Carol Denhof, The Longleaf Alliance & Ryan Mitchell, Alabama Cooperative Extension System

Containerized montane longleaf pine planted on the Antelope SPA in February 2017. Photo by Ryan Mitchell.

LONGLEAF RESTORATION THROUGH STEWARDSHIP In September 2014, The USDA, Forest Service, National Forests in Alabama (Forest Service), and The Longleaf Alliance (LLA) executed a Stewardship Supplemental Project Agreement (Antelope SPA). Stewardship contracting utilizes natural resource management practices to shift the focus of federal forest and rangeland management towards a desired future resource condition. They also enable federal agencies to better contribute to the development of sustainable rural communities, restore and maintain healthy forest ecosystems, and promote a closer working relationship with local communities by providing a continuing source of local income and employment.

The National Forests in Alabama developed the Revised Land and Resource Management Plan (Forest Plan) that provides broad program-level direction for management on National Forest lands.

The following Forest Plan goals are aligned with the objectives set for the Antelope SPA: • To manage forest and woodland ecosystems to restore and/or maintain native communities to provide the desired composition, structure, and function. Emphasis in this planning area will be to restore and maintain upland longleaf pine forest and woodland communities. This includes restoring fire regimes within or near the historical range and managing forest communities to reduce the risks from insects and disease.

• Contribute to the recovery of federally listed threatened and endangered species and provide for the conservation of sensitive species as to minimize the need for additional listings under the Endangered Species Act.

• Provide habitats to support desirable levels of selected species (e.g. species with special habitat needs such as large, continuous forested landscaped, species commonly trapped/hunted, or species of special interest).

The overall goal of the Antelope SPA was to move stands located on the Oakmulgee Ranger District of the Talladega National Forest towards a desired future condition (DFC) of an upland longleaf pine woodland with interspersed longleaf savannas. At the time of execution, many of the stands within the Antelope SPA were understocked with longleaf and overstocked with off-site loblolly, hardwoods, and some shortleaf. LLA utilized multiple treatments to help move the Antelope SPA towards the DFC. Specific objectives used to reach the restoration goal include: (1) Harvest all off-site pine and hardwoods and restore longleaf pines on 93 acres of the agreement area; (2) Enhance existing longleaf woodlands by thinning to reduce basal area on 1187 acres; and (3) Improve Red-cockaded Woodpecker (RCW) recruitment by the installation of artificial cavities.

TREATMENTS Longleaf Restoration LLA contracted with Scotch & Gulf Lumber to harvest 93 acres of off-site pine and hardwoods, while retaining the scattered natural longleaf on those same acres. In September 2016, a skidder was contracted to apply a chemical site-prep to the unit. This deviation from the normal FOREST SERVICE practice of utilizing hand crews insured a uniform application [ 18 ]

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a. Photopoint images over a three-year period from 2016-2018 showing the improvement of habitat condition in treated stand. Photos by Carol Denhof.

c

b

Longleaf pine seedlings planted around residual longleaf in the clearcut with reserves. Photo by Ryan Mitchell.

of the herbicide. A total of 62,400 containerized montane longleaf seedlings were planted in February 2017, on a 6x11 spacing.

Longleaf Woodland Enhancement Scotch & Gulf Lumber conducted a thinning operation on the remaining units favoring longleaf pine over hardwood and loblolly pine. The harvest reduced the stocking levels to 40 – 60 square feet of basal area per acre with no less than 70 percent of the stand in longleaf pine. Timber Harvest was accepted as complete by the Forest Service in June 2017.

LLA and Forest Service personnel assessed the enhancement units and determined a need for a herbicide treatment, followed by prescribed fire to target the hardwood encroachment and ensure a more open, predominantly longleaf pine stand is maintained into the future.

In August 2017, The SPA was modified to include an additional 789 acres to the enhancement units ; bringing the [ 19 ]

total to 1187 acres. Chemical herbicide treatments of the Longleaf Woodland Enhancement units were applied in September 2017 by two skidders. The sub-contractor treating the Longleaf Woodland Enhancement units treated 831 of 1178 contracted acres. In early 2018, Forest Service personnel conducted a prescribed burn on all longleaf enhancement units to finish out the work.

Red-cockaded Woodpecker Recruitment The Forest Service modified the agreement to allow LLA to continue work to improve RCW recruitment by supplementing nest cavities for active cluster sites and recruitment areas. LLA worked with Joel Casto with Casto Environmental Services LLC, who installed 80 artificial cavities in July 2018. All artificial cavities were installed to Forest Service specifications in trees designated by Forest Service personnel.

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Groundcover Monitoring Beginning in 2015, LLA staff conducted quantitative annual ground vegetation assessments to monitor midstory and groundcover responses to the management treatments in hopes this information will help determine future treatments in the stands. Photo points were also taken at each monitoring plot to record qualitative changes in the stands over time.

The increase in light availability in the understory layer, as well as the removal of woody vine and shrub competition, has produced a positive change in vegetative structure in the Longleaf Woodland Enhancement Units. This is especially evident in the clearcut sites. With increased cover of herbaceous species in the understory, managers will have a more consistent fuel layer to utilize in future prescribed burns.

RESULTS Tree Survival One pest that plagues most longleaf restoration sites on the Oakmulgee is volunteer loblolly. In May 2018, Forest Service staff conducted one-year survival checks and assessed the plot composition. These checks revealed the longleaf restoration units had 738 and 708 surviving longleaf seedlings per acre, respectively. Those same plots averaged 125 loblolly seedlings per acre; 10 times lower than average for all other one-year longleaf survival checks conducted on Stewardship projects on the Oakmulgee Ranger District.

RCW Recruitment The new artificial cavities were installed within existing clusters. Adding cavities in these areas freed up Forest Service personnel to set up new recruitment clusters with 2-4 cavities each in other areas. Eight of the new active clusters are in the chemical spraying footprint that was done under Antelope SPA, and three are resulting from the Antelope SPA thinning and spraying combo. The thin/spray/burn combination treatment has created habitat conditions that are ideal for recruitment. forest Service anticipates that several more clusters will go active as this year’s crop of young birds attempt to start their own clusters in the restored areas. The Oakmulgee Ranger District currently manages a total of 177 clusters, with 133 of those being active. In 2019, 112 or 84% of the active clusters nested where typical rates average around 75%.

Groundcover Monitoring Beginning in 2016, LLA staff conducted annual ground vegetation assessments to monitor midstory and groundcover responses to the management treatments used in the Longleaf Woodland Enhancement units. The data collected mirrors the visual plant structural changes that have been seen on the ground through the photo points. The significant changes in structure are due to the combination of mechanical, chemical, and fire management techniques that have been implemented in the stands.

Prior to treatments, the understory and midstory layers were dominated by woody tree and shrub species. Post thinning, chemical treatments were used to reduce the number of woody species in the midstory and understory. The data show that the chemical treatments were successful in meeting this objective.

Especially impacted by the chemical treatment were woody vines such as Vitis rotundifolia. This is also evidenced by the increase in the amount of standing dead woody plants in the shrub layer.

In terms of herbaceous species composition in the understory, the clearcut units showed a significant increase in both graminoid (grass) and forb species after the treatment.

Graminoid species especially increased after chemical treatment in 2017, whereas forbs reacted positively to clearcutting. The units that were thinned also showed an increase in graminoids, but not nearly as dramatic as the clearcut sites. Bracken ferns, disturbance thriving plants, were not accounted for in the prethinning sampling but showed up in the majority of plots post thinning.

SUMMARY & MANAGEMENT RECOMMENDATIONS Utilizing public and private partnerships allows the Forest Service to advance restoration towards the DFC at a faster rate than would be possible alone. Utilizing a Clearcut with Reserves method to remove off-site loblolly and hardwoods and replanting longleaf begins the restoration process. Thinning units, favoring longleaf, to a basal area that is acceptable to the needs of RCWs, and applying herbicides to accelerate the open pine forest helps the Forest Service reach the DFC. These same units now provide exceptional multiple-use, tear-round areas for the public. The Forest Service will maintain all of the habitat with prescribed fire on a 2-4-year fire return interval.

The longleaf pine woodland restoration work conducted through the Antelope SPA directly lead to the restoration of 93 new acres of longleaf pine and 831 acres of improved longleaf habitat. The additional work of 80 artificial cavities will complement the forest structure manipulation to increase habitat for the Red-cockaded Woodpecker within the Oakmulgee Ranger District. Stewardship projects such as the Antelope SPA demonstrate how partnerships can restore longleaf woodlands efficiently and successfully.

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LANDOWNER CORNER Casey Cox and her father Glenn Cox on their Longleaf Ridge property.

Photo courtesy of Longleaf Ridge Farms.

By Casey Cox

LANDOWNER SPOTLIGHT

LONGLEAF RIDGE

Almost 160 years ago, my ancestors settled in the pine woods of southwest Georgia along the Flint River. We are fortunate to call this land home today, and I am now the sixth generation of my family to farm here in Mitchell County.

We produce sweet corn, peanuts, field corn, soybeans, and timber. Our farm’s name, Longleaf Ridge, derives from the naturally regenerated longleaf pines that grow along the river.

Approximately 60% of our land is in timber, both natural and planted. It has been a critical resource during some of our toughest years. Our approach to timber management is unconventional. The benefits of growing trees, in addition to crops, are worth the long-term investment. We manage our forestland for both economic and ecological value.

In our natural stands, we manage with the primary goals of restoration, regeneration, and conservation. Our remaining timber is planted in loblolly or slash pine, which we manage with a focus on economic productivity. We optimize habitat for wildlife across the woods, sharing our farm with a diverse array of species including gopher tortoises, wild turkeys, bobwhite quail, white-tailed deer, and more snakes than I like to acknowledge.

My parents instilled a love for the land in me from birth, along with a shared priority of stewardship. Though I did not initially plan to move back to southwest Georgia after college, I chose Natural Resource Conservation as my major at the

University of Florida. Not too long after moving away I gained a new appreciation and perspective of my home here in Georgia.

I eventually decided to move back to the farm after college, which I consider to be the best decision I have ever made.

I had the opportunity to take a job with our local conservation district, the Flint River Soil and Water Conservation District, following graduation. My ultimate goal was to take over management of the farm, but my parents and I agreed that taking an “off-farm” job first would be a beneficial learning experience. I was very fortunate to wind up in an ideal position where I could work in conservation and agriculture, learning from farmers and partners across the Southeast. After serving as Executive Director for five and a half years, I stepped down in 2019 to focus on transitioning to the farm full-time.

