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It‘s hard to believe that another year has come and gone. The past year saw some sig-nificant changes for The Alliance, especially the departures of co-founder Dean Gjerstad and Executive Director EJ Williams and the additions of Carol Denhof, Ad Platt, Bob Wilken, and Tamara Campbell. We began to function as a major partner in the Gulf Coastal Plain Ecosystem Partnership, with Vernon Compton playing the major role in coordinating activities in that landscape. We added five new Board members – Beryl Trawick, Katherine Eddins, Bob Brown, Judd Brooke, and Barclay McFadden III. We held our first ever Fall Board meeting in addition to our Spring Board meeting.
Despite the general economic downturn across the country and around the globe, we continued to enjoy enough success in the highly competitive grant environment to keep ourselves in business. We weathered our first general audit without incident and are well on our way to preparing for our next. We conducted eight Longleaf 101 Academies in Florida, Mississippi, Georgia and Alabama during the year as well as the first two ―201‖ series of Academies featuring understory community restoration in Geor-gia and Alabama. We finished and distrib-uted a new publication on the Economics of Longleaf Pine. We entered the digital age with 3 webinars and are poised to launch our first self-taught on line course, The Econom-ics of Managing Longleaf Pine. We offered six one-day workshops to landowners and professionals in Georgia, four in Alabama, and three in South Carolina. We are poised to release our book, Longleaf: As Far As
The Eye Can See to our publisher, the UNC Press, even as I write this column. Our staff made numerous presentations and site visits across the region and continue to respond to scores of requests for technical assistance or management advice on a daily basis. We also successfully administered Partners funds for the US Fish and Wildlife Service in Georgia and checked compliance for that program in Alabama. We oversaw the ex-penditure of ARRA funds on state forest lands in Alabama, including reforestation, invasive species control, in-woods mulching, prescribed fire, and invasive control. We also co-hosted and conducted the 4th Mon-tane Longleaf Conference, working with the Alabama Forestry Commission, the Longleaf Pine Stand Dynamics Laboratory and the Cooperative Extension System at Auburn. I‘m sure I‘m overlooking some of our activi-ties in this brief overview, but you get the idea. Looking ahead, we have plans for both 101 and 201 versions of the Academies, including offerings focusing on herbicides and artificial regeneration. We will do more webinars on topics like pine straw, native plants in food plots, and invasive species control. We have already contracted to conduct workshops in Alabama, North Carolina, Florida and Geor-gia, including a Teachers‘ Workshop in Tif-ton. Our 9th Biennial Regional Conference will be held in Texas in October and JJ and Mark have taken the lead on plans for that event. Susan Moore of North Carolina State will once more handle the heavy lifting for us while JJ and Mark are working with the very
(Continued on page 2)
From the President’s Desk by Rhett Johnson
Winter 2011 Volume IV, Issue IV
The Longleaf Leader Published Quarterly by The Longleaf Alliance
Rhett Johnson [email protected]
334-427-1029
JJ Bachant Brown
334-427-1029
Charles Bruce
Vernon Compton
850-623-0987
Carol Denhof
678-595-6405
Mark Hainds
334-427-1029
Ad Platt
850-982-8480
Anne Rilling
334-427-1029
Vickie Stallings
334-427-1029
Bob Wilken
541-944-8748
On behalf of The
Longleaf Alliance
staff, we wish you
and yours Happy
Holidays and a
Joyous New Year!
active and enthusiastic Texas con-tingent to set up field sites and other appropriate local arrange-ments.
We will lose the valued services of Charles Bruce, our Business Manager, at the end of this year as he pursues real retirement. The phrase, ―right man at the right time‖ immediately comes to mind. Charles stepped in at a critical point—just as we began a period of rapid growth— and guided us ably. He set up a system that kept us out of trouble while guiding us through both a USDA audit of ARRA funds, and a general audit. Charles, Greg White, and Anne Rilling worked together to design a bookkeeping and accounting system that will carry us into the future. He has expressed a will-ingness to volunteer until we can make a transition but he will be hard to replace. We all look for-ward to his weekly visits to the Center offices just for the pleasure of his company.
My impending re-retirement is projected for September 30 and we have a Board directed plan in place going forward. We are seek-ing transition funds at this time and hope to begin to add new per-
sonnel no later than this coming spring.
Finally, none of the above activi-ties would be possible without the support of our partners. Key part-ners include federal agencies like NRCS and FSA offices in several states, the U.S. Forest Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Department of Defense. State natural resource agencies in Georgia, Alabama, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Mississippi have worked closely with us during the year, and work-ing relationships with their coun-terparts in Louisiana, Texas, and Virginia are developing rapidly. We work with most of the aca-demic and research universities in the Southeast, especially Auburn University, the University of Geor-gia, the University of Florida, North Carolina State and Missis-sippi State Universities, and Clemson University. The Coop-erative Extension branches of these institutions have been par-ticularly helpful.
NGO partners include the Na-tional Wild Turkey Federation, the Alabama and National Wildlife Federations, The Nature Conser-vancy, the World Resources Insti-
tute, Tall Timbers Research Sta-tion, the Environmental Defense Fund and the American Forest Foundation and its state affiliates. The Joseph Jones Ecological Re-search Center continues to pro-vide both scientific expertise and access to a wonderful natural re-source base and accompanying teaching facilities.
Significant private funding has come from the Dobbs Foundation of Atlanta, the Home Depot Foun-dation, Norfolk Southern Railway, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, and the Southern Company. I‘m certain that I have overlooked significant partners and I apologize. The point I want to make is that our small staff has a disproportionately large impact through the extensive partner-ships we enjoy.
As I was struggling with an epi-logue for our book, it occurred to me that although we appear to have rescued longleaf literally from the brink, this too could pass. Longleaf ecosystems are largely oblivious to the long sweep of time, but the species that has had the greatest impact on its status and can have the greatest impact on its future is not. That species, of course, is ours. It is imperative that we engage land-owners, natural resource profes-sionals, and conservation minded people around the region and na-tion in this effort to ensure that we do not again be caught asleep at the switch. On behalf of The Longleaf Alliance staff, we look forward to being engaged with each of you on some level in 2012.
