A landscape photo with longleaf pines against a cloudy sky
Places We Protect in Georgia Cabin Bluff © Wade Harrison/TNC

Newsletter

Redemption for Longleaf Pine

Five hundred years ago, a contiguous forest of longleaf pine trees covered 90 million acres, making it the dominant ecosystem of what is now the southeastern United States. Available in seemingly limitless supply, the trees were felled for their strong “heart pine” to build the homes, businesses and bridges of the growing country. Longleaf timber was also used in the construction of many early naval ships, including the USS Constitution, known as Old Ironsides.

The original range of longleaf pine forests in the southeastern United States.
Map The original range of longleaf pine forests in the southeastern United States. © TNC

By the 1990s, less than 3 million acres of longleaf pine remained. That 97% loss from an ecosystem is one of the most significant ever recorded, surpassing the decline of the Amazon rainforest and almost as great as the near disappearance of North America’s tallgrass prairies. Today, through extensive collaborative restoration efforts, longleaf pine acreage has risen to 4.7 million fragmented acres, approximately 5% of its original range.

Quote: Anne Flinn

We have worked for decades to restore longleaf pine.

One example of that recovery offered the U.S. Navy a chance to help the same kind of forest that provided timber to build ships centuries ago. “They were among the many partners that conserved a combined 27,000 acres of land on Georgia’s coast, where we have worked for decades to restore longleaf pine,” says Anne Flinn, The Nature Conservancy’s land protection director in Georgia. “This is a significant win for conservation, and limiting development helps the Navy achieve their mission at nearby Kings Bay Submarine Base.” The property includes some large blocks of longleaf forest, and partners will use tree plantings and prescribed fire to restore key areas.

Colette DeGarady, TNC’s longleaf pine whole system director, says TNC—which was drawn to the longleaf ecosystem for its biodiversity—is increasingly focused on how the species and the entire system can contribute to mitigating climate change.

Quote: Colette DeGarady

Coastal properties such as this recent acquisition in Georgia rank high on the list for many reasons.

“When we analyze climate resiliency data and overlay land conservation priorities, coastal properties such as this recent acquisition in Georgia rank high on the list for many reasons, including the buffer they can provide to sensitive, economically significant systems such as salt marsh that are particularly vulnerable to climate change,” says Colette.

Colette DeGarady, TNC's longleaf pine whole system director, examines pitcher plants on Sandy Island.
Sandy Island Colette DeGarady, TNC's longleaf pine whole system director, examines pitcher plants on Sandy Island. © Tom Johnson

SAVING THE SYSTEM

As longleaf pine forests have been cut and disconnected, the plants and animals they shelter have also struggled to endure.

A gopher tortoise crawls over a clump of grass
Constitution Lake Constitution Lake © Ken Boff, Friends of Constitution Lakes
A woodpecker perched on the trunk of a longleaf pine
Red-cockaded Woodpecker A Red-cockaded Woodpecker (Picoides borealis) at the restored longleaf pine forest in The Nature Conservancy's Disney Wilderness Preserve. © Carlton Ward Jr.
A brightly colored close-up of a pitcher plant
Hooded pitcher plant This carnivorous plant is found on Georgia’s Ceylon Wildlife Management Area © Alan Cressler
A gopher tortoise crawls over a clump of grass
Constitution Lake Constitution Lake © Ken Boff, Friends of Constitution Lakes

01

Gopher Tortoise

Gopher tortoises dig burrows— some more than 50 feet long and 20 feet deep—where more than 360 species shelter during natural seasonal fires that keep the entire system in balance. TNC is part of a multi-stakeholder effort to secure funding for land acquisition and increased management strategies such as prescribed fire to protect and boost tortoise populations in Georgia.

A woodpecker perched on the trunk of a longleaf pine
Red-cockaded Woodpecker A Red-cockaded Woodpecker (Picoides borealis) at the restored longleaf pine forest in The Nature Conservancy's Disney Wilderness Preserve. © Carlton Ward Jr.

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Red-Cockaded Woodpecker

One reason TNC is racing to restore longleaf pine forests is to save the federally endangered red-cockaded woodpecker. Unlike other woodpeckers, they bore nesting cavities in living trees, and their home of choice is longleaf pine. A key strategy involves partnering with the U.S. military on the expansive bases where some of the largest populations of the birds remain.

A brightly colored close-up of a pitcher plant
Hooded pitcher plant This carnivorous plant is found on Georgia’s Ceylon Wildlife Management Area © Alan Cressler

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Hooded Pitcher Plant

Some areas of the longleaf range harbor bogs that support rare carnivorous plants, including the Venus flytrap, several species of sundews and pitcher plants. Many are adapted to fire and are indicators of a healthy native habitat. The hooded pitcher plant, for example, is found on Georgia’s Ceylon Wildlife Management Area, much of which is open to the public.