My experiences with the District were invaluable to my growth as a young professional and as a landowner. The partnerships we built during my tenure opened my eyes to innovation and introduced me to the many agencies that serve farmers and landowners.

One of our core partners at the local, state, and national level was the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). We have implemented practices on our farm with support from NRCS in the past, but it was in my role with the District that I gained a better understanding of their assistance for producers. We had the opportunity to work alongside our [ 23 ]

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LANDOWNERS CORNER

Gopher tortoise on Longleaf Ridge.

Photo by Casey Cox. Prescribed fire is used to manage the timber lands on Longleaf Ridge. Photo by Casey Cox.

Young longleaf pine. Photo

by Casey Cox. NRCS colleagues on multiple occasions and support Farm Bill program implementation. Some of our work focused on providing direct technical assistance to landowners throughout the District, which is comprised of nine counties in southwest Georgia. Other aspects of our work included leading pilot projects and large-scale programs to accelerate widespread implementation of best management practices, much of which was funded and supported by NRCS. This work was not confined to our District counties — many of our projects scaled across Georgia and even crossed state lines into southeastern Alabama and north Florida. Our partnership with NRCS enabled us to support hundreds of farmers and landowners in the tri-state area with conservation practices that span hundreds of thousands of acres.

I also gained a new appreciation for USDA after experiencing one of the most life-changing natural disasters of our family’s lives. Hurricane Michael barreled through the Florida Panhandle into southwest Georgia on October 10, 2018, still a Category 3 as it traversed our farm. We learned later that we had endured about six hours of sustained winds of approximately 100 mph and gusts of up to 160 mph in our area. We woke up the next morning to witness chaos and devastation across our community. We were very fortunate to be safe and for our homes to be spared, but the damage across our farm and the landscape was unfathomable. Though still in the process of recovery, we are finally moving forward. Though disaster relief spent eight months in Congress before being [ 24 ]

passed, we were finally able to apply for two USDA programs to help us with recovery efforts: the Emergency Forest Restoration Program (EFRP) through the Farm Service Agency and the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) through NRCS. With this financial assistance, we can begin the forest restoration process on our land.

We are grateful for what did not happen that day and for what we did not lose. However, it was painful to evaluate the destruction, especially in our timber. We lost many beautiful, mature longleaf pines that were 50-60 years old, and we are at risk of losing more from disease and stress. To add insult to injury, we practically gave away some of the fallen trees to clean up the woods. Though we experienced economic loss from this storm, it was the destruction of these trees that packed the greatest punch. We will begin restoration efforts as soon as possible, acknowledging that this loss was generational.

Despite this catastrophic event, we continue to rebuild and restore. I admire the land and forest around us that withstood one of the most devastating natural disasters across multiple generations. The forest’s response to such a significant “disturbance,” to put it mildly, is a showcase of the strength and resiliency of nature.

I would not have the opportunities I have today if it were not for the stewardship ethic of the five generations before me.

Managing forests, especially longleaf pine forests, requires a vision for the future. Longleaf pines, like the Flint River, connect us with our heritage and the land that has sustained our family for generations. As the world continues to evolve and change, we manage our longleaf for future generations to have a window into the timeless beauty and resilience of a lifegiving landscape.

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TECHNOLOGY CORNER

FROM FACEBOOK FEED TO LONGLEAF RESTORATION

By Brittany Wegner, Texas A&M Natural Resources Institute and Kent Evans, Texas Longleaf Implementation Team

The Texas team (TLIT) has used several outreach methods over the past six years to connect landowners to technical assistance and funding for longleaf restoration. One challenge has been finding absentee owners that had no previous connection to state or federal natural resource agencies. Knowing that Facebook (FB) could be a useful tool and that we had some funding provided by one of our partner organizations, we approached specialists within Texas A&M Natural Resource Institute (NRI) for assistance in designing a Facebook campaign to help with a new outreach effort.

Brittany was the key contact and technology person with NRI, experienced in business marketing using social media. She understood Facebook and how to develop a targeted message focused on specific geography of interest using the FB algorithms. A TLIT working group helped her shape a FB longleaf message feed so that each response could be filtered down to those qualified or “vetted� for our attention.

We launched the campaign and let it run for about five months. The Facebook feeds hit 96,000 targeted residents of east Texas who showed indications of interest in land management assistance and longleaf restoration. The landowners who were curious about the opportunity to connect with teams of natural resource specialists for cost-share and technical information, and after a series of brief questions, voluntarily submitted their contact and land information through the online form we created. Brittany monitored the FB responses and provided the TLIT with each submission so appropriate agency staff could make a personal contact of these vetted landowners.

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Launching this campaign, even with limited resources, yielded an awareness and momentum that was unrivaled through our previous efforts. Our TLIT was empowered to assess the efficacy of new digital outreach methods, and to compare the real return on investment, developing a model of resources to restoration. The campaign garnered over 80 previously unengaged, well-vetted leads of landowners requesting assistance in resource management.

As we analyzed the data during the campaign, we acknowledged that not all connections led to more acres restored.

Still, we could not understate the potential of the 625 interactions between our team, specialists, and landowners.

Personal contact by a resource professional is time-consuming, but we saw hard work rewarded. One example was connecting to a hard-to-reach, tugboat captain pushing barges in the Intercoastal Canal along the Texas coast. His response to our FB feed led us to an on-site visit by the TLIT. Within three months, he and his wife attended one of our longleaf workshops, signed an NRCS EQIP contract, and directed his forestry consultant to begin the process of longleaf restoration on their land. Contact Brittany (brittany@wegnerstrategies.com ) to assist your social media outreach.

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REGIONAL UPDATES

News from the longleaf partnership council

By Tiffany Woods, Partnership Chair, The National Wildlife Federation

Dear Fellow Longleaf Friends, We hope that you are as excited as we are to look back upon As I write this letter, I can’t help but look forward to what the accomplishments of the past ten years while also looking this New Year will bring America’s Longleaf Restoration forward to new opportunities in the coming years. We have come Initiative (ALRI), the Longleaf Partnership Council, and our a long way since 2009, as over 1.2 million acres of new longleaf longleaf community. There is much to celebrate! This is a very has been planted, and over 10 million acres of longleaf burned. exciting time for me personally and professionally—I have But we still have a long way to go. This Initiative set a goal of recently returned to work at the restoring 8 million acres of National Wildlife Federation longleaf by 2025, and we are after giving birth to my looking at new and resourceful firstborn son, Deacon Robert ways to get more acres on the (celebrations galore!). As a firstpath to restoration, as plantings time parent, I can attest that I alone will not be enough. am approaching my work in There are exciting times and longleaf pine and wildlife projects ahead; for instance, you habitat restoration with a will see many national forests newfound sense of purpose and working to restore longleaf in drive. I now see a wider and the US Forest Service’s “Millionlonger path before me, as I hope Acre Challenge.” Efforts on that I will walk hand-in-hand private lands are still going with my son so that he can one strong, and projects such as a day come to appreciate the work new growth and yield model are of the many landowners, underway to provide us with the organizations, and institutions tools we need to see restoration in this coalition. A southerner through. However, challenges through and through, it remain, as we face losses from encourages me to know that we natural disasters such as are working tirelessly for future Hurricane Michael and generations to enjoy, revel in, Florence, and we still face uphill and carry on our work in a battles with conversion and landscape like none other. multiple other threats. Know Upon this return, I have that I will approach my role as assumed the chair position of chair to acknowledge and the Longleaf Partnership address these opportunities and Council under the mentorship of challenges alongside you.

Past-Chair, Gary Burger of It is a new year, and I would South Carolina Department of Tiffany Woods, 2020 Longleaf Partnership Council Chair like to leave you with the phrase Natural Resources, and we have that will be my personal mantra elected our Chair-Elect, Chris this year: “Be grateful for what Erwin of American Forest Foundation. A large focus of this you have, be fearless for what you want.” Whatever your role or leadership team, among many others, will be planning and interest is in this field, I challenge you to look out onto the hosting celebrations for ALRI’s 10-year anniversary this March longleaf landscape and appreciate what is there, and then to in Washington, D.C. The purpose of this event will be to purposely and fervently approach what comes next to ensure its commemorate the many successes that our diverse and unique longevity. There is no time like today. partnership has garnered over the past decade, as well as elevate and share our story as the most successful model for shared My best wishes into the New Year, stewardship in the country.

Tiffany

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aNoTheR successful liT summiT / TNc loNgleaf all haNds meeTiNg!

By Ryan Bollinger, The Longleaf Alliance

s Alison McGee highlighting partnership successes in

s

landscape scale land protection along the Altamaha River, GA. Photo by Colette DeGarady, TNC.

Back at the end of August, Longleaf Local Implementation Team (LIT) leads, the Longleaf Partnership Council leadership team, and longleaf partners from across the range came together for a joint LIT Summit / The Nature Conservancy (TNC) Longleaf All Hands Meeting to discuss progress and solutions for longleaf protection, management, and restoration. The summit was co-facilitated by Ryan Bollinger (LIT Consul, The Longleaf Alliance) and Colette DeGarady (Longleaf Pine Whole System Director, TNC) and held on St. Simons Island, Georgia.

The gathering brought a better awareness of current work occurring across the range, increased understanding of priority strategies for America’s Longleaf, and provided a space for fellowship and enhanced relationships and communication for partners to tackle current challenges for longleaf restoration and management. Many topics were discussed including, but not limited to, the power of partnerships, effectively communicating to different audiences and connecting partners, US Forest Service (USFS) shared stewardship, economics of

Kyle Jones presenting on the US Forest Service’s Shared Stewardship Initiative. Photo by Colette DeGarady, TNC.

longleaf, Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) and working with industrial landowners, new mapping initiatives and tools, and breakout sessions focused on prescribed fire, the new Longleaf Partnership Council groundcover working group, and potential RCW status change. Alison McGee led a field trip to the Altama Plantation WMA highlighting the landscape scale land protection successes along the Altamaha River over the last 20+ years, and Georgia Department of Natural Resources partners showed off a few of the restoration efforts on-site.

Thank you to all who participated and contributed to the meeting outcomes making it the best LIT Summit to date!

Also, a special thank-you to Gretchen Coll, Kelli Flournoy, Pam Crosby, and Alison McGee for supporting event planning and running logistics. The energy in the room and conversations were infectious and inspiring. It’s a pleasure working with such a motivated group striving towards the same goal of restoring longleaf ecosystems across the range.