Thank you all for your support and Merry Christmas!
From the President’s Desk continued...
Page 2 The Longleaf Leader
Left: Longleaf: As Far As The Eye Can See
Written by Bill Finch, Rhett Johnson and John Hall with forward by Dr. E.O. Wil-son. Photography by Beth Maynor
Young. Coming in 2012!
The Alliance is made up of many diverse landowners working to-wards a common goal.
This article highlights one of those landowners and sheds some light on the experiences of Jack Lufkin, who has been growing longleaf near Atmore, Alabama since 1984. An Auburn graduate (actually, Alabama Polytech prior to becoming Auburn), Jack framed these recollections by ref-erencing a famous football saying: ―You have to dance with the one who brought you,‖ meaning let‘s keep doing what is working. Jack‘s degree was in poultry hus-bandry and business, but he is also proud of the good work he was able to do in his career as an Alabama probation officer.
His 200 acres were acquired by his grandfather in a cutover condi-tion in 1904, for approximately $2.50/acre. Through a lot of hard work it became a beautiful and productive farm. Jack‘s brother farmed part of it as an equipment owner. The first longleaf stand was planted in one field in 1984, as Jack was retiring from his ca-reer and moving back home. Jack also grew cotton and raised cattle on improved pastures, gradually converting fields to longleaf stands through the 1980‘s, with the last fields planted in 1998.
How did you become interested in growing Longleaf? ―Robin Swift with Swift Lumber Company was a good friend and had a nice stand across from the mill where we quail hunted together. I did not see where I could compete with the paper companies growing pulpwood, though at the time many people felt otherwise. I planned to grow poles and saw-timber and wanted to figure out how to do it. I‘ve enjoyed having a very pretty tract. I haven‘t made much money yet but CRP helped
offset the expenses and made it very feasible. Until the hurricanes we suffered in 2004 and ‗05, this farm was beautiful. The salvage logging did about as much dam-age as the storms did but we are getting back on the right track with this year‘s burn.‖
―Beyond the beauty of longleaf stands, I am very proud to have helped bring back turkeys into this area and to have been able to call and harvest the first taken on this tract in 60 years. I grew up hearing my grandfather tell the story of killing one in 1928, but there were none known in this area from 1930 to 1988. That year, a friend (now deceased) named Billy Roy Parker told me about the pretty flock he spotted from his crop duster when flying over my land. I immediately planted some chufas and prac-ticed calling, and the next spring took my first gobbler. It was and remains a tremendous thrill, and I only wish I had taken as many turkeys as the number of yelpers I own.‖
During our interview, Jack noted many important individuals who he met at an early longleaf class at the Solon Dixon Center.
―I agreed with everything they taught me except that part Rhett tried to tell me about the rattle-snakes. I became a member of The Longleaf Alliance in the early days of the organization. It is a fine group but they need to re-mind us to contribute.‖ Help from The Longleaf Alliance was espe-cially important when trying to establish longleaf through an im-proved pasture of ball clover and Tifton-9 bahia. Working with Mark Hainds, they learned to-gether how to scalp and subsoil and convert this site. At the time we were experiencing a drought similar to the one we are now liv-ing through, and this stand took three attempts at planting before achieving full stocking, finally us-ing containerized trees.
―My next challenge is figuring out a cost-effective way to deal with cogon grass and all the other invasives that really became big problems after the disturbance of the hurricanes. It seems a new herbicide treatment is needed and most row-croppers are not suffi-ciently concerned. I‘m continuing to battle these pests and the wild hogs, but can‘t seem to make pro-gress.‖
Now 85, Jack remains tremen-dously active and just completed burning his entire tract again this December. ―I hope that my grandchildren can enjoy this land long into their futures and keep it in forest. It is enrolled in the Treasure Forest program in Ala-bama but it is not yet back where I want it to be.‖
With my current position with The Longleaf Alliance, I feel fortu-nate to be going around to visit longleaf landowners in South Ala-bama and the Panhandle of Flor-ida. I look forward to learning and sharing their stories.
Why Longleaf ? An Interview with Jack Lufkin of Atmore, AL by Ad Platt
Page 3 Volume IV, Issue IV
Jack Lufkin of Atmore, Alabama
The Longleaf Alliance is proud to welcome Bob Wilken as the Gulf Coastal Plain Ecosystem Partnership‘s (GCPEP) Wildland Fire Management Specialist.
Bob is a 36 year veteran of Wild-land Fire Management as well as related habitat restoration and protection. He is a 1977 graduate of Southeastern Illinois College with a degree in Forestry. Since that time, as Bob will tell you, his career has been as diverse and complex as the ecosystems, agen-cies and people he has worked with. His role with The Alliance will be to continue the support, training and mentoring of Wild-land Fire Management projects across the GCPEP landscape.
Several new grants have been awarded from the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation to fund and support the work of the Ecosystem Support Team (EST) crew as well as an addition of 10 fire training courses to be provided across GCPEP which Bob will help lead. These courses will be certified NWCG (National Wildland Coor-dinating Group) fire classes from basic to advanced in order to help the partnership meet local and national training standards. The
added benefit from these classes will be to incorporate real- world scenarios and hands on exposure to fire for the students, as well as helping all the partners in reach-ing their objectives and acreage targets for prescribed fire. With the ever changing economy, politi-cal environment, tight budgets, and travel restrictions, some local training options will help every-one. Announcements for these upcoming classes will be posted the first of the New Year.
Bob has served as the Burn Boss lead and fire training mentor for the EST since the fall of 2006. During that time he was based out of the Perdido River Nature Pre-serve, Escambia Country, Florida, where he helped lead restoration efforts along with Ad Platt. Part of that was providing live fire training opportunities allowing the partners to complete ―performance based task books‖ requirements to meet their agency training guidelines. He has as-sisted trainees from the National Prescribed Fire Training Center on hundreds of prescribed burns across the partnership. Also dur-ing this time period, he assisted Big Lagoon and Tarkiln Bayou State Parks in restoration efforts as well as assisting with fire team staff and program development.
