TLA Awarded $7.3 Million to Advance Longleaf Pine Restoration and Conservation
June 19, 2024
The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) announced a record $33.5 million in conservation grants from the Longleaf Landscape Stewardship Fund (LLSF) to restore, enhance and protect longleaf pine forests in eight southern states. This year’s grant slate is the largest in the program’s history, building on a recent trend of increased funding for longleaf pine restoration. These grants will leverage $21.2 million in matching contributions to generate a total conservation impact of $54.7 million.
The Longleaf Alliance is thrilled to be a part of this collaboration to restore longleaf across the range, specifically facilitating three projects in this year’s grant slate, totaling over $7.3 million to support our work in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina and South Carolina.
“We are grateful to have this continued support from our long-time partners at the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation. The funding provided through these three grant projects will directly impact the work that our TLA Team, along with a diverse group of collaborators, does to bring about meaningful change for the longleaf ecosystem and for the communities that rely on these forests across the Southeast," said Carol Denhof, President of The Longleaf Alliance.
Our partners are pivotal to the success of these projects, and we look forward to getting started.
Advancing Climate-Resilient Longleaf Restoration and
Conservation on Private Lands (AL, GA)
Implement climate-smart longleaf pine forestry practices on private lands in Alabama and Georgia, benefiting wildlife including the red-cockaded woodpecker, Bachman’s sparrow, songbirds and other wildlife. This project will plant 550,000 longleaf pine seedlings on 1,000 acres, conduct prescribed burning on 1,500 acres, complete improved habitat management on 1,060 acres and support seed orchard enhancements to increase availability of longleaf pine seed.
Increasing Longleaf Pine Restoration through Partner
Collaboration in the Gulf Coastal Plain (AL, FL)
The Longleaf Alliance's Ecosystem Support Teams and the Gulf Coastal Plain Ecosystem Partnership will restore longleaf pine habitat on private and public lands in southern Alabama and northwestern Florida through improved partner collaboration, benefiting red-cockaded woodpeckers, gopher tortoises and reticulated flatwoods salamanders. This project will restore and enhance at least 40,000 acres of longleaf pine habitat though plantings, prescribed burning and invasive species control, and by providing assistance to private landowners to restore longleaf pine habitat on their lands.
Restoring Longleaf Pine Habitat to Increase Resilience and
Biodiversity (AL, FL, GA, LA, MS, NC, SC)
Restore and enhance longleaf pine ecosystems on public and private lands, focusing on strategic landowner outreach and technical assistance, longleaf reforestation, and at-risk or listed species recovery within the historical longleaf pine range in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina and South Carolina. This project will plant 13,000 acres of longleaf, apply prescribed fire on 21,000 acres and implement strategies to increase listed and at-risk species populations.