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The Alabama Natural Resources Council 2019 Conference Field Tour

By Tim Albritton, NRCS State Staff Forester, Auburn, Alabama The 2019 Alabama Landowner Conference partnered with the Chilton Forestry Planning Committee to host a landowner tour. The tour focused on ‘alternative revenue sources from your forestland.’

The first stop was on David Sherer’s property where he and his father have a longleaf pine straw enterprise in south Chilton County. They have developed this agroforestry system of intensively managed working trees to provide additional income from their forest.

They are currently raking and baling over 300 bales per acre/per year and have a very good market in the Birmingham area. Mr. Sherer demonstrated his straw rake and baler for the group. The landowners attending had many questions and found the Mr. Sherer riding the tractor between 10’ tour quite interesting.

The longleaf plantations were planted by Mr. Sherer, and understory treatments rows of longleaf pine, raking straw into were made to improve the harvest. round bales. Photo by Tim Albritton.

A special thanks to David Sherer and his father for hosting the event.

Buffer Lands Protecting NAS-Whiting Field Added to Blackwater River State Forest

By Vernon Compton, The Longleaf Alliance and Doug Hattaway, The Trust for Public Land The Trust for Public Land, partnering with the Navy, Florida Forest Service, Florida Department of Environmental Protection, and Santa Rosa County, completed the acquisition of 1,272 acres of the Wolfe Creek Forest Florida Forever project, which will be managed as part of the Blackwater River State Forest. The property includes frontage on Wolfe Creek and Big Coldwater Creek, a state-designated paddling trail, and widely used creek for kayaking, canoeing, and wildlife viewing. The acquisition also furthers the effort of reestablishing longleaf pine in its historic range. The project was funded through the Navy and the Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration Coldwater Creek through Wolfe Creek Forest. (REPI) Program and the U.S. Forest Service Forest Legacy Program Photo by Vernon Compton. administered by the Florida Forest Service.

The Trust for Public Land Senior Project Manager Doug Hattaway stated, “This is a great example of collaborative private-public partnerships furthering both base buffering and conservation and recreation goals and filling in gaps of resource management areas.” NAS Whiting Field is the busiest aviation complex in the world, accounting for nearly one million annual flight operations, including primary flight training and advanced helicopter training for more than 1,200 students. NAS Whiting Field Commanding Officer Captain Paul Bowdich indicated the acquisition importance by highlighting, “These additional 1,200 plus acres are located underneath flight track training profiles and are within a military airport influence area. The execution of this project complements our effort to sustain military mission training and preserve the environment in perpetuity.” Florida Forest Service State Forester Jim Karels added, “This land acquisition further aids in prioritizing the protection of Florida’s vital ecological and economic resources. Restoring the natural longleaf pine forest and the use of prescribed fire will greatly improve wildlife habitat, reduce wildlife threats, and aid in water quality.” Santa Rosa County Commissioner Don Salter, a long-time champion of base buffering that protects NAS Whiting Field, stated: “The acquisition will allow the County to continue to preserve some of the most valuable natural resources and further the land buffering around NAS Whiting Field from incompatible development.”

Congratulations to the Trust for Public Land, Navy, Florida Forest Service, Florida Department of Environmental Protection, and Santa Rosa County for their collaboration and partnership efforts that resulted in success with this important project. [ 32 ]

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REGIONAL UPDATES

Ft. Stewart/Altamaha Longleaf Partnership Update

By Brannon Knight, The Orianne Society On November 9 The Orianne Society partnered with The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and The Longleaf Alliance to host a landowner owner appreciation day on Moody Forest Natural Area. This property is jointly owned between the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (GADNR) and TNC. This annual event is designed to show our appreciation to the conservationminded landowner the Orianne Society works with by simply saying, “thank you.� Their collaboration allows us to improve threatened and endangered species habitat on private lands throughout the Fort Stewart/ Altamaha Corridor. They allow us access to their lands for survey work and land management activities such as prescribed burning. The event included a Chuck Martin, TNC Moody Forest Preserve presentation on longleaf pine genetics presented by International Forest Manager, leading a field tour during the Company. It highlighted research that is currently being done to improve Landowner Appreciation Day. Photo by Carol longleaf pine seedling genetics. After the presentation, we ate lunch and then Denhof. took a tour of Moody Forest. The tour highlighted ongoing restoration efforts at Moody, such as the restoration of the old-growth longleaf pine forest and a groundcover demonstration site we planted in 2016. The successful private land cooperator partnership allowed up to burn over 2,500 acres on private land throughout the significant geographic area in 2019. It is our goal to increase this acreage in 2020 to better conserve imperiled species and habitats.

Improving Aquatic Connectivity Along the Chattahoochee Fall Line

By Alex Lamle and LuAnn Craighton, The Nature Conservancy The Nature Conservancy has a unique opportunity to improve aquatic connectivity in the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint (ACF) River Basin because of the significant amount of land we have under permanent conservation protection in the Army Compatible Use Buffer (ACUB) area bordering Fort Benning. For 20+ years, the Conservancy and partners have focused on restoring the longleaf pine ecosystem in this area. Historic management practices in this region have affected both upland forests and sensitive aquatic ecosystems that are heavily impacted by surrounding land-use. Small dams and reservoirs across the landscape fragment aquatic habitat, severely impacting the native fish This failed dam is being removed and the site communities. restored to improve aquatic connectivity in the This dam removal project in the ACUB landscape presents an opportunity Chattahoochee River watershed on Army to restore connectivity and hydrologic function in the Chattahoochee River Compatible Use Buffer (ACUB) lands near Fort watershed. All three project dams are breached, contributing significant Benning. Photo by Alex Lamle. amounts of sediment to the system, which negatively impacts habitat downstream. Additionally, the Conservancy is partnering with researchers at Columbus State University to conduct pre- and postrestoration monitoring of water quality and aquatic community response.

There is a well-known link between healthy forests and water quantity and quality. Proactive stewardship of the forested uplands surrounding these projects will continue with an emphasis on longleaf ecosystem restoration. This project provides an opportunity to examine how land management plays a role in the health of these complex aquatic systems.

This exciting aquatic restoration project is well underway, with completion anticipated in 2020.

For more information on aquatic connectivity issues, contact: Sara Gottlieb, Director of Freshwater Science & Strategy, sgottlieb@tnc.org.

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REGIONAL UPDATES

North Carolina (Onslow Bight, Cape Fear Arch & Sandhills LITs) Update

By Hervey McIver, The Nature Conservancy, Partnerships are the foundation of significant land conservation in the 21st century, and well-grounded conservation plans focus public and private partners towards creating resilient landscapes.

In North Carolina, 7,895 acres were protected during 2019 within the longleaf range, adding to a growing network of conservation lands. In the Sandhills, the Army helped buffer training areas through two Nature Conservancy acquisitions totaling 470 acres that include mature and young longleaf pine stands.

Within the Coastal Plain, the Marine Corps assisted the protection of over 5,500 acres of land, including Salters Creek Landing. The NC Coastal Land Trust purchased this property near Piney Island bombing range, which contains over 1,200 acres of McLeod property. Photo by Salters Creek Landing longleaf flatwoods and savannas on relic ridges surrounded by Jeff Marcus. property. Photo by Janice forested wetlands and salt marsh. Most of Salters Creek Landing Allen. will become Wildlife Resource Commission Game Lands. Two properties were protected near Croatan National Forest, including the best marl outcrops in the state along Island Creek. Several more tracts elsewhere in the region were also protected.

These conservation acquisitions follow our collective vision of expanding, buffering, and connecting important conservation areas. All lands will be managed by state or land trusts with longleaf restoration and controlled burns as goals.

Okefenokee/Osceola Longleaf Implementation Team (O2LIT) Update

By Rebecca Shelton, The Nature Conservancy The O2LIT had a productive year full of prescribed burning, off-site pine thinning and removal, longleaf planting, and landowner outreach.

Within the northern portion of the O2LIT, in the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, the site preparation and fuel reduction of 519 acres were completed along the western portion of the refuge. These areas will be hand planted in the 2020 spring season, with containerized longleaf pine seedlings, putting over 269,000 seedlings in the ground. Additional areas Landowner outreach meeting attendees. Photo by for restoration will be identified as the season progresses.

Rebecca Shelton.

In the southern portion of the O2LIT, the Osceola National Forest completed the removal and/or thinning of 2,722 acres of pine for the year. The thinned/removed acres total approximately, 21,834 CCF (hundred cubic feet) or 2,183,400 cubic feet of pine. Regarding restoration efforts, the Osceola planted 741 acres of longleaf pine, putting 384,579 seedlings in the ground. To reduce fuel density, promote understory restoration, and optimally manage the fire-dependent communities, controlled burns were conducted on over 22,130 acres.

Regarding landowner outreach, The Nature Conservancy and cooperative partners, including the Alachua Conservation Trust, Florida Forest Service, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, North Florida Prescribed Burn Association, and the Natural Resources Conservation Service, participated in a landowner meeting last August at the South Prong Plantation in Baker County, Florida. The purpose of this meeting was to provide the opportunity to learn how to effectively manage timber and wildlife goals and to determine the needs and desires of landowners within and adjacent to the O2LIT area. This meeting connected over 20 participants, including private landowners, land managers, contractors, and conservation partners, with the potential to influence restoration on over 40,000 acres of private land.

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REGIONAL UPDATES

Ocala Local Implementation Team Update

By Ivor Kincaide, Alachua Conservation Trust Alachua Conservation Trust and the Florida Forest Service hosted two Longleaf Alliance academies last July and October in the Ocala LIT. Longleaf 101, at the Withlacoochee Training Center, brought a diverse group of beginners to learn about longleaf history, biology, establishment and management strategies. Thirty-five participants from across the Ocala LIT came together in Gainesville at the Austin Cary Forest's Stern Learning Center, for Groundcover 201. Land managers from multiple public agencies as well as six private landowners who all are interested in completing groundcover restoration projects learned about specific restoration projects and toured a successful direct seed restoration project near Cross Creek, Florida. In Field tour during the Groundcover October and November, the Ecosystem Restoration Team assisted our Florida Forest Restoration 201 Academy. Photo by Ivor Service partners with burning out around Red-cockaded woodpecker cavity trees in Kincaide. preparation for large-scale burns at Goethe State Forest, the second-largest longleaf site on state lands in our LIT.

South Carolina Sandhills Longleaf Pine Conservation Partnership Update

By Susan Griggs, Natural Resources Conservation Service The Sandhills Longleaf Pine Conservation Partnership (SLPCP) walked alongside local landowner Dr. KW Johnson as he hosted the South Carolina Tree Farm Field Tour and Awards Ceremony October 3, 2019.