During the summer months Bob returns to the Pacific Northwest to assist agencies and partners in Prescribed Fire Team develop-ment or Wildland Incident Emer-gency Management operations. For the past three summers he has been based out of Joint Base Lewis/McChord (JBLM-DOD) near Tacoma, Washington where he has been helping build their prescribed fire and restoration programs as well as help expand restoration efforts and fire part-nerships off base. His current qualifications are Prescribed Fire
Burn Boss Type 1 (RXB1), Inci-dent Commander Type 3 (ICT3), Division Supervisor (DIVS), Faller Type C and many others.
Before joining The Longleaf Alli-ance in November 2011, he spent the previous 10 years working for The Nature Conservancy‘s Fire Management programs in Missis-sippi and Florida. Over this past decade he has been a major part of the training and partner efforts in the Southern region for fire academies such as the Southern Area Engine Academy (SAEA), Crew Boss (CBA) and Fire Leader-ship classes. Training and men-toring projects have sent him all over the US, working in a wide range of habitats from the pine barrens of the NE, the prairies of the Midwest, pine savannahs of the SE, deserts of the SW and the big trees and mountains of the Pacific and interior NW. During the prime summer fire season of the Northwest, he would return to his home base of Rogue River, Oregon and worked on-call when needed as a Single Resource (AD), for Federal or State agencies at whatever position they needed to fill.
For the 20 plus years prior to that, he worked for a variety of agencies and companies gaining experience in many different fire related fields. With a strong Mid-west farm family background and the environmental challenges of the 70‘s, he became very curious about nature and what made it work. While in college, Bob re-ceived training and certification as a Wildland Fire Fighter with the Shawnee National Forest in Southern Illinois and started working on some ―Control Burns‖ as they were called, along with some initial attack suppression assignments. In 1976 he was sent
(Continued on page 5)
Fire Expert Bob Wilken Joins The Longleaf Alliance by Vernon Compton
Page 4 The Longleaf Leader
to a fire in Upper Michigan for 21 days and was hooked and decided fire and silviculture were his call-ing. Bob headed west to Oregon and worked his way up to become a Smokejumper for the US Forest Service in 1978. For the next six years he spent summers in fire suppression all over the western states and Alaska and Canada, and the winters working for Wey-erhauser or BLM on silviculture, reforestation and genetics. Op-portunities in the private sector and the government led him to join up with a couple of Smoke-jumper buddies and start Gray-back Forestry, a private contractor that would provide prescribed fire, reforestation and eventually contract fire fighting services to the Federal and State agencies.
An injury caused Bob to change directions somewhat, and he be-gan working for Wajax Pacific,
makers of the Mark 3 pump and related fire equipment. Getting healthy again, and working with the structural fire folks, he be-came a volunteer and worked his way up the ranks to Company Of-ficer for the Rogue River Fire Dis-trict. This led him to another side of the fire world, Industrial Fire, chemical and HazMat, more train-ing and fire equipment develop-ment. The Wildland Urban Inter-face (WUI) became more and more of a problem leading to a renewed interest in prescribed fire and a better understanding of fire ecology and overall management and restoration. These projects grew across the county and brought Bob south to help with fire training, equipment, and the 1998 fire season. This was fol-lowed by trips to the Southern Region, helping with more train-ing and working with folks from The Nature Conservancy, The
Longleaf Alliance, and the begin-nings of GCPEP. More projects, trips south in the winter time, sunshine and burning, once again he was hooked. So in the fall of 2001, he accepted a position as Fire Manager for The Nature Con-servancy in Mississippi and has been returning south every winter like a phoenix snowbird.
Bob and his wife Sue have called Rogue River, Oregon home base for most of their soon to be 35 years of marriage. They have two children, daughter Jessica, mar-ried and mother of their pride and joy - 3 year old granddaughter Katharine, living in Bend, Oregon and son Zachary, who now lives in Portland, Oregon. All enjoy the outdoor life, nature and hobbies related to the environment.
(Westervelt Ecologi-cal Services and Florida DEP) had the same manage-ment objectives for their properties, i.e., restoration of long-leaf pine/wet prai-rie habitat by using prescribed fire. Since it didn‘t make ecological sense to put a fire break be-tween the two ad-joining properties and burn separately, a joint burn was con-ducted. Westervelt Eco-logical Services and the contractor crew burned the mitigation bank while DEP and the GCPEP EST burned the Yellow River Marsh Preserve. The properties that
On November 30, 2011, Garcon Point Stewards, a subgroup of the Gulf Coastal Plain Ecosystem Partnership (GCPEP) came to-gether to burn roughly 200 acres in a partnership burn. GCPEP is a novel partnership of private, pub-lic and not-for-profit organiza-tions and one of their goals is to get fire back onto the landscape across disparate ownerships. This particular burn included Westervelt Ecological Services and their contractor crew (Munroe Forest Company and Attack One Fire Management Services), Flor-ida Department of Environmental Protection's (DEP) Blackwater River & Big Lagoon's State Parks, and the GCPEP Ecosystem Sup-port Team (EST). The burn was approached as a co-op burn be-cause both landowners
Bob Wilken continued...
Garcon Point Stewards Conduct Joint Burn by John McGuire
Page 5 Volume IV, Issue IV
Garcon Point Stewards. Photo by John McGuire
John McGuire is with Westervelt Ecological Services and can be reached at [email protected]
were burned are part of Westervelt's Pensacola Bay (Florida) Wetland Mitigation Bank and DEP's Yellow River Marsh Preserve.
On March 22, 2011, twenty-four School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences students in Forest Meas-urements II planted over 2,000 longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.) seedlings on the Auburn campus as part of an ongoing ser-vice learning project. This project began with the prior year‘s class, where students began the process of rehabilitating a declining lob-lolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) stand that is located west of Donahue Drive and south of the Hay Field Parking Lot on the Auburn cam-pus wildland-urban interface.
