By 1996, these efforts were taking root, and The Longleaf Alliance emerged as the entity to coordinate regional efforts to move longleaf restoration forward. Just one year after Dean’s call for interested parties and supporting members from across the longleaf range, The Longleaf Alliance hosted its first regional Longleaf Conference in Mobile, Alabama.

Mark Hainds became the first Longleaf Alliance employee when Dean and Rhett brought him on board as the Research Coordinator working through Auburn University at the Solon Dixon Forestry Education Center.

By 1999, The Longleaf Alliance had members in 22 states and two countries, totaling more than 720 memberships.

In the very early days of The Longleaf Alliance, Dean and Rhett recognized the need for a minimum standard of knowledge about how to establish, manage, and grow longleaf – especially for those providing advice to others. With Mark Hainds (Research Coordinator, 1996-2015) and John McGuire (Outreach Coordinator, 2000-2007) working as the first Alliance staff, this small (but mighty!) group worked extensively with partners and traveled the region meeting landowners to improve people’s perception of longleaf, share lessons learned, and ultimately increase longleaf forest acreage. By the end of 2004, staff presented or hosted over 450 workshops in a span of nine years, about one per week! As Rhett has remarked, “We were like Johnny Appleseed — on the road all the time.”

Their dedication and work in those early days laid the groundwork for the growth of our education and outreach programs under JJ Bachant-Brown (Outreach Coordinator, 2008-2013), including the first publication dubbed The Longleaf Leader. The title was suggested by Richard Shelfer of Tallahassee, FL in a newsletter-naming contest in 2008 and transitioned over to the magazine in 2014 under editor Carol Denhof.

The first Longleaf Academy, Longleaf 101, debuted in 2008, later followed by advanced Academy topics – Understory 201 (2011), Herbicides & Longleaf 201 (2012), Fire & Longleaf 201 (2015), Groundcover Restoration 201 (2018), Gopher Tortoise 301 (2015), Longleaf the Landowner (2023), and Fire & Longleaf 301 (2024).

The Regional Longleaf Conference, first hosted by The Longleaf Alliance in 1996, continued biennially, moving across the Southeast to accommodate the nine-state geography of longleaf enthusiasts. Special interest conferences for montane longleaf, groundcover, and nursery production occurred in “off-years.” Countless workshops, field days, technical articles, brochures, films, and webinars provided the best available information and support to landowners, managers, policy makers, educators, and the public.

Pivotal research supported by The Longleaf Alliance advanced longleaf pine establishment, showing the importance of treating longleaf pine according to its unique needs. Alliance staff collaborated on studies evaluating seedling types (bareroot vs. container), planting techniques, site preparation, prescribed fire, and more. Mark Hainds was instrumental in developing tried and true techniques for site preparation and planting that changed the game for longleaf establishment.

In partnership with numerous supporters and organizations, The Alliance installed dozens of demonstration areas across the Southeast to test techniques and add field components to outreach events.

Showing (instead of telling) took management recommendations into real world scenarios. The Alliance continues to share these findings widely through site visits, trainings, publications, and film—building a strong network of knowledge across the species’ range.

The Longleaf Alliance originally operated as a project within Auburn University. Both Alliance co-founders were University employees – Rhett retired as Solon Dixon Forestry Education Center Director in 2006, and Dean retired from Auburn University’s School of Forestry in 2008. Early Alliance staff were contracted through Auburn, an arrangement that continued until Mark Hainds left in 2015.

While we still maintain our Auburn connection with our headquarters at the Dixon Center, The Longleaf Alliance incorporated in 2007 and subsequently received approval as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization to meet the growing outreach demands, engage in regional issues, and serve expanding partner networks. In 2009, Anne Rilling became the first official employee of The Longleaf Alliance, Inc., later serving as Vice President for Business (2012-2024), helping to shape the organization’s operational foundation and growth.

As project opportunities increased and grant funding expanded, additional staff came onboard, moving The Alliance from a small team of four in 2000 to 13 with the transition of the Gulf Coast Plain Ecosystem Partnership in 2012. Leadership changes also occurred with E.J. Williams serving as Executive Director (2010-2011) and Rhett Johnson stepping out of retirement to fulfill director duties until Robert Abernethy assumed the role of President (2012-2019).

Today, The Longleaf Alliance’s mission is carried out by 30 staff led by Executive Leadership (President Carol Denhof, Vice President for Development Lynnsey Basala, and Vice President for Operations Ad Platt) with guidance from 15 members on the Board of Directors.

The Longleaf Alliance's expansion in the last decade is not only in size or geography – our programs, employee expertise, partnership engagement, and member support also grew to support our vision and key strategies to guide longleaf restoration, stewardship, and conservation.

Staff serve as both local resources within priority longleaf landscapes and leading experts within regional collaborations and partnerships. A founding member of the America's Longleaf Restoration Initiative, The Longleaf Alliance provides leadership within longleaf working groups and directly coordinate activities in three longleaf local implementation teams (LITs) in South Carolina, Georgia and Florida/Alabama.

Adopted in 2019, The Longleaf Alliance’s G.U.I.D.E.-ing framework (Growing - Understanding - Improving - Diverse - Ecosystems) identifies our key strategies to ensure a sustainable future for longleaf pine ecosystems, helping us plan for the next 30 years.

GROWING — The Longleaf Alliance is expanding the longleaf community by raising awareness, increasing engagement, and developing a love for longleaf across the range. Our alliance of trusted partners has grown to include organizations with expertise in land retention, legal services for landowners, and innovators in the mass timber, water, biodiversity, and biomass markets. In addition to The Longleaf Leader magazine, social media, videos, and public prescribed fire festivals, we are reaching the next generation through our iconic prescribed fire mascot, Burner Bob® the Bobwhite Quail.

UNDERSTANDING — Science-based education, outreach, and landowner assistance were the foundations on which The Longleaf Alliance was established. We continue to share information about longleaf through workshops, trainings, field days, Biennial Longleaf Conferences, and an expanded Longleaf Academy program, now offering eight courses. We also facilitate research and range-wide analyses on the scope of the condition of longleaf pine.

IMPROVING FOREST HEALTH – Through active stewardship, we improve the condition of longleaf ecosystems across the range. The Longleaf Alliance team is conducting critical boots-on-the-ground management including prescribed fire, invasive species control, wetland restoration, and rare species recovery. The Longleaf Alliance provides leadership within longleaf working groups and directly coordinate activities in three longleaf local implementation teams (LITs) in South Carolina, Georgia and Florida/Alabama

DIVERSE FORESTS CONSERVED — By promoting longleaf pine’s ecological and economic advantages through premium value markets, maintaining healthy ecosystems and the species they support, and helping our partners and landowners conserve their land permanently, we ensure longleaf forests remain resilient and vibrant for the future.

ECOSYSTEMS RESTORED — Through advocacy, policies, assistance, partners, and our own management actions, we are expanding longleaf ecosystems across the range. The Longleaf Alliance provides funding assistance for groundcover restoration projects, and our tree planting program supports the planting of millions of longleaf pine seedlings each year. We are facilitating efforts among longleaf nurseries and seed orchards to improve seedling quality and quantity.