During a tour stop, SLPCP Coordinator Charles Babb presented partnership information and how he is helping Johnson implement prescribed burning.

Johnson was the 2018 South Carolina Tree Farmer of the Year, a title awarded to him for the hard work and stewardship ethic he has bestowed on the property that was once owned and worked by his parents.

In honor of his parents Hazel and N.W (Fish) Johnson, Johnson officially designated KW Johnson talks with attendees at a the 227-acre property the Johnson Experimental Forest (JEF). He envisions the JEF tour stop during the SC Tree Farm Field Tour and Awards Ceremony, an event as a future laboratory for students to see examples of forestry best management that was held at his 277-acre farm practices, wildlife management techniques, recreation options (hunting and fishing), located in Chesterfield County. Johnson and practices that improve water quality and reduce soil erosion. is a landowner partner with the SLPCP. Johnson gives credit to many people that have helped him. “There are so many Photo by Susan Griggs. people that have helped me develop this property into what I’ve always envisioned,” said Johnson, “I certainly wouldn’t be standing before you without their help.”

However, the property isn’t just for foresters or forestry students. Johnson designated a community park with paths and picnic tables so that visitors can enjoy the area that his family has enjoyed for decades.

It is an area that will always be available, as Johnson was the first person in Chesterfield County to sign an easement with the Pee Dee Land Trust. The easement ensures it will be here for future generations to enjoy, learn, and discover what the magic of the forest is all about.

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REGIONAL UPDATES

South Lowcountry – ACE Basin (SoLoACE) Longleaf Partnership Update

By Bobby Franklin & Lisa Lord, The Longleaf Alliance Winter is here between the Edisto and Savannah Rivers, and planting and burning seasons are in full swing.

In October, The Savannah River Ecology Lab continued their gopher tortoise head-starting work and released another 33 one-year-old tortoises at the Aiken Gopher Tortoise Heritage Preserve. We also supported the Lowcountry Landowners Association’s meeting and Clemson University Cooperative Extension Service’s Women Owning Woodlands (WOW) workshop as well as the South Carolina Prescribed Fire Council’s Annual meeting. Carol Denhof and Lisa Lord taught an Advanced Master Naturalist Training on Longleaf Ecosystem Plant Identification to 17 Lowcountry Master Naturalist graduates in September at Webb Wildlife Center. And, we are on track to cost-share around 900 acres of planting and 1,300 acres of prescribed burning this planting and burning season.

We are grateful to our partners for their continued support of this project: The Longleaf Alliance, Clemson University, Ducks Unlimited, The Hitchcock Woods, International Paper One-year-old gopher tortoise Company, Lowcountry Land Trust, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, National Wild Turkey released at Aiken Gopher Federation, USDA/NRCS, The Nature Conservancy, Nemours Wildlife Foundation, Private Tortoise Preserve. Photo by Landowner Cooperators, Spring Island Trust, Savannah River Ecology Lab, SC Audubon Society, Lisa Lord.

SC Department of Natural Resources, SC Forestry Commission, South Carolina Tree Farm Committee, Upper Savannah River Land Trust, U.S. Army Corps of engineers, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, U.S. Forest Service/Savannah River Forest Station.

Texas Longleaf Implementation Team (TLIT) Update

By Bill Bartush, Lower Mississippi Valley Joint Venture and American Bird Conservancy The Nature Conservancy and the Texas Longleaf Implementation Team sponsored a “Longleaf Groundcover” Field Day in April 2019 for Master Naturalists and private landowners. More than 700 plant species have been recorded for the Roy E. Larsen Sandyland Sanctuary and conservation easement lands, providing an excellent opportunity for learning. Plant specialists and students interacted in various longleaf micro-habitats to understand the variety, complexity, and April 2019 Groundcover Field Day, Roy E. Jenny Sanders, new interrelationship of the community to the health of the Larsen Sandyland Sanctuary, Hardin Co. TLIT Coordinator ecosystem.

Silsbee Texas. Photo by Wendy J. Ledbetter.

The TLIT is also pleased to welcome Jenny Sanders as the new TLIT Coordinator. Jenny Sanders has degrees in Rangeland Ecology and Wildlife Management from Texas A&M University. She brings unique skills and experience to the Longleaf Team, starting with her M.S. program, which explored motivations for landowner participation in conservation programs, and later as the Conservation Program Coordinator for the Texas Wildlife Association. In that position, Jenny worked to build and nurture partnerships with state and federal agencies, other non-profits and private interests in large scale conservation efforts, including the Leon River Restoration Project, Trinity River Initiative, Edwards Aquifer Recovery Implementation Program, and more. More recently, Jenny worked in the communications realm, promoting constituent and landowner engagement in advocacy initiatives and implementation of conservation easements. Jenny enjoys serving as a spokesperson for programs she is passionate about, and restoration of native ecosystems in a way that supports landowner goals and success is certainly a passion. [ 36 ]

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REGIONAL UPDATES

The Longleaf Alliance brings ‘Longleaf 201 Academy: Fire and Longleaf’ to Louisiana

By Dan Weber, Coordinator, The Nature Conservancy The Longleaf Alliance (LLA) brought the “Longleaf 201 Academy: Fire and Longleaf” to Louisiana last August. Hosted by the West Central Louisiana Ecosystem Partnership (WLEP), it was attended by private landowners, university students, and agency professionals from Louisiana, Texas, and Mississippi. Lectures covered the history of longleaf and all aspects of fire from burning techniques, fire weather and burn plans to smoke management, prescribed burn certification, and post-burn monitoring. Benefits to wildlife and special situations such as burning young longleaf and areas with heavy duff layers were discussed. The group visited a longleaf restoration research plot on Kisatchie National Forest’s Palustris Field tour during Fire & Longleaf 201 Experimental Forest and a nearby private landowner’s longleaf restoration site. The attendees had management responsibility for 167,169 acres of land, making these Academy. Photo by LLA. workshops potentially high leverage educational opportunities. The WLEP, a coalition of stakeholders including the U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Department of Defense, Natural Resource Conservation Service, state and federal wildlife agencies, conservation NGOs and others, oversees longleaf and other ecosystem restoration efforts within the Fort Polk/Kisatchie National Forest Significant Geographic Area (SGA). This was the third Academy that the WLEP has brought to the SGA in partnership with LLA in an ongoing effort to increase awareness and the comfort level with returning fire to the landscape. The workshop was made possible in part with funding from NFWF, and The Wild Turkey Federation provided a limited number of scholarships for participants.

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ARTS & LITERATURE

LONGLEAFliTeRaTuRe

During this 25th anniversary year of The Alliance, The Longleaf Leader is suggesting relevant and applicable books for you to either establish, organize, or update your longleaf reference bookshelf.

Who, What, Why, When, Where? The five questions we learned in grade school to cover the basics that help us understand the situation and context. In the world of longleaf pine, we ask, What, Why, How? Here are three books that begin to answer these questions.

Looking for Longleaf: The Fall and Rise of an American Forest

The authors explore the interactions of longleaf with other species, the development of longleaf forests prior to human contact, and the influence of the longleaf on southern culture, as well as ongoing efforts to restore these forests. Part natural history, part conservation advocacy, and part cultural exploration, this book highlights the special nature of longleaf forests and proposes ways to conserve and expand them.

Lawrence S. Earley, University of North Carolina Press, 2006 “Covering 92 million acres from Virginia to Texas, the longleaf pine ecosystem was, in its prime, one of the most extensive and biologically diverse ecosystems in North America. Today, these magnificent forests have declined to a fraction of their original extent, threatening such species as the gopher tortoise, the red-cockaded woodpecker, and the Venus fly-trap. Lawrence S. Earley explores the history of these forests and the astonishing biodiversity with them, drawing on extensive research and telling the story through first-person travel accounts and interviews with foresters, ecologists, biologists, botanists, and landowners. The compelling story Earley tells offers hope that with continued human commitment, the longleaf pine might not just survive, but once again thrive.”

The Art of Managing Longleaf: A Personal History of the Stoddard-Neel Approach (Wormsloe Foundation Nature Book Ser.) Leon Neel with Paul S. Sutter and Albert G. Way, University of Georgia Press, 2010 The Art of Managing Longleaf: A Personal History of the Stoddard-Neel Approach by the late Leon Neel with Paul S. Sutter and Albert G. Way is really a history of the lives of Herbert Stoddard and Leon Neel in the Red Hills region around Thomasville, Georgia where they worked. The book is also about how they came to develop the Stoddard-Neel Method of managing longleaf pine forests and the philosophy of ecological land management. This book is about Mr. Neel’s love for the land and how landowners really can have it all: beautiful forests, lush understory, income from timber, and abundant quail. This is a must read for all those that care for the longleaf ecosystem.

Longleaf, Far as the Eye Can See: A New Vision of North America's Richest Forest Bill Finch, Rhett Johnson, John C. Hall, and Beth Maynor Young, University of North Carolina Press, 2012 Blending a compelling narrative by writers Bill Finch, Rhett Johnson, and John C. Hall with Beth Maynor Young's breathtaking photography, Longleaf, Far as the Eye Can See invites readers to experience the astounding beauty and significance of the majestic longleaf ecosystem.

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ARTS & LITERATURE

LONGLEAF ART SPOTLIGHT

Tread by Julie Tew

treading lightly in wild places and acting to protect and respect them for the benefit of all.

Inspired by the artist’s first view of wild black bear tracks along a hiking trail.

About the Artist

About the Art Two interwoven themes play in this scene—the wild black bear in her wilderness home, and the manmade trail she walks along. The black bear leaves behind nothing but her pawprints in the soft sand. Humanity can learn from her by

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Julie Tew recently picked up pen and paper again after deciding to dedicate October (also known as Inktober in the art community) to one small drawing per day. She followed the official list of prompts to finish 31 pieces, all of them themed around the plants and animals found in Florida’s wild places.

After growing up in Northwest Florida with an interest in writing, drawing, and science, Julie moved to Tallahassee and completed a BA in English Creative Writing.

Staying in Tallahassee for work, she soon discovered the nearby wilderness areas, including St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge, Aucilla WMA’s Western Sloughs, and Apalachicola National Forest. These beautiful places inspired her interest in photography, reigniting her passion for art. The vast longleaf pine flatwoods filled with carnivorous plants and terrestrial orchids especially moved her. She continues to trek throughout the Florida Panhandle region when she can, exploring and photographing these unique environments.