In the last year, the stand has undergone two Timber Stand Im-provement (TSI) operations. The first was a thinning to remove dis-
eased and dying trees to create openings or ―gaps‖ in the over-story. A follow-up mulching op-eration was conducted to reduce fuels, to prepare the site for plant-ing, to remove non-native invasive species, such as Chinese privet (Ligustrum sinense), and to im-prove the aesthetics of the site. These openings were then planted by the students with longleaf pine seedlings to allow for a gradual conversion of this stand back to longleaf pine forest, which histori-cally dominated the landscape.
Students also participated in a forestry field day in which they taught Cary Woods Elementary School 5th grade students about forest measurements techniques
such as map reading, compass and pacing, and tree and stand timber volume estimation. Future plans include development of interpre-tive signs and a landowner work-shop that highlights conversion of loblolly stands to longleaf pine using methods demonstrated on the site.
This effort was conducted with assistance from the Alabama Co-operative Extension System, the Longleaf Pine Stand Dynamics Laboratory located within the School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences, an Alabama Forest For-ever Foundation Education Grant, and International Forest Com-pany of Moultrie, GA.
From Eyesore to Outreach: Donahue Drive Forest Rehabilitation Project
by Dr. Becky Barlow
Page 6 The Longleaf Leader
Photo above: Auburn students in the Forest
Measurements II course planting over 2,000 longleaf pine seedlings. Photos left and right: 5th grade students
with Cary Woods Elementary School taking
part in the forestry field day. Photos by Dr. Becky Barlow. Dr. Rebecca Barlow is an Assistant Professor
Extension Specialist at the Auburn Univer-sity School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences, Alabama Cooperative Extension System.
She can be reached at: 334-844-1019 or [email protected]
Understory Plant Spotlight by Carol Denhof
Page 7 Volume IV, Issue IV
Editors Note: Carol, LLA’s Understory Coordinator, is doing
an understory plant spotlight per edition. To nominate a plant for consideration, email Carol at: [email protected]
Gopher Apple Licania michauxii Prance
The diversity of the longleaf forest is not only in the understory plants but also in the multitude of wildlife species that live in this system. Many of the understory plants provide food for wildlife. One plant in particular really put on a show this year. I have never seen gopher apple (Licania michauxii) exhibit such prolific flowering and fruiting as during this past growing season. As the name implies, the fruit of this plant is an important food for gopher tortoises.
This is an interesting plant in the Cocoa-plum family (Chrysobalanaceae). The majority of its rela-tives live in tropical habitats. At first glance, gopher apple looks like some sort of oak seedling, but the difference becomes apparent when it is in flower. It is a clonal plant and helps to stabilize dry, sandy soils. Researchers are also examining the cancer fighting properties of gopher apple.
Plant Description:
Gopher apple is a low shrub to approximately 4 dm (decimeter) tall with simple leaves 4-10 cm (centimeter) long and 1-3.5 cm wide. The leaves are mostly deciduous but can be evergreen in the south-ern parts of the range. The small white flowers ap-pear at the top of the stem in early summer and the
2-3 cm long fruit ripens in early fall. The fruits are green at first and then turn to a dirty white color when ripe.
Distribution & Habitat:
Gopher apple can be found growing in dry pine-lands, sandy roadsides, and coastal dunes in the southeastern coastal plain from South Carolina to Florida and west to Louisiana. This plant is often associated with turkey oak (Quercus laevis) and longleaf pine (Pinus palustris).
Wildlife Benefit:
The fruits of gopher apple are readily consumed by gopher tortoises. The flowers are also especially attractive to butterflies making it a great pollinator plant.
References:
Radford, A.E., H.E. Ahles, and C.R. Bell. 1968. Manual of the Vascular Flora of the Carolinas. The University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, NC. 1183 pp.
Photo to the left
shows the ripened fruit. Photo to the right shows the go-
pher apple in flower and the oak-like leaves. Photo credits Carol Denhof.
There continues to be a great response from Longleaf Alliance members for the mapping ef-fort. If you have any information about existing longleaf stands or stands that have just been planted, please visit the mapping site at www.longleafalliance.org/mappinglongleaf on the LLA website for the data request and stand information form or con-tact me for more information.
Through working with the longleaf pine mapping effort and interacting with landowners, the Longleaf Pine Stand Dynamics Lab became interested in creat-ing a timely, readily available, source of information and exam-ples of online spatial resources to help landowners and conservation professionals make maps and util-ize aerial photography, topographic layers, soils in-formation, data collected with GPS units, and even visual simulations as they make decisions regarding the management of their property. With funding from an Alabama Forests Forever Education Grant, a book titled Online Mapping and Spatial Re-sources for the Private Forest Landowner was de-veloped by John Kush and me.
This book focuses on utilizing online mapping and spatial re-sources to make maps and utilize aerial photography, topographic layers, soils information, data col-lected with GPS units, and even visual simulations for an area of interest (timber stand, agriculture field, pasture, etc.). The book is designed for beginners and pro-vides keywords, homepage links, tutorial information, examples, and screenshots for online programs like the USDA/NRCS Web Soil Sur-vey, Google Earth, Alabama His-toric Aerial Photo Archive, USDA/NRCS Geospatial Data Gateway, and USDA National Agroforestry Center CanVIS. The book can be
downloaded on the Longleaf Pine Stand Dynamics Lab website at http://www.lpsdl.auburn.edu/ under recent publications. In November, I participated in an Alabama Forest Owners Association webcast to introduce the book and talk about how it can be used. The webcast is available online at http://www.afoa.org/CILive/CI1111.htm. For more information about the book or the long-leaf pine mapping effort, contact me at: [email protected] or 334-329-0236. John Gilbert is a Research Associate III in the Longleaf Pine Stand Dynamics Lab at Auburn University.
ers through federal cost-share programs. Effectively, we were outbid by other programs and landowners went with more lucra-tive payments through other channels.
