A diverse set of partners have developed a conservation planto renew one of the South’s most significant ecosystems

Written by Bill RossPhotographed by Todd Pusser

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Restoring LongleafRestoring Longleaf4 may 2010 winc

as editors labored to shape thedraft for a formal review. In early summer 2008 an initialdraft of the plan was completedand cir culated among the part -nership organizations. Review-ers sub mitted dozens of detailedcom ments, which resulted in sig ni ficant changes to the earlyversion of the draft. All of thework and revisions to the ori -ginal draft culminated in therelease of the Range-Wide Con -servation Plan for Longleaf Pinein March 2009.

The P lan in FocusRight up front, the numberjumps out: 8 million acres. Theplan sets this ambitious goal ofincreasing the acreage of long -leaf from 3.4 to 8 million acresin 15 years. Lark Hayes, coordin-ator of America’s Longleaf andone of the primary drafters ofthe plan, states with no reser -vations that the effort to restore8 million acres “is admittedly a bold and ambitious goal.”

The coalition of partnersbehind the plan are acutelyaware of the potential pitfalls ofsetting a goal so lofty, becausefall ing short can be equated withfailure. While the partners worktoward the goal, they are also counting the suc -cesses along the way, such as increased collabor -ation among agencies and the growing publicawareness of the longleaf restoration efforts. Thegoal of restoring 8 million acres, while a signi fi -cant achievement, would still be less than 1/10 ofthe longleaf acreage at its pinnacle of coverage.Hayes, for her part, chooses to stay focused on therestoration efforts one step at a time and believesthe long-term goal will take care of itself becausethe “enthusiasm is there to support the plan.”

The core of the plan relies on strategies that willbe carried out by maintaining existing long leafecosystems in good condition, improving acreagewith longleaf already present in some form andrestoring longleaf pines to suitable sites.

The plan identifies 16 “significant geographicareas” where existing resources and partners canmaximize restoration efforts. The factors used toidentify these significant landscapes included an

area greater than 100,000 acres and management ofa core of the acreage by a land owner with a long-term commitment to conser vation. All 16 areas tar-geted for special attention have federal land thatis being managed for long leaf pine. The areas iden-ti fied as significant in North Carolina include theOnslow Bight area, the Sandhills and the BladenLakes region in the Cape Fear River basin.

Despite the focus on federally managed lands,supporters of the plan are quick to acknowledgethat the effort must include substantial involve -ment from private landowners. Finding the rightmix of incentive programs and landowner assis -tance programs to attract private landowners tosupport the restoration work is paramount. Onesuch program is already being implemented by theWildlife Commission through the Land ownerIncentive Program, with the goal being to workwith landowners to implement manage ment plansto restore wildlife habitat for at-risk species.

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Public land such as Croatan National Forest (above)and Holly Shelter Game Land is the focus of theLongleaf Alliance’s efforts to restore habitat foranimals such as the little grass frog.

In presettlement times, the wide expanse ofNorth Carolina’s Coastal Plain was com -prised of longleaf pine forests, swamps and

pocosins. Early travelers up the Cape Fear Riverdescribed the landscape as an ocean of trees.The vastness of the longleaf pine ecosystemstretched from the lower part of Virginia to theeastern plains of Texas. Before Europeans settledin North America, the ecosystem totaled morethan 90 million acres. Today, the longleaf pinecovers only a fraction of that acreage. The U.S.Forest Service estimates that only 3.4 millionacres of longleaf forests remain today.

Recognizing the devastating loss of much ofthe range of the longleaf pine forests, a group ofunlikely partners developed a conservation planaimed at restoring this ecosystem. The imple men-tation of the Range-Wide Conservation Plan forLongleaf Pine already resulted in actions at thelocal, state and federal levels. Little by little, pieceby piece, these actions are ensuring that thisonce-great forestland will rise again.

Readers of this magazine may recall previousstories detailing the ecological, cultural and eco-nomic importance of the longleaf pine eco system,which culminated in Larry Earley’s captivatingbook “Looking for Longleaf: The Fall and Riseof an American Forest.” Earley’s writing cap -tures the prominent historical importance thelongleaf forest has in the economic and socialfabric of eastern North Carolina.

Earley had originally intended to title the bookwith an emphasis on the fall of the forests. How -ever, restoration efforts and the emergence of theplan encouraged him to acknowledge the very realpossibility that this once-great eco system couldbe returned, at least in part, to its former glory.