You can follow Julie and see more of her work, including her photography, on Flickr at flickr.com/jupitersnest, and on Instagram @jupitersnest.

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Flatwoods habitat on Altama.

Photo by GA-DNR.

Longleaf Destinations

Altama Plantation WMA Glynn County, Georgia Owned and Managed by Georgia Department of Natural Resources The Altama Plantation WMA is a conservation priority for The Nature Conservancy, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, and the U.S. Marine Corps. It was one of the last two large unprotected tracts in the lower Altamaha vulnerable to development. Through this purchase of Altama’s 3986 acres, an additional five miles of frontage along the Altamaha River and Hammersmith Creek was protected. The property connects Georgia’s coastal saltmarsh, estuary, and barrier islands directly with its freshwater tidal bottomland, and interior Coastal Plain, through the Altamaha River and its tributaries.

Altama (an early spelling of Altamaha) and its various owners’ place in Georgia history is well-documented and significant. Acquired first in 1763 by William Hopeton of South Carolina via a Grant from the King of England, it was eventually converted into an iconic southern rice plantation by James Hamilton Couper. Altama was complete with an intricate system of dikes, canals, and tidal floodgates and a moveable rail system for transporting crops. Couper became

famous for scientific, cultural, architectural, and other contributions, including leading the survey for the GeorgiaFlorida boundary and designing Christ Church in Savannah.

The Indigo Snake’s scientific name, Drymarchon couperi, honors Couper, as he collected the first recorded specimen in 1842 on the grounds of Altama.

Altama consists of 1800 acres of uplands, including 1500 acres of ecologically-significant pine flatwoods. These protected lands are being restored to their original natural habitats primarily of longleaf pine, wetlands, and flatwoods. The property provides substantial habitat for wildlife, such as the gopher tortoise and indigo snake. It also provides an expansive outdoor recreation area for hunting, fishing, and other outdoor pursuits, while protecting water quality in the creeks and estuaries of the Altamaha River, the largest recreational and commercial fishery in Georgia.

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Sandhill milkweed in bloom.

Photo by Carol Denhof.

Young longleaf recruit.

Photo by GA-DNR.

Remnants of the historic sugar mill on the property. Photo by GA-DNR. Property frontage along the Altamaha River. Photo by Carol Denhof.

sold a restrictive easement to the United States Marine Corps, which enlarges a land-use buffer for the Townsend Bombing Range. The Conservancy then made additional cash contributions to the project and sold the property to the State of Georgia at a substantial discount.

Stratford Land, the owner of Altama since 2010, worked diligently with The Nature Conservancy and the State to complete this project. They provided the time needed to arrange support and are to be commended for their dedication to this outcome.

Altama Plantation is an important asset to Georgia’s natural, outdoor, and historical heritage. This land was managed as a private hunting retreat since 1914, and the public can now access Altama’s scenic forests and well-maintained natural habitats. Located in Glynn County near Interstate 95, it is easily accessible to outdoor recreationists. The upland acres are especially welcome to hunters of deer, turkey, and other upland game, and the former rice impoundments are productive waterbird areas that significantly contribute to the Altamaha’s world-class destination status for waterfowl hunting. The diversity and resilience of these habitats are also prized for hiking, paddling, birdwatching, botanizing, and other recreational and educational pursuits.

For more information about visiting Altama WMA visit https://georgiawildlife.com/altama-plantation-wma.

Map showing landcover types on Altama WMA US Marine Corps/Navy, GA DNR, and two private foundations, with assistance from other NGOs such as National Wild Turkey Federation, Ducks Unlimited, The Environmental Resources Network, St. Simon’s Land Trust, Georgia Conservancy, Coastal WildScapes, 100 Miles, and the Altamaha Riverkeeper. The Nature Conservancy purchased the tract from Stratford Land, a private-equity real estate firm, then [ 45 ]

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PEOPLE

Transitions within The Alliance Carol Denhof — our new President! Carol officially became President of The Longleaf Alliance on November 1, 2019. To ensure a smooth transition of leadership and the continued forward momentum of The Alliance, Robert Abernethy moved into the role of Director of Special Projects.

Beginning as The Alliance's Understory Coordinator in 2011, Carol has steadily assumed more responsibility with great success. She led significant outreach initiatives such as growing our newsletter to the current 40 to 60-page full-color magazine, The Longleaf Leader and leading the management of the organization's online media platforms. Since 2013, Carol has been responsible for planning and coordinating the Biennial Longleaf Conferences, setting attendance records along the way.

She led the refresh of The Alliance brand and helped to reframe and focus our organization's strategic priorities. Carol is an excellent communicator, skilled facilitator, and science educator. She shares her knowledge and passion by teaching others, especially in our Longleaf Academies, on topics including identification, management, and restoration of healthy understory within longleaf ecosystems. Furthermore, her knowledge of the longleaf resource, her excellent relationship with the staff and our partners, and her dedication and passion to our cause inspires others to care even more deeply for the longleaf forest.

Born and raised in southwest Georgia, Carol received both her BS and MS in Biology from Georgia Southern University.

During her 23-year career, this accomplished botanist has concentrated on the study and restoration of the unique and diverse habitats that are part of the longleaf ecosystem. Her experience has taken her from the restored wetlands of The Nature Conservancy’s Disney Wilderness Preserve in Florida, to the longleaf habitats of the Jones Center at Ichauway, and finally to rare pitcher plant habitats across the southeast with The Atlanta Botanical Garden, before joining The Longleaf Alliance.

Ryan Mitchell — In November, Ryan departed The Alliance to begin a new role as the Regional Extension Agent with the Alabama Cooperative Extension System, assisting

landowners in southwest Alabama with forestry, wildlife, and natural resources questions. In this corner of the state, that no doubt means Ryan will continue to be an advocate for longleaf restoration. While we miss having Ryan on staff, longleaf pine is a significant part of duties in his new role, and he remains on "team longleaf," continuing his work with private landowners, industry, and agency partners to promote better stewardship and practices. Although his phone number remains the same, his current email is JRM0023@auburn.edu.

Emma Browning — is continuing her work to restore and manage gopher tortoises under new grant funding, now through Virginia Tech, rather than as an employee of LLA. We are pleased the monitoring and restoration work at Eglin continues uninterrupted and will continue to work with Emma as a partner in these efforts, just not as often in the day-to-day.

Edward O'Daniels — was promoted from Wetland Ecosystem Support Team Leader to a new combined role with the title of Cogongrass and Tyndall Project Coordinator. Ed is dividing his time between managing the hurricane salvage logging and restoration efforts at Tyndall Air Force Base and the challenges of cogongrass control efforts in the GCPEP landscape. Alan Patterson and Joseph Mann — joined the LLA and the Wetland Ecosystem Support Team as Team Members. Alan has a General Associate in Arts degree from Pensacola State College and is currently pursuing a bachelor's degree in Natural Resource Conservation from the University of Florida. His previous work includes serving as both a volunteer and an intern with Jackson Guard on Eglin Air Force Base, where he assisted with conservation efforts centered on the reticulated flatwoods salamander, Florida bog frog, and gopher tortoise.

Joseph graduated from Berry College with a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science in May of 2018. He has experience working as a naturalist and at the Altamaha Wildlife Management Area and Wildlife Refuge. His qualifications include Wildland Firefighter Type II, chain saw and UTV use, and a pesticide license needed for restoration applications. Nick Barys — advanced to Wetland Ecosystem Support Team Leader.

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PEOPLE

Remembering Jon Gould Longleaf enthusiasts lost a friend, a passionate advocate, and a champion for stewardship with the recent passing of Jon Gould.

Jon and Jon grew up in Titusville, Florida, Carol Gould where early on, his father instilled in him a love of pine trees. Indeed, he loved all pine trees, but those who loved longleaf were scarcer back then. Jon was deeply committed to being a tree farmer, but that was the way he did everything. Together with his wife Carol and their growing family, they shared their dedication and enthusiasm for forestry land management as private landowners for over 30 years. They were always increasing their knowledge by participating in state and national forestry organizations and attending workshops, tours

(and hosting tours), meetings, and conferences. Jon served on Florida’s Tree Farm Program State Committee for 11 years. He was co-editor of the Florida Land Steward newsletter for ten years and wrote for several forestry and wildlife publications, presenting the challenges for the private landowner. One of the original members of The Longleaf Alliance, Jon was an invited speaker representing private landowners at the 2014 biennial conference. In 2006, The Goulds were awarded the Florida Tree Farmers of the Year, and in 2018, the Southern Regional Outstanding Tree Farmers of the Year.

By Ludie Bond, Florida Forest Service – Waccasassa Forestry Center

Gilly and Rogers Retire from Florida Forest Service

Tommy Rogers (L) & Steve Gilly at AndrewsNursery. Photo by Florida Forest Service.

If you visited or called Andrews Nursery in the last three decades, chances are you spoke to Steve Gilly or Tommy Rogers. This partnership began in 1987 when they joined the Florida Forest Service at Andrews Nursery. After 32 years of exemplary service, both men retired last August.

By constantly pursuing excellence, Gilly and Rogers promoted the long-term vitality of Florida’s forests.

Throughout their careers, they oversaw improvements to nursery facilities and equipment, conducted trials to improve cultural practices, and broadened the longleaf pine seed source

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to improve the genetic diversity of the nursery’s seedlings. Through their efforts, Andrews Nursery increased containerized longleaf seedling production from 1.4 million in 1987 to over 4 million today.

“The dedication of these two men, growing hundreds of millions of seedlings, is a legacy that will live on for generations,” said Jim Karels, State Forester and Director of the Florida Forest Service.

Located in Chiefland, the Florida Forest Service has managed Andrews Nursery for more than 55 years. Steve Gilly and Tommy Rogers worked together to produce the seedlings needed to sustain and grow Florida’s forest industry, a primary mission of the nursery. Trees grown at Andrews Nursery have been planted across Florida, on public and private lands, on large and small tracts, and for timber production and wildlife habitat.

The Florida Forest Service, a division of the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, manages over 1 million acres of state forests and provides forest management assistance on more than 17 million acres of private and community forests.

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PEOPLE

By Brian Van Eerden, The Nature Conservancy

Celebrating Protection of Virginia’s Showcase Longleaf Property

Attendees learning about prescribed burning during the burn demonstration. Photo by Bobby Clontz.

Evening dedication dinner at the Country Club of Petersburg.

Photo by Bobby Clontz.