We are releasing these seedlings at our cost. For more informa-tion, please contact us at our of-fice at 334-427-1029, or email us at one of the following addresses: [email protected] or, [email protected].
The answer to that question is YES! The Longleaf Alliance has container-grown longleaf seed-lings available for this planting season. We reserved several hun-dred thousand container-grown longleaf from two quality, private nurseries in early 2011. These seedlings were originally retained for use through a cost-share pro-gram specific to the Florida Pan-handle and several counties in South Alabama.
Unfortunately for us, and fortu-nately for the landowners, more dollars were available to landown-
Longleaf Pine Mapping Effort and a New Resource for Private Landowners
by John Gilbert
Seasonal Questions: Can I Still Get Seedlings? by Mark Hainds
Page 8 The Longleaf Leader
We currently have 176
“Friends” on Facebook.
Are you one of them?
Come join us!
The 38th annual Natural Areas Conference was held November 1-4, 2011 in Tallahassee, FL. The theme for this year‘s conference was ―Adaptation and Protection of Biodiversity in a Changing World‖. Natural resource profes-sionals and natural area managers from across North America gath-ered to learn from others working in fields related to natural areas conservation. Both Mark Hainds and I represented The Longleaf
Alliance and were able to make many great contacts and share with other practitioners the great work the Alliance is doing.
The Longleaf Alliance was asked to present during a Longleaf Un-derstory Symposium during the conference. In addition, we were also able to assist with the organi-zation of the session. Speakers represented different areas of the southeast and talks ranged in sub-
ject from wiregrass seed produc-tion to longleaf savanna restora-tion. As The Longleaf Alliance‘s Understory Coordinator, I gave a presentation on the importance of locally sourced seed material in longleaf understory restoration and understory partnership activi-ties across the region. The sympo-sium was very well attended and resulted in extensive discussion on understory related issues.
The Baldwin State Forest in Ala-bama is the site for the restoration project. We are in the process of preparing the planting site now. Competing vegetation has been treated and the site will be burned and plowed this winter. In the spring, seed of fourteen different understory species will be planted in blocks. The objectives of this project are to learn successful res-toration techniques for understory establishment and to showcase the native species that can be used for this purpose.
The production project is a col-laborative effort between the Ala-
The Longleaf Alliance has coor-dinated a large part of Alabama‘s Regional Longleaf Pine Restora-tion Initiative funded through ARRA funds. In addition to long-leaf plantings and ecosystem res-toration across the state, we are also implementing two understory restoration projects. One project focuses on site preparation and planting of southeastern ecotype seed and the other on production of locally sourced seed for restora-tion. This is an exciting opportu-nity to address many of the chal-lenges that are associated with longleaf understory restoration.
bama Forestry Commission, The Longleaf Alliance, and the Creek Indian Enterprises (CEI). We are making use of the Hauss Nursery near Atmore, AL to establish a seed production facility. The site will be prepared this winter and planted in the spring with two native understory species (slender Indiangrass and tall ironweed). ARRA funds will be used to estab-lish the site but then CEI will as-sume responsibility for the site. This joint approach will be benefi-cial in creating a seed source that is especially adapted to areas in Alabama and the rest of the east gulf coastal plain.
Longleaf Understory Symposium at 2011 Natural Areas Conference
by Carol Denhof
Alabama ARRA Understory Restoration by Carol Denhof and Anne Rilling
Page 9 Volume IV, Issue IV
Questions from the Inbox by Mark Hainds
The Longleaf Alliance receives numer-
ous inquires about restoration and man-agement of longleaf forests. Sharing some of these questions and our re-
sponses should enlighten our readers to common issues faced by our supporters across the Southeast. If you have ques-
tions for the LLA, email them to:
Question on Montane Long-leaf Pine:
My family owns 35 acres in Haralson County, GA that is populated with a good number of
mature Montane longleaf pine trees 50-75 years old. We have been working with our local for-ester under their stewardship pro-gram to come up with a plan of what to do on the land in the fu-ture. The forester has recom-mended cutting all of the shortleaf pine, and a majority of the hard-woods to allow for a good re-seeding of the longleaf pine. Could you give me any assistance
in finding financial assistance through grants or other opportu-nities to help with this re-seeding effort on our property? Also, I have noticed that the Montane longleaf seem to be hard to find. With that in mind, I was consider-ing using our mature longleaf pine stand to grow seedlings. Could you give me some literature or examples of how that is done?
(Continued on page 10)
Dear Montane Inquirer:
There are mountain or montane seedlings available, but you need to order early in the year. There are generally one or two nurseries that grow seedlings from montane seed source. International Forest Company is one such nursery in Moultrie, Georgia and they can be found on our website at www.longleafalliance.org.
Growing seedlings from your own seed is also a possibil-ity. Ecologically, it is always the best option to use seed from the closest seed source. However, to collect longleaf seed on any scale, you may have to line up some rather expensive equipment such as a lift truck or a pecan shaker. After gathering enough cones, you would take them to one of three companies that process
cones and extract the seed. Then you could ask one of the nurseries to grow seedlings from your seed, or you could grow the plugs your-self. It really depends on how much time and effort you feel like dedicating to this project.
Shortleaf pines are also a natural component of montane longleaf ecosystems, but if you are hoping to regenerate your longleaf natu-rally or artificially, you don't want too much shortleaf seed covering the site and out-competing the longleaf. Using prescribed fire with the right timing can knock shortleaf regeneration back and release longleaf seedlings. Short-leaf often re-sprout after being top-killed with a fire, but repeated burns should keep them in check.
Logging operations around long-
leaf pine would lead to soil scarifi-cation. Cutting and removing hardwoods and shortleaf would result in bare mineral soil that should "catch" longleaf seed and help in the natural regeneration of this stand. Ideally, the logging would take place a few months prior to longleaf seedfall in Octo-ber and November.