The Power of a P lanIn much the same way the decline and deva sta -tion of the longleaf pine forests must be attri butedto a number of sources, the renewal of this majes-tic ecosystem is dependent upon cooperationand coordination among an array of organi za -tions, all with a strong interest in reviving andrestoring longleaf pine to the landscape.

In 2005 a group of conservationists called fora focused effort for restoration of the longleaf eco -system. As work was under way on this effort, apartnership of Southeastern states and militaryagencies known as the Southeast Regional Part -nership for Planning and Sustainability waswork ing on natural resource issues, one ofwhich included restoration of longleaf pines.Seizing on the potential for collaboration, the

conservationists, state leaders and armed servicesjoined forces with the singular goal of workingtogether to restore the longleaf pine ecosystem.

The outgrowth of this collaboration was aworking group intent on developing a detailedconservation plan. A diverse set of partnersjoined together in 2007 to develop the America’sLongleaf initiative, a working group comprised ofmore than 20 organizations. Participants includedfederal agencies such as the U.S. Forest Serviceand Department of Defense, forestry groups suchas the American Forest Foundation, and non -profit environmental organizations including theNational Wildlife Federation and The NatureConservancy. These organizations hoped to buildon the momentum of the Longleaf Alliance, anonprofit dedicated to restoring longleaf forestsfor their environmental and economic benefits.

Each of these groups stood to benefit and fur -ther its own interests from a successful restor a -tion effort. The military service branches sawgreat potential to help prevent encroachmentand protect critical training requirements, andother organizations viewed the work as havingimportant wildlife and environmental benefits.

The potential wildlife benefits noted in the planare numerous. The longleaf forest can sus tain avariety of wildlife, including several species listedas endangered or threatened. A couple of these, thered-cockaded woodpecker and the gopher tor toise,are closely linked in the public’s mind to theunique habitat of the longleaf. Though the plightof the red-cockaded woodpecker has been muchpublicized in recent years, the gopher tortoisefound throughout Florida pro vides evidence thatthe significance of long leaf extends beyond ecol -ogy to history and culture. Gopher tor toise meatwas a staple in the diet of many fami lies duringthe Depression era of the 1920s and ’30s and wasoften referred to as “Hoover chicken.”

According to the N.C. Wildlife ResourcesCom mission, actions to maintain longleaf pineforests through management practices such asthinning and burning can also benefit wildlifenot directly dependent on longleaf pine habitat,such as tur keys, white-tailed deer and mourningdoves. Mallory Martin, chief deputy director ofthe Wildlife Commission, cites the importanceof the longleaf habitat and the unique assem -blages of plant and animal species found in thisecosystem as the reason the agency has begunthe process of restoring much of the considerableamount of land in its ownership in eastern NorthCarolina to longleaf pine.

Wildlife interests, climate change issues andmany other topical areas were woven into the plan

MELISSA McGAW/ NCWRC

MELISSA McGAW/ NCWRC

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restoration, in which she writes, “Successfulimplementation of the America’s Longleaf planwill meet national needs for economic recovery,environmental protection and defense readiness.”This focused attention by state and national lead-ers on longleaf restoration efforts makes Earley’sdecision to focus his book on the “rise” of thelongleaf forest look prophetic in many ways.

The North Carolina toastreflects the value our state has historically placed on thelongleaf pine forest as a symbolof our heritage. Although thevastness of the longleaf foreststhat once ruled the landscape in North Carolina may be lostto the ages, hope remains thatsome sem blance of that dom -inance can be restored.

Nevertheless, the task of reaching the plan’sgoal of restoring 8 million acres over the next 15years remains a significant challenge. At the veryleast, the plan has provided a rallying point forrestoration efforts and enhanced partnerships. Atits best, the plan has out lined a detailed road mapthat points the way to the renewal of the longleafforests that will hearken back to days gone by.

Bill Ross served as secretary of the N.C. Departmentof Environment and Natural Resources from 2001–2009. Currently he is a natural resources con sult -ant for Booz Allen Hamilton and a visiting scholarat Duke University.

rest oration initiative. The funding is being man -aged by the U.S. Forest Service and will be dis tri -buted to North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia,Florida and Alabama.