Over 120 family members, neighbors and conservation partners gathered to celebrate protection of over 1,850 acres owned by William Owen in Sussex County, Virginia. The Nature Conservancy (TNC) holds a conservation easement over the property and has worked closely with Bill and numerous agencies to recover northern savanna habitat on his land, among the rarest of longleaf habitats across southeastern U.S. Bill’s property is the core of the Raccoon Creek Pinelands, one of the highest priority longleaf restoration sites identified by the Longleaf Cooperators of Virginia LIT. The event included an afternoon outing to the property, featuring a controlled burn by the Virginia Interagency Burn Crew and an appearance by Burner Bob®, courtesy of Reese Thompson and The Longleaf Alliance. Attendees were engaged by biologists, forest ecologists and representatives from various agencies. A number of guests helped plant Virginia native longleaf seedlings, adding to the 1,250 acres of existing longleaf on the property that have been planted since 2000.

Following the field trip, guests traveled to the Country Club of Petersburg where a surprise dignitary entered during the

cocktail hour to offer views on Virginia’s forest heritage – Thomas Jefferson, portrayed in full costume by Kurt Smith of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. Attendees were treated to a delicious four-course dinner – “A Taste of Virginia” featuring seafood, ham, cheese and wines produced across the state. Dinner speakers included The Longleaf Alliance’s Reese Thompson and Bettina Ring, Virginia Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry, who presented the keynote address. Secretary Ring showcased the significance of the state’s longleaf pine heritage and the importance of forest restoration and land protection to Virginia’s environmental and economic future.

The evening closed with an inaugural presentation of a “Longleaf Conservation Champion of Virginia” plaque to Bill Owen. The award was established in 2019 to recognize individuals leading the way to restore the Commonwealth of Virginia’s “founding forest.” In addition to his longleaf acreage achievements, Bill has been a leading advocate for the use of prescribed burning for forest restoration. He recently joined The Longleaf Alliance’s Board of Directors.

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New Year’s

SUPPORT THE ALLIANCE

By Lynnsey Basala, The Longleaf Alliance

RESOLUTION

Happy New Year friends across the range. We wish to extend a heartfelt thanks to all the wonderful, dedicated and important nonprofit, state and federal conservation partners, individuals and families, corporations, foundations and organizations that have allowed The Longleaf Alliance to continue to lead the effort in maintaining longleaf pine forests and their biologically diverse habitats throughout the southeast.

The Longleaf Alliance had another great year with significant achievements in areas of improving forest health and understanding longleaf; raising awareness and growing communities; conserving diverse forests; restoring longleaf ecosystems. All of this is exciting and possible thanks to the countless individuals highlighted on the supporter list.

The following quote seems fitting as we reflect on 2019 and look to the opportunities the new year presents: If You Are Working on Something That You Really Care About, You Don’t Have to Be Pushed. The Vision Pulls You. – Steve Jobs We are eager to carry this momentum into 2020. There is much to look forward to as we host the 13th Biennial Longleaf Conference in Wilmington, NC this fall. As we continue to expand on the achievements mentioned above, meet new folks

“Premium with a Purpose” Bath Tissue

with an affinity for the longleaf ecosystem, develop new and creative ways for supporters to contribute, and educate the urban populations about the majestic longleaf forest. It’s a privilege to do the work we’re accomplishing on the ground.

Thank you for choosing to give your high-impact donations to The Longleaf Alliance through our wide array of multi-channel giving vehicles. Whether you donated $10 or $10,000 this year, your contribution does not go unnoticed. With that said, The Longleaf Alliance strongly encourages you to not only renew support this year, but consider increasing your donation. We are forever grateful for your trust and efforts to strengthen The Longleaf Alliance’s mission.

This list contains those that contributed funds between October 1, 2018 and September 30, 2019. If you find that we have made an error, please call our headquarters in Andalusia, Alabama or email us at office@longleafalliance.org so we can correct our records.

The Longleaf Alliance is a 501(c)(3) organization and contributions may be tax-deductible to the fullest extent permitted by law.

Georgia‐Pacific is committed to delivering innovative solutions that give consumers the products they want while helping protect the environment. They saw an opportunity to make a new generation of toilet paper, Aria®, combining quality and sustainability. The trees used to make Aria® are locally and sustainably sourced. They developed a proprietary process that reduces energy use by mechanically pressing out some of the water. In addition, all the energy used to make Aria® comes from 100 percent renewable biomass power generated on the mill site. As for the packaging, Aria® is the first Georgia‐Pacific brand to use plastic wrap made from 51 percent plant‐based materials to help conserve fossil fuels. The packaging is also 100 percent recyclable.

Finally, Georgia-Pacific partnered with The Longleaf Alliance to plant three additional trees for each tree used to make Aria®. While most trees are replaced through replanting or natural regeneration, they are putting back more than they use. Planting longleaf pines in the De Soto National Forest in Mississippi will help restore habitats for several at‐risk wildlife species including the gopher tortoise and the red‐cockaded woodpecker. [ 50 ]

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2019 SUPPORTERS Members of The Longleaf Alliance’s Palustris Society The Palustris Society was founded by several members of The Longleaf Alliance Board of Directors to further the legacy that Rhett Johnson and Dean Gjerstad created to protect and restore longleaf forestlands. Since its inception in Fall 2015, twenty-one members representing seven states across the range, have joined the elite group of dedicated conservationists who share a dream of restored and viable working longleaf forests by making a donation or pledge of $10,000 or more to The Longleaf Alliance.

Commitments range from annual contributions of $10,000 or more to single commitments of $10,000 to be paid over a period of up to five years. $50,000 Level Barclay & Jane Perry McFadden Charley & Susan Tarver* $25,000 Level Marianna & Rufus Duncan $10,000 Level Lynda Beam* Gary & Melda Boyd Judd Brooke David & Jane Kidd Angus & Cary Lafaye Amanda Haralson & Thomas A. Livesay Julie Moore Friends of The Longleaf Alliance William & Patricia Abeles Robert & Yvonne Abernethy Russell A. Acree John Adams Walter L. Adams, Jr. James H. Adams, Jr. Wayne Allen Bill Allen Todd Amacker & Kendra Straub Bob Amacker Eric & Sherri Amundson Jada Jo Tullos Anderson Guy Anglin & Jan Blue Cordelia M. Apicella Austin Arabie Jon & Kathleen Arnold Terry Arnold John "Bo" Arnold Jason T. Ayers Charles Babb Alan C. Bailey Clifton J. Bailey W. Wilson Baker James D. Baker Clay Bales Julie Ballenger Ed & Darleen Barbee Anne W. Barkdoll Jan Barlow, Jr.

Dr. William Owen III Dr. Mickey & Stephanie Parker William J. Payne Richard & Rita Porterfield* Mac Rhodes Dr. Salem & Dianne Saloom and Family* Audrey Thompson Reese Jordan Thompson & Pam McIntyre Thompson Drs. George & Anne Tyson* Marc & Penny Walley Phillip & Debbie Woods* *These donors have designated all or a portion of their contribution to The Longleaf Alliance Endowment.

Gary W. Barnes Elizabeth Barnhardt & Brent Wilson Hobcaw Barony Jacob Barrett Craig Barrow III Michael & Lynnsey Basala Kacie Bauman Ed Baxley Michael Beale & Kaye C. Richards-Beale Allen Bearden Brady Beck Scott Bedenbaugh Travis M. Bedsole, Jr. Barbara A. Bell John H. Bell, Jr. William Belmont Mary B. Belmont Blake Bennett Liza Berdnik Carl Bethune Seth Bigelow Roger Birkhead Mike Black Bill Black W. Robert Blackledge Alex Boldog Mark & Marsha Bollinger Ryan Bollinger

David Boykin, Jr. Jamie Bracewell James Bracewell Daniel H. Bradley Mary B. Bradley Don Bragg Heather Brasell Allen Braswell Jon Brater David Breithaupt Bradley Breland Nancy Brennan Daniel Brethaver Brenda Brickhouse Gertrud A. Briggs Richard L. Broadwell Dale Brockway Eugene Brooks Paul Brouha William C. Brown Oberly Brown Jerome Brown Danny Bryant James B. Buchan Ellen Buchanan Ansel Bunch Gary Burger Forest Burks Ryan Burnett Anthony Cabales [ 51 ]

Rob & Alicia Calley Christopher Campbell Charles H. Cannon Angela Carl Gordon B. Carlisle Susan Carr Ann M. Carswell Robert Carter Joseph H. Carter III Douglas & Elizabeth Carter Ana Castillo Joel P. Casto William P. Cate Allan P. Causey Larry J. Chalkley, Sr. Allen Chamberlain Robert Chambers Cecil Chambliss, Jr. Dustin Champagne Charles R. Chandler Charles M. Chapin Lloyd Douglas Chapman Bruce A. Chapman Steve Chapman George Chastain Mike Chism Robert Ciminel Martin Cipollini Barry Clark Gregory Clayton

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SUPPORT THE ALLIANCE Herbie Clearman Emily Clem Robert Clontz Steve Clubine William L. Clyburn Steve Coates Joe Cockrell Bill Cole Thomas Coleman Hal F. Collier Durden Collins M. Calhoun Colvin, Jr. William Consoletti Eugene Cook James F. Copeland Matthew Corby John Corey Charles Cox Casey Cox David S. Craig LuAnn Craighton Shannon Crate Mac Creech Elwin B. Cropp Leah Norton Cross Bill Culbreth David R. Daigle John Daniels Tom L. Darden Edward W. Davidson Daniel P. Davison, Jr. Nicholas Day Tom Deans Richard Deas, Jr. Paul Deese William R. Delk Robert H. Demere, Jr. Samuel A. Denham Doug & Carol Denhof Hoyt Lane Dennard, Jr. William Deutsch Don Dickmann Don and Tyane Dietz Robert E. Dismukes C. C. Dockery Chris Doffitt Vic Doig Arthur Domby Clare N. Drebitko Carson Dugger, Jr. David Dukes Wendy Dunaway Scott Duncan Jacalyn Duncan Allen Dykes Lawrence S. Earley

Davis K. Easterling Katherine M. Eddins Andrew Edelman Bernard H. Eichold II David Elliott R. Patrick Elliott Jeffery L. Elliott Thomas & Judith Ellis Memorie English Todd Engstrom Danny Epting Sam Erby, Jr. Troy Ettel Kent Evans Charlie Faires George L. Farmer C. David Farnsworth Grace Fernandez-Matthews John L. Fezio Jeff Fields Robbie Fisher Robert Fisher Frank B. Flanders III Earl Fleming Wade D. Fletcher Cullen Foley Sean Foote William Forbes Larry Ford James G. Fowke Patrick Franklin Robert M. Franklin Conrad J. Franz Reed Freeman Steve & Judi Friedman Dan Frisk Berthold Fritz James Furman John Gilbert Frank Gilliam Dean Gjerstad Bob Glenn Susan Glenn Kirk Glenn Susan Glenn Howard Gnann Angie Gnann Pat Godbold Jon H. Gould Monty Graham Baron Graham Rena Graham B.A. Graham III Greg Grant Bryan Green Ralph G. Greene