Scrub oaks are also natural com-ponents of upland longleaf ecosys-tems so you may want to keep some of the more attrac-tive blackjack oaks, post oaks, or other hardwood species. Just be-cause a tree doesn't make quality sawtimber, does not mean we should remove them all from the forest. Many of these species are important hard mast producers that benefit fox squirrels, turkey, and deer.
representing the Auburn Univer-sity School of Forestry & Wildlife Sciences. Dr. Shepard began serv-ing as Dean at the School in Janu-ary, and this was a welcome to the longleaf enthusiasts out there in the montane area.
Pat Glass with the Alabama For-estry Commission gave the key-note address tying together the history of longleaf pine to the State and what longleaf meant to Alabama and where we are at to-day with needing to restore or re-habilitate longleaf to longleaf pine sites.
The morning talks featured Dwight Lauer discussing progress on longleaf pine growth and yield models; Andy Hartsell providing information about spatial and temporal trends of the longleaf pine resource; John Gilbert dis-cussing his work with the longleaf
Despite representing a small part of the longleaf pine ecosys-tem, there remains a continued interest in the montane portion of the longleaf pine range. This was evident by 72 people that attended the 4th Montane Longleaf Pine Conference held in Alabama at Cheaha State Park on October 25th and 26th. The setting was fantas-tic, just off the summit of Cheaha Mountain, in a lodge originally built by the CCC in the early 1940‘s and re-done a few years ago.
The meeting was kicked off by Mark Hainds providing a welcome from The Longleaf Alliance. Mark gave an impassioned talk about longleaf and what it means to the Southeast and how The Longleaf Alliance fits into restoration ef-forts. A second welcome was pro-vided by Dean James Shepard
pine mapping effort and giving an overview about existing longleaf pine stands in the Piedmont and montane regions; and Wayne Bell letting us know about montane longleaf seedlings and supply.
The first afternoon session fea-tured presentations discussing range-wide efforts, state pro-grams, and initiatives. Tim Albrit-ton let us know about Alabama‘s Longleaf Ecosystem Restoration Team (ALERT); Carol Denhof talked about the range-wide long-leaf pine understory restoration efforts; Ryan Mitchell provided a wildlife perspective with the Ala-bama Wildlife Federation (AWF) projects he is involved with in re-storing longleaf pine habitat on private lands in Alabama region; and Mike Black gave an informa-
(Continued on page 11)
From the Inbox continued...
4th Montane Longleaf Pine Conference by John S. Kush
Page 10 The Longleaf Leader
tive talk about the National Bob-white Conservation Initiative (NBCI).
Specific projects and efforts were the focus for the second af-ternoon session. Scot Duncan discussed restoration at Oak Mountain State Park just outside of Birmingham, AL; Marty Cipol-lini continued his presentations from previous montane confer-ences by letting us know how work was going with The Berry College Longleaf Pine Project; Bill Garland discussed the vanished mesic longleaf forests of the mountain region; Becky Barlow filled in for Janice Dyer giving an informative presentation about pine straw operations, including a model for potential pine straw production; and Leh Bass, presi-dent of the Alabama Pine Straw Association, finished with a pres-entation on longleaf pine estab-lishment issues for pine straw production.
Immediately following the talks was a social and poster session, along with a fire set up by Mark Hainds around the fire pit. Post-ers by Sharon Hermann featured work she has been doing at Horseshoe Bend Na-tional Mili-
tary Park; Robert Carter pre-sented material from various montane locations where he has been working with his students on different projects; John Gilbert and I showed some of the work we have been doing at the Montane Longleaf National Wildlife Ref-uge; and Becky Barlow had a dis-play about a restoration effort she has been leading on the Auburn University campus where she in-volves a junior class at the School in a service learning project that has extended to the community and elementary school students.
The second day of the confer-ence was a field tour headed up by the great folks working for the Shoal Creek and Talladega Ranger Districts of the Talladega National Forest. They had several informa-tive stops set up for the attendees. The first stop was looking at the Mother‘s Day Tornado Site (State Hwy. 281). The discussion here was the tornado, timber harvest-ing, mulching, planting, burning, and urban interface complexities. We moved on to an area where they were doing some work of re-
habilitating a longleaf pine stand. We were able to see what preexist-ing conditions were before mulch-ing and then a discussion about approaches and coordination with other resource activities. After a tasty lunch at Turnipseed Camp-ground, we moved on to a 14-year old longleaf plantation and how it was doing. The final stop high-lighted issues of growing season burns in the mountains and the impacts slope and aspect can have on fire.
The weather was fantastic, and the fall foliage colors just added to the day. We need to acknowledge Gloria Nielsen, who is the District Ranger for the Talladega Ranger District, for coordinating with her staff and that of the Shoal Creek District. They put on a great field tour and there are plenty of great sites to see on both of those Ranger Districts.
We would also like to acknowl-edge Walter Cartwright with the Alabama Forestry Commission and the National Fish and Wildlife Federation (NFWF). Walter sub-mitted a proposal for funding to help with this conference, and NFWF provided some of the sup-port.
The Program with the abstracts for all of the presentations and posters can be found at the Long-leaf Pine Stand Dynamics Labora-tory web site: www.lpsdl.auburn.edu .
Montane Conference continued...
Page 11 Volume IV, Issue IV
Photo bottom left: group at
a field-strip stop. Photo center: scenic view on the field trip.
Photo bottom right: Bald
Rock Lodge where the con-ference was held. Photo credits: JJ Bachant-
Brown To see more photos from the Montane Conference, view
the album on our FaceBook page (The Longleaf Alliance).
In my new role, I‘ve had the op-portunity to visit with scores of landowners who are establishing longleaf stands or managing older stands. It is always a learning ex-perience and an honor to tour a landowner‘s property as it is often one of their proudest possessions. The effort and care that good stewardship entails is reflected in the trees and the land. The gener-alization that you can know a lot about a person when you meet their dog may have some truth to it, but to make such a leap about a forest owner you would in fairness have to know about the cards they were dealt, and the progress they have made since the land came under their care. So I am espe-cially impressed by those forest owners who became managers of property that was in less than per-fect condition and the work they are doing to improve it.