North Carolina, which received close to $1.7million of the award, plans to use the bulk of itsshare for plant materials capacity. This activity isfocused on increasing the availability of longleafpine seed, seedlings and associated understoryplant materials for use in restora tion work. Inaddi tion, a portion of North Carolina’s share ofthe money has been set aside for edu cationand public outreach, includ ing the develop -ment of edu ca tional materials as well as out -reach through mass media to raise public aware -ness. The N.C. Division of Forest Resources out -lined its plans for expen ding the funds to theGeneral Assembly’s Joint Select Committeeon Economic Recovery during the 2009legislative session.

The Future of the P lanThe federal dollars flowing to North Carolina for restoration actions, the partnerships betweenfederal agencies and environmental organiza -tions, and the increased attention to this effortfrom the public and state policymakers are all indi-cations that the longleaf pine ecosystem restor a -tion effort is gaining momentum. This momen tumis illustrated by North Carolina governor BevPerdue’s letter to President Obama in September2009 in support of future funding for longleaf

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Historical Range of Longleaf Pine

Estimates of Existing Acres of Longleaf Forest

Longleaf Restoration Areas

Alabama 716,824

Florida 927,413

Georgia 460,109

Louisiana 240,845

Mississippi 383,784

North Carolina 220,338

South Carolina 401,980

Texas 52,800

Total 3,404,143

The full Range-Wide Con ser va tionPlan for Longleaf Pine can be found at www.americaslongleaf.org.

From public to private lands, the plan calls foractions with a particular emphasis on new oppor -tunities that might arise from the development ofcarbon markets and other economic oppor tun -ities that would benefit private landowners. Forexample, the plan recognizes the intersectionbetween mitigation efforts to address climatechange and longleaf restoration.

Longleaf planners hope to duplicate similarefforts in the Southeast, such as the recentannounce ment by Duke Energy that it plans toreforest up to 1 million acres in the Mississippi

Alluvial Valley in hardwoods to capture largequantities of car bon dioxide, create wildlife habi -tat and maxi mize benefits for landowners.

The P lan in ActionIn “Looking for Longleaf,” Earley writes that “onedecision at a time, it is surely the only way thatlongleaf will ever become a significant presenceon the land once again.” One of these decisionsand an example of the plan being implementedon the ground can be found in the Sandhills of

North Carolina in one of the state’s fastest-growing counties. Hoke County, in part ner -ship with The Conservation Fund, is work -ing to establish the state’s first communityforest, which will protect wildlife habitat andriparian buffers and restore the long leaf pineecosystem. The community forest, located ona 532-acre tract, will also have the poten tialto generate economic activity for the countythrough pine straw raking and timber har -vesting. Hoke County commissioner BobbyWright, a supporter of the project, believesthat all parties involved benefit. In par ti cu -lar, he notes the lack of parks in Hoke Countyand cites the trails in the community forestas a place for the county’s citizens to hikeand recreate.

The recreation and wildlife benefits arecomplemented by the potential economicprospects. Despite rapid population growth— 40,000 new residents are expected overthe next four years —the county is stilldealing with economic struggles from theloss of jobs in the agricultural and man u -fact uring sectors. The community forestryconcept is based on the premise of gener a -ting income while at the same time meet ingconservation goals. Hoke County retainscontrol of the property and benefits fromrecreational activities, water quality pro -tection and income generation.

The project in Hoke County has theadded benefit of providing a buffer aroundFort Bragg. As a result the land will remainundeveloped, thereby ensuring that thearmy’s training requirements can proceedwithout the potential problems presentedby encroachment.

The ability to duplicate projects like theHoke County Community Forest is increas-ingly likely as funding is targeted for long -leaf pine restoration efforts. Five states inthe Southeast received a $9 million awardfrom the American Recovery and Rein -vestment Act for the purposes of a longleaf

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The return of vast expanses of classic longleaf pine savanna could increase pop -ulations of creatures such as the Pine Barrens tree frog and the American kestrel,and plants such as lupine.

MELISSA McGAW/ NCWRC

Here’s to the land of the longleaf pine, The summerland where the sun dothshine, Where the weak growstrong and the strong growgreat, Here’s to “DownHome,” the Old North State!

—the official state toast of North Carolina

In precolonial times, longleaf pine was the dominant treespecies across some 90 million acres of the South east. Workis occurring in eight states, mostly on public lands, to restore8 million acres of longleaf habitat.

Longleaf Rising

Source: America’s Longleaf Conservation PlanMAP BY MARSHA TILLETT