Matt & Aubrey Greene Paul Greene Robert C. Griffin Travis M. Guinn Jim Guldin Maureen Hafernik-Franks Richard Hagerty Mark J. Hainds Dave Hale Daniel O. Hall Julia L. Hall Jim Hamilton James L. Hamrick Eleanor G. Hand David H. Hardin Michael Hardy Kyle E. Harms Joseph N. Harper, Jr. Joseph P. Harps Charles Miner Harrell George & Jo Ann Harris Tyson Hart Claudia Harvie David Hayden Phil Hazle Vaughan Hedrick Brandon Heitkamp James Helmers Nathan V. Hendricks III Frank Henley Mike Henningan Sharon Hermann Stephanie Hertz Tom Hess Clifton Hill Hal & Suzanne Hinman John H. Hinz Larry Hodges Harry L. Hodges Valentijn Hoff Thomas Holbrook, Jr. Michael P. Holland Benjamin Holten John W. Hoomes Scott Hoover Doug Hornbeck Rick Horsley Joy Hotchkiss Cecil B. Howard Chase Howard Jean Huffman Anne Hugghins Jimmy Hughes David Huguenin Stephanie Huguenin William C. Hunter [ 52 ]

Michael & Mary Ann Huston Jon R. Ingram A.J. Isacks III Alison Ives Joe F. Ivey Steve Jack Karen L. Jackson Glenn Jackson Harold James Joe B. Jennings Betty Jewett Knowlton W. Johnson Jon L. Johnson Clifford W. Johnson Rhett Johnson Carl T. Jones, Jr. Brannon Jones David Jones Chuck Jones Suzanne Jongebloed James Ralph Jordan, Jr. Anderson Kane Brendon Kelly Maria Kendall David A. Kidd Wallace Killcrease Carolyn Kindell Christopher Kirby Allen Kirchner Nathan Klaus Sally Koerner John Ladson III Charles Lane Stephen Lange William R. Langford Paul J. Langford Rob Langford Ethelwyn H. D. Langston Eleanor Lanier Robert K. Larimore Stallworth Larson William S. Laseter Judy R. Latham Wendy Ledbetter Tom Ledbetter Anne R. Lee George H. Lee David Lee Keri Lejeune Stephen T. Lindeman Frank M. Lipp Robert E. Livingston III James A. Lockwood Rebecca Logan Kathy Long Darren Loomis

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SUPPORT THE ALLIANCE Jeff & Lisa Lord Peter & Babette Loring Jack C. Lufkin Robert Lurate Douglas N. Lurie Camille Luscher Tom Lydon Paul M. Lyrene Edward Mackay Gil Mackey Amy Mackintosh Henry C. Magee III Troy Mallach Dudley M. Maples Jeff Marcus Joel W. Marsh John Matel & Christine Johnson Debbie Maurer Craig Maurice Tom Maxwell Bobby R. McAfee Robert B. McCartney Karen McConville James & Susan McCracken Suella McCrimmon Howard McCullough Mark & Peggy McElreath Mitchell L. McElroy Mike McEnany Thomas McFadden Barclay McFadden III Barclay McFadden IV Margaret McFaddin Jane A. McFaddin James Hugh McFaddin, Jr. Alison McGee Trippy McGuire Courtney McInnerney Kevin McIntyre Hervey McIver Thomas McKee Kimberly McLain Larry & Virginia McLendon Frank A. McLeod III Joe W. McNeel III Wendy McNeil C.G. Meador III Roger W. Mickelson Brandy Midura Lou Ann Miller Douglas Miller Susan L. Miller Weldon Miller Robert L. Mills Judy Mingledorff

Glen & Vicki Mixon Stephen Montgomery Buddy & Robin Moody Ken Moore Marylou Moore Doug Moore Dawn Moore John R. Morgan, Jr. M. Lane Morrison Jeffery Morton Jana Mott Gary D. Mozel Kim Mumbower Mark Munkittrick Lytton J. Musselman Stephen Musser John N. Neal Darin Newman Kenwood C. Nichols Trice C. Nichols Matt Nicholson Shannon Pittman Nielsen Mary F. Nieminen Ben O'Connor Molly O'Connor Mike & Bettye Older James M. Oliver Raymond E. Oliver Mike Oliver Julia O'Neal Kenneth W. Outcalt Bert G. Outlaw Keith Owen Hugh Owens J. Mark Paden Ronnie Padgett John Parker Anne P. Parker Justin Parks Greg & Michele Paschal Karen Patterson William J. Payne Sandy Peacock Nealy & Linda Pearce L.O. Peebles, Jr. Robert K. Peet Tami Pellicane & Nick Hart Timothy Penton Gary Peters William & Charlotte Pfeiffer Thomas & Carol Pinckney Clarissa E. Pipes John Pitre Van Pittman Rush Pittman Rusty Plair

Ad & Margaret Platt Beth B. Plummer James Porter III Dotty S. Porter Rick Potter Ralph Potts Richard H. Powell IV Glen E. Powell Clifford M. Preston Laura Prevatte Christian A. Preziosi Carol Price Tom Proctor III Howard K. Putnal Sally T. Querin Bill Querin Paxton Ramsdell Tom Rankin Steve Raper Andrew Rappe David Ratcliffe Dan Rather Robert Ravenscroft James W. Rawles, Jr. Kyle & Ann Redden Walter Reeves Bob Reid Daniel Reynolds Edward H. Reynolds Steve Reynolds Charles & Suzanne Rhodes Allen C. Rice Phil & Helen Richardson James V. Richburg Cecilia Richmond Abraham Rifkin Joseph M. Riley Adrian Ringland Lanning Risher Janet Ritter Louie Rivers, Jr. Sonny Roberts Kevin Robertson Calvin Robinson Charles Roe Chad Rogers Fiona N. Rohde Curtis Rollins Thomas F. Roney Charles & Brenda Roose Helen Roth Monica Rother William Rumble Scott Sager David & Rhonda Saint Mark Salley [ 53 ]

Thomas O. Sanders III Holley Sanford Andrew Saunders Thomas W. Savage C. David Sawyer, Jr. Mary Sayer William F. Schoell Jonathan Scott Michael Sessions Adam Shadow Randall P. Shaffer Terry Sharpe Gates Shaw Neal L. Shealy Richard B. Shelfer David M. Sherman Matthew Sieja Kent Simmons Graham Simmons Charles Simon James M. Simons Gerhard E. Skaar Bill Smith Latimore Smith Mathew Smith Beverly H. Smith Byron Smith Gary N. Smith Steve Smith D.S. Smith Geoffrey Sorrell James St. John Paul & Brenda Standish Ken Stanton Deck Stapleton Dwight L. Stewart Beth Stewart James P. Stewart Jonathan M. Stober Ken Stocks Matthew Stoddard Charles & Jacqueline Stone Chris Stone Perry Stowe Rhonda Sturgill Bill Sullivan Jon R. Sullivan Kenneth Summerville Mary Anne Sword Sayer R. Scott Taylor Jeff Taylor Donald Temple Adam Terry James L. Thacker, Jr. Claude Thomas Lindsay Thomas

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SUPPORT THE ALLIANCE M. Frank Thompson, Jr. William L. Tietjen Stanford L. Tillman Enoch S. Timothy, Sr. Albert & Patty Tisi Gena Todia Jeni A. Toll Jerry Tomblin Tom Tomlinson Amy Trice Sarah Trichel Jackie & Rob Trickel James Truax W. Bennett Tucker James & Meriget Turner Adam Tyson Elizabeth Updegraff John Vick James Vick Ricky Vinson Skip Vogelsang & Dianne Blair Dale Wade James D. Wadsworth Frank Walburn Lomax D. Walker, Jr. Joan Walker William C. Walley Kristal Walsh Melanie Walter Clay Ware Anna C. Wasden George Watkins Shirley M. Watson Elliot D. Weaver Dan Weber Kevin Weis DVM David Weiss Shane Wellendorf Michael J. Wetherbee E. John Whelchel Gary White George B. Whitehurst Joel & Allise Whitworth Suzanne H. Williams Rick Williams Charles Williams Linda J. Wilson Rebecca Wilson Jesse Wimberley John C. Winn John Winthrop Fremont P. Wirth James E. Wise Andrew Woodham John D. Woodward James M. Woodward

Steve Worthington Larry F. Wright Nathan Yeldell Alyssa Young Gary & Julia Youngblood Samuel Youngblood Lamar Zipperer James Zito Corporate Conservation Partners $7,000 Level Georgia-Pacific Aria Journey $6,000 Level Appalachian Mountain Brewery Enviva

$1,000 - $2,000 Level Coastal Pinestraw Green Assets Groton Land Company, Inc. Hood Industries, Inc. Little Thomas, LLC Merrily Plantation, Inc. Molpus Woodlands Group, LLC Nutrien Ag Solutions Roundstone Native Seed, LLC The Cargo Hold The Westervelt Company WD CHIPS, LLC Whipple Tree Farm

$500 - $750 Level Charles Ingram Lumber Co. Cohassett Farm, LLC $5,000 Level Crosby Land & Resources Advantage Forestry Container Graphic Packaging Pines, LLC Corporation ArborGen, LLC Mid Atlantic Pine Straw Blanton's Longleaf Container SunFarm Energy Nursery Templin Forestry, Inc. CHEP; A Brambles Company Visions, LLC Flowing Well, LLC Wake Stone Corporation Hancock Timber Resource Woodstone Resources, LLC Group International Forest Company $250-$499 Level Meeks Farms & Nursery, Inc. American Forest Management Packaging Corporation of B & S Air, Inc. America Batts Tree Farm Resource Management Bill Ardrey Forestry, Inc. Service, LLC Broadwell Brothers, LLC The F.A. Bartlett Tree Expert Burke Holdings, L.P. Co. Cedar Creek Land & Timber Inc. Whitfield Farms & Nursery Cheeha Combahee Plantation Dargan, King & Knight. LLC $2,500 - $4,999 Level Flowers Forestry, LLC Bodenhamer Farms and Folio Fred, LLC Nursery Folk Land Management, Inc. Drax Biomass Henderson & Associates, Inc. Duncan-Two, LTD John L. Russell Properties, LLC Ernst Conservation Seeds Loblolly Forest Forest Investments Associates Long Leaf Land & Timber, LLC Forestate Growers, LLC Moore Farms Botanical Garden, Fram Renewable Fuels, LLC LLC International Paper Nancy R. Walters Consulting Milliken Forestry Company, Norman Plantation, LLC Inc. Oakridge Partners, LP New-Indy Catawba, LLC PowerSouth Energy Cooperative Outdoor Underwriters, Inc. Sam's Bottle Shop Proptek Southern Seed Company, Inc. PRT Growing Services Spring Lake Tree Farm, LLC Worman Forestry [ 54 ]