Among the tools available to longleaf forest managers, fire is generally regarded as the most important, beneficial, and often most cost effective one we have. While that is easy to write, it is an important caveat to add that the more you do, the easier it becomes to burn. And when a property has not seen fire in a long time, the challenges are many and critical to address. In my initial contacts this fall, the two most common challenges facing the landowners I meet are 1.) how to begin burning their longleaf lands (especially for first applications), and 2.) the in-creasing pressure from invasive species of all kinds. These two challenges point to a third ques-tion, often unasked, which I would describe as what fire can do, and what it cannot do so well.
Fortunately for landowners who are new to burning, there is a wealth of information and guid-
ance available. Unless the land-owner has received training in the application of prescribed fire, there are many reasons to select a certified burner, especially for increased liability protection and extended burning opportunities. An experienced professional burner will also be invaluable to those seeking to develop their own experience level and can help guide you through developing a burn plan, building in contingen-cies, obtaining and working through the necessary permits, managing the burn and the smoke, and ensuring the fire ef-fects are within the desired targets for both the trees and wildlife. Participating in your state‘s pre-scribed fire council can be another way to obtain training, informa-tion, to meet partners and allies, and maybe even to promote a burn cooperative in your area.
Likewise for invasive exotic pests, there is a wealth of informa-tion available in printed brochures or on the web to assist the land-owner with identification and con-trol methods. Keys to success against invasive exotics include learning what to look out for, find-ing infestations early while they are easier to control, using the right control method and herbi-cide rate, and following up with post-treatment inspections, and retreatment when necessary.
As useful as fire is in longleaf management or restoration, it can be problematic in the control of many invasive exotic plants. In my travels as a Technical Assis-tance Specialist, I have visited sev-eral ownerships where infesta-tions have become advanced and more than one of the usual sus-pects will be found. Failure to control these invaders, who have no effective natural enemies, will lead to infestations that reduce
both timber and wildlife values and enjoyment of your land. Though the owner may already be battling these invaders with spot treatments and/or site prepara-tion, prescribed burning before these pests are controlled can of-ten make these problems worse.
If you are battling kudzu, fires will burn very hot, especially after a winter frost, and burning will not control kudzu even when re-peated. Similarly, cogon grass burns hot even while green, often damaging overstory trees. Fire effectively fertilizes these infested areas, but sometimes burning can reduce the coverage area for fol-low-up treatments. Japanese climbing fern infestations can be worsened by burning, and the vines create fire ladders that may damage trees, but regular burning can keep surface mats somewhat in check, which may enable easier treatment. Areas infested with Chinese tallow tree are typically intensified by burning, so it is not recommended. Privet (either Chi-nese or Japanese) can sometimes function as an effective fire break, though if enough pine needles are present to enable a hot burn you may top kill smaller stems.
Post-burn appearance may be deceptive, but don‘t be fooled. Most invasive plants require spe-cific herbicide treatments and re-treatment for effective control. Knowing your land and where all of the problem species are estab-lished will help you know where to expect aggressive regrowth and to be prepared to deliver effective follow-up treatments. And catch-ing these problems while they are small will definitely save money and effort for the landowner in the long run.
Landowner Challenges: Learning to use Fire and Fighting Invaders
by Ad Platt
Page 12 The Longleaf Leader
Page 13 Volume IV, Issue IV
For Those in the Grass Stage by Anne Rilling
―Grass Stage‖ is a section just for kids and/or kids-at-heart. Longleaf forest management is a long-term en-deavor and in order to keep the longleaf pine ecosystem in longleaf, the next generation must get engaged or else all of the hard work, restoration, and protection currently going on will be for naught. We hope you share ―Grass Stage‖ with your ―next generation‖ longleaf enthusiast.
Young Longleaf Pine Trees Lesson Two: A Group of Young Longleaf Pine Trees Growing in a Forest Opening. Use Lesson Two found on our website (www.longleafalliance.org/nextgeneration) to complete the crossword puzzle.
Across 1. Disturbances that kill existing trees create these: __________ __________ 3. Trees in gaps grow in this shape because more resources are available: _______ 4. Longleaf pine seedlings look like a clump of this: __________ 8. Scientists refer to these as forest openings: _________ 10. Forests such as tropical rain, redwood, Douglas fir have a ______ ______ unlike the longleaf forest. 12. Adult longleaf seed drops every few _____________. 13. Lightning is a type of natural ____________ that occurs regularly. 14. Longleaf pine in the grass stage up to about 4 feet have this characteristic: ________ __________
Down 2. These help carry fire through the forest: _________ __________ 5. From the air natural longleaf pine forests look like this: _________ ___________ 6. Seedlings take advantage of 1 across and allow the forest to: ______________ 7. A gap in the forest reduces this and increases resources available to seedlings: _____________ 9. Rapid vertical growth after the grass stage: __________ 11. All seedlings, including longleaf, need light, moisture, and this to grow: _________
Answers found on page 15
Page 14 The Longleaf Leader
Plans Underway for 9th Biennial Regional Conference by JJ Bachant-Brown
The 9th Regional Longleaf Conference is scheduled for October 23-26, 2012 in Nacogdoches, Texas, ―The Oldest Town in Texas‖ and home to Stephen F. Austin State University. For more information on Nacogdo-ches, visit www.visitnacogdoches.org or www.nacogdoches.org. The conference will be held at the Hotel Fredonia and Conference Center (www.hotelfredonia.com), which is nestled in the heart of the historic downtown. Registration will open soon after the New Year. Keep checking our website (www.longleafalliance.org) as plans will be developing daily.
Sponsorships. As we all know, these events can‘t happen by themselves. All levels of support are needed and greatly appreciated. Sponsorship levels are as follows:
Old growth* - $10,000: complimentary exhibit space and 4 conference registrations Pole stage* - $5,000: complimentary exhibit space and 2 conference registrations Grass stage* - $2,500: complimentary exhibit space and 1 conference registration Seedlings - $500 - $2,000: recognition in the conference program
* Can specify a particular conference function to sponsor; recognized in the conference program.
If you would like to sponsor, please contact: Rhett Johnson: [email protected] (334-427-1029)
Exhibitors. These conferences draw a wide range of people with varying backgrounds and interests. It is an excellent opportunity for venders and exhibitors to showcase their products and merchandise. Exhibit space is $400 for profit organizations and $200 for non-profit organizations.
For more information, please contact: Mark Hainds: [email protected] (334-427-1029)
Poster Sessions. The poster sessions will be a very important component of the conference. Two peri-ods of time will be devoted solely to posters. Posters will involve invited and volunteer papers emphasizing specific management and research topics. Organizations involved in longleaf activities are encouraged to present posters describing their overall programs. Details for submitting abstracts will be available soon.
Silent Auction. Last year‘s silent auction was good, but since we‘ll be in Texas we expect to do 2012‘s silent auction bigger! In order to do that, we‘ll need your help in contributing items. Be creative...longleaf products, trips, merchandise, field equipment, photographs, jewelry, books, etc.
To contribute something, please contact: Anne Rilling: [email protected] (334-427-1029)
Conference Contests. Have you located the biggest longleaf pine cone or the longest longleaf pine needles? If so, bring them to the conference. There will be three categories: 1.) the widest longleaf pine cone; 2.) the longest longleaf pine cone; and 3.) the longest longleaf pine needles. Entries to the contest will be taken during the two poster sessions/socials. Judging will occur and the winners will be announced at the after field trip party Thursday evening. Prizes, along with bragging rights, will be awarded. Must be pre-sent to win! Remember, if you won in a particular category at the 8th Regional conference, you aren‘t eligible to enter in that category for the 9th. You have 10 months, so start looking! Also at the conference we will have a bag of wiregrass seed and we‘ll give you the opportunity to guess the number of seeds that it contains. Closest number without going over will win. Start practicing now!
T-Shirt Design Contest. We introduced the ―Bringing It Back‖ t-shirt designed by John McGuire at the 2010 Conference. The shirt has been a huge hit! Here is your opportunity to have your idea made into a t-shirt that we can produce and sell. Please use less than three colors; this will help us keep printing costs reasonable. You may submit more than one design. The winning t-shirt will be unveiled at the conference and the designer will receive a Longleaf Alliance Gift Pack, a t-shirt with their design, and bragging rights.
Send your design idea to: Anne Rilling: [email protected].
The deadline for entries is March 31, 2012.
Remember to keep checking our website (www.longleafalliance.org) for registration, updates and new developments!
Page 15 Volume IV, Issue IV
Upcoming Events
Our Supporters!
Welcome to our Newest Supporters since the last
newsletter:
Karla Gaskins
Joseph DeSeno
Keith Bowers
Kimberly Sykes
Candy Carroll
Judy Latham
James Thacker Jr.
Pine Tree Management
David Batts
William Bennett DVM
Travis Guinn
Edward Dean
Raymond Oliver
We are always saddened to learn of the loss of
friends, whether they are personal friends,
friends of the longleaf ecosystem, or, often,
both. We offer our condolences to the family of
long-time supporter Bobby Bearden.
2012 is shaping up to be another busy and produc-tive year, but we are still in the process of putting the final touches on dates and activities. Check back at our website as plans are developing rapidly!
Answers to the crossword on page 13:
Across: 1.) forest openings; 3.) dome; 4.) grass; 8.) gaps 10.)
closed canopy; 12.) years; 13.) disturbances; 14.) fire resistant
Down: 2.) pine needles; 5.) Swiss cheese; 6.) regenerate; 7.) competition; 9.) rocket; 11.) nutrients
SAVE THE
DATE! Longleaf Alliance
9th Biennial
Regional Conference
October 23-26, 2012
Nacogdoches, TX
A Look Back at 2011
A List of our Accomplishments in no particular order: 6 one-day workshops in GA; 276 attendees 4 one-day workshops in AL 3 one-day workshops in SC 10 Longleaf Academy courses conducted; 211 gradu-ates 3 Webinars; 249 participants 2 Longleaf Alliance Board Meetings 5 new Board members added Successful completion of first A133 single audit for Fiscal Year 2010 Completed update of our Strategic Plan: ―From Solid Foundation to Bright Future‖ Production of 4 The Longleaf Leader newsletters Produced The Economics of Longleaf Management publication Sent to production Longleaf: As Far As The Eye Can See Alabama Longleaf Ecosystem Restoration Team publication and program Continued improvements on website Created a Facebook page; 176 ―Friends‖ and counting Assisted with coordination of Montane Conference Secured location for 9th Biennial Regional Longleaf Conference 11 grants/agreements secured totaling just under 1-million dollars received Participated in AgExpo in Moultrie, GA Presented at Natural Areas Conference in Tallahas-see, FL Honored by the U.S. Forest Service at the 100th anni-versary of the Weeks Act Supported the development of the Stand Level Growth & Yield Model for Longleaf Pine Talked to students in FL, AL and GA, and teachers in AL. Hired 2 full-time employees, 1 seasonal employee and 4 summer interns EST Burn Acreage to date in 2011 – 56 Burns totaling 42,941 acres Staff conducted numerous landowner visits across the region Copious amounts of phone calls & email responses to inquires Many presentations and meetings attended ARRA projects oversight in AL Trees for a Greener GA program Staff serve on numerous pertinent Boards across the region Nursery visits conducted Seed collection for understory propagation GCPEP added 2 new partners with MOU updated
Just to list a few; we might have missed one or two
items!
If you are already a supporter of The Longleaf Alliance, THANK YOU; please consider passing this form on to a friend or colleague. If you are not a supporter, please join us and help The Longleaf Alliance keep this forest type as part of the southern landscape.
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The Longleaf Alliance is a non-profit organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. All contributions are tax deductible when made payable to:
The Longleaf Alliance, 12130 Dixon Center Road, Andalusia, AL 36420
The Longleaf Alliance
12130 Dixon Center Road
Andalusia, AL 36420