Stone Mountain Farm, LLC Tree Ring Pens Varn Wood Products, LLC Wells Printing & Promotional White Oak Forestry Corporation $100-$249 Level Ammerman Timber Company, LLC Bankhead Land & Timber Beach Forest Management Black Mingo Plantation, LLC Bradco, Inc. Bradley Tree Farms, LLC C.V. Forestry Services, Inc. Carolina Heart Pine, Inc. Charles Dixon & Co., LLC Cone's Folly Timber Farm, LLC Congaree River, LLC Crowell Forest Resources, LLC Delaney Development, Inc. Dexter Longleaf, LLC Diamond Timberlands, LLC Earl H. Bennett Forestry, Inc. Forestall Company, Inc. Gillespie Lumber, LTD Grace Acres Farms Hart Family Farm, LLC Hill Forest Management JE Pittman Pea River Farm, LLC Jenkins Timber Properties, LLC K & L Forest Nursery May Nursery, Inc. Mulberry Plantation, Inc. Nixon Land Company O.W. Cox Naval Stores, LLC Oser Forestry Services OVF Management, Inc. Pasley River Farms, Inc. Plantation Pinestraw Rigdon Livestock Farms, Inc. Rinky Dink Farm River Ridge Plantation Sand Hills Forestry Sizemore & Sizemore, Inc. Spring Creek Land Company, LLC Stuewe & Sons, Inc. Swanson Forestry & Real Estate Co. Thomas Farms, Inc. Thompson Forest Consultants, Inc. Timberland Transitions, LLC Uchee Farms, LP

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SUPPORT THE ALLIANCE W.A. Freise & Sons Timber and Land Company, Inc. Wildland Management Services, LLC Wolfe Timber Woodland Cottage LLC Up to $100 Level Aucilla Pines, LLC BB & MS Rounsaville Farms Big Survey Plantation BR Mosley Land Co. LLC Brewer Lands, LLC C & M Farms Canebrake Farm, LLC Chartered Foresters, Inc. Chilton Timber & Land Co., LLC Cleveland, Inc. Coward Family LTD Partnership Dopson Forestry Services Forest and Land Management Inc. Forest and Real Estate, Inc. Forest Lodge Farms, LLC Good Earth Systems, LLC Goose Creek Forestry Hand Me Down Farm, LLC Harrison Woodlands, LLC Keim's Forestry Services Leary Properties, LLP Leon Farms, LLC Light Forestry Consulting Services, LLC McKeon Tree Farm Mobile Botanical Gardens Never Fail Farms North Bassett's Creek Timber Management Ole Pataula Farms, LLC RCWO, LLC Reid Farms, LP Rutland Forest Nursery South Carolina Pole & Piling, Inc. Southern Forestry Consultants, Inc. Sunny Brook Farms Three Rivers Forestry LLC Timber Investment Managers, LLC Varn Turpentine & Cattle Company Wabi Sabi by Nature Yeamans Hall Club

Youth Villages AmeriCorps Agency Conservation Partners Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Chesterfield Soil and Water Conservation District Clemson University Florida Department of Natural Resources Management, Escambia County Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Florida Forest Service Georgia Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Resources Division Georgia Forestry Commission Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries LSU, Department of Biological Science Baton Rouge National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Natural Resources Conservation Services North Carolina Division of Forest Resources North Carolina Forest Service North Carolina State University South Carolina Department of Natural Resources Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries Division South Carolina Forestry Commission Texas A & M Forest Service Texas Parks & Wildlife United States Forest Service US Department of Military Affairs US Endowment for Forestry and Communities US Fish and Wildlife Service, Alabama US Fish and Wildlife Service, Georgia US Fish and Wildlife Service, North Carolina US Fish and Wildlife Service, South Carolina US Fish and Wildlife Service, Texas

US Forest Service US Forest Service, Conecuh National Forest US Forest Service, Kisatchie National Forest US Forest Service, Oakmulgee Ranger District USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service Virginia Department of Forestry Nonprofit Conservation Partners Alabama Forestry Association Alabama Forest Owner's Association Alabama TREASURE Forest Association American Forest Foundation American Forests Anonymous Anonymous Arbor Day Foundation Audubon South Carolina Bicknell Family Charitable Fund Bradley/Murphy Forestry & Natural Resources Extension Trust FFS & Alachua Land Trust Florida Wildlife Federation Friends of St. Marks Wildlife Refuge Gaylord & Dorothy Donnelley Foundation Gulf Power Foundation Henry Fair Family Fund for the Environment of Coastal Community Hitchcock Woods Foundation John Winthrop Charitable Trust Lillian C. McGowin Foundation Louisiana Forestry Association Max McGraw Wildlife Foundation Mississippi Fish & Wildlife Foundation Mobile Botanical Gardens National Audubon Society National Bobwhite Conservation Initiative National Fish and Wildlife Foundation National Wildlife Federation National Wild Turkey Federation, Florida Chapter

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National Wild Turkey Federation, North Carolina Chapter National Wild Turkey Federation, South Carolina Chapter Norfolk Southern Foundation Pine Needle Garden Club Poarch Band of Creek Indians Robert K. Johnson Foundation Sethy Springs Charitable Trust Sid & Vivian Beech Trust Solon & Martha Dixon Foundation South Carolina Association of Consulting Foresters South Carolina Bluebird Society South Carolina Tree Farm Committee Southeast Regional Land Conservancy, Inc. Southeastern Society of American Foresters, Flint River Chapter Sustainable Forestry Initiative, Inc. Tall Timbers Research, Inc. The City of Greenville, South Carolina The Conservation Fund The Horton Trust The Jones Center at Ichauway The Natives The Nature Conservancy The Orton Foundation The Sandhills Area Land Trust The Sledge Foundation, Inc. The Wheeler Family Fund Thomas and Loraine Williams Foundation Universal Ethician Church Walthour-Moss Foundation Williams Family Foundation of Georgia

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HEARTPINE

HEARTPINE

By Katie Woods, Georgia-Pacific, Aria® Brand Team

Longleaf woods at Moody Forest Preserve. Photo by Aria® Team.

its importance through history, its versatility, its long lifespan, Pulling up to the nature conservancy in Georgia’s Moody and its home to wildlife. We love that our trees are planted in Forest Preserve, we knew we were a long way from the busy the Desoto National Forest in southern Mississippi, and that streets of Atlanta. The four-hour drive through the rain had leads to the restoration of a habitat right washed away city noises and replaced here in the Southeast. We love being a part them with an unspoiled solitude. We The Aria® Brand Team. stepped out onto the wet soil to meet of The Longleaf Alliance’s goal to achieve 8 Photo by Carol Denhof.

Chuck, from The Nature Conservancy, million acres of longleaf pine by 2025, and the impact is right here in our back yard. and Carol, from The Longleaf Alliance.

But there was something about stepping Our team of four isn’t a government into a longleaf pine forest for the first time. entity, a nonprofit, or a landowner.

We’re a Georgia-Pacific brand team.

The vastness. The ability to see out for acres.

The motion flowing through it. When we Our brand is Aria®, and we make toilet heard a babbling in the background, I paper, paper towels, and napkins. Our asked, “Is there a creek nearby?” Carol purpose is to make great products and steward the earth’s resources along the smiled, “It’s the wind.” Indeed, it was way. For every one tree used in our making beautiful music as it rustled the leaves and bounced off the trunks, carrying manufacturing, we plant three longleaf a melody through the forest. pines through our partnership with The Longleaf Alliance. And Looking up and overhead, we saw nest cavities for the redon this misty Wednesday, we came to experience up close what was just so special about the longleaf forest. cockaded woodpecker. The sap dripping down from the holes, Carol explained, helped to protect our little friends from Don’t get us wrong, the Aria® brand team knows a thing predators. One RCW flitted out, doing its signature swoop, or two about the longleaf pine. What a magical tree! We love before hiding in the canopy. [ 56 ]

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As we marched through the stand, our eyes were drawn down to the forest floor, which teemed with beautiful autumn plants. Carol could name everything we came across, how they grew, what animals they supported, or even what they could be used for. Never have I been so amazed by the greenery beneath.

We stayed on the lookout for a gopher tortoise. There were sandy burrows sprinkled around this healthy forest, but no tortoise in sight. We wondered how long we could sit and wait before one would finally crawl out of hiding.

Even as we searched, we found Jamie Gasparella and its tracks in the sand, but Caitlin McDonald again no tortoise. Maybe next examining the native groundcover at Moody visit.

Forest Preserve. Photo The day wrapped up with a

by Aria® Team. visit to Reese Thomson’s farm.

Reese has been in the business all his life and is a 6th generation tree farmer, an active conservationist, and the inventor of Burner Bob. Weaving through his properties, Reese showed us how the pine grows from grass stage to old age and how to establish its ecosystem with layers of wiregrass and pollinator plants. He showed us what fresh growth came from his recent burns. It was amazing to see Reese and Carol, a farmer and a conservationist, working together in a sort of symbiosis, targeting the same goal of keeping the longleaf alive and well.

For many reasons, the longleaf pine is an impressive tree on paper. We’re so proud to be part of this partnership. But wouldn’t it be fantastic if everyone could feel the majesty of nature that a longleaf pine forest has to offer? One day, through these efforts together, we hope that more people can.

The Aria® brand began with a simple mission: To make better products by harmonizing quality with sustainability.

From materials through manufacturing, we looked for ways to make a difference: planting trees, energy-efficient manufacturing, plant-based packaging, renewable power, and more.

If you’re interested in buying a product that supports longleaf restoration, check us out on AriaJourney.com. For every purchase made on our website, we’ll plant one extra tree through The Longleaf Alliance in addition to our ongoing efforts. Thanks for joining our Mission for Better and supporting the return of this majestic tree.

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