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The Tree

HomeWhat is LongLeaf?The TreeThe History

The History

The average American's view of the natural communities of the Southeastern U.S. is that it is comprised mainly of swamps, alligators, and big, old moss-hung cypress trees. On the contrary to this view, when early explorers visited the southeastern region they saw "a vast forest of the most stately pine trees that can be imagined, planted by nature at a moderate distance...enameled with a variety of flowering shrubs." Fire defined where the longleaf pine forest was found and fostered an ecosystem diverse in plants and animals.

Longleaf pine's domain was vast. By all accounts, the longleaf pine forest dominated the southern landscape. Starting in southeast Virginia, the longleaf pine forest stretched southward through nine states eventually stopping in east Texas (over 140,000 square miles).

For countless generations, cultures were both transformed by and helped to transform the longleaf piney woods. However, starting about 150 years ago, over-exploitation of the longleaf pine forest accelerated tremendously and the face of the southern landscape changed radically.

Chemical stimulation to gum yield - chipper and acid application at Olustee, Florida. October, 1942. Photo by C. S. Shopmeyer, U.S. Forest Service.
Chemical stimulation to gum yield - chipper and acid application at Olustee, Florida. October, 1942. Photo by C. S. Shopmeyer, U.S. Forest Service.
Distilleries produced refined turpentine and rosin from crude pine resin. Florida. Photo by Panshin, et al. U.S. Forest Service.
Distilleries produced refined turpentine and rosin from crude pine resin. Florida. Photo by Panshin, et al. U.S. Forest Service.
Naval stores orchard using the cup and gutter 
technique to collect resin—a less intrusive 
method compared to the early practice of "boxing." Photo by Panshin, et al. U.S. Forest Service.
Naval stores orchard using the cup and gutter technique to collect resin—a less intrusive method compared to the early practice of "boxing." Photo by Panshin, et al. U.S. Forest Service.
Turpentine tools: 1. Broad axe; 2. Gutter chisel or Pringle axe; 3. Maul; 4. Hogal; 5. Hack; 6. Puller; 7. Push down scraper; 8. Pull down scraper; 9. Apron and gutter puller; 10. Dip iron. Photo by U.S. Forest Service.
Turpentine tools: 1. Broad axe; 2. Gutter chisel or Pringle axe; 3. Maul; 4. Hogal; 5. Hack; 6. Puller; 7. Push down scraper; 8. Pull down scraper; 9. Apron and gutter puller; 10. Dip iron. Photo by U.S. Forest Service.

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  • The Tree
    • Life Stages
    • The Economics
    • The History
    • The Misconceptions
  • The Ecosystem
    • Built by Fire
    • Habitats
    • Species Diversity
  • Restoration & Management
    • Groundcover Restoration
    • Herbicides
    • Longleaf Regeneration
    • Prescribed Fire
  • Photo Gallery

From our feed

🎉BIG NEWS🎉 The Longleaf Alliance's website h 🎉BIG NEWS🎉 The Longleaf Alliance's website has a whole new look! Explore LongleafAlliance.org and help us celebrate by sharing it (link in our bio). Happy browsing!
Did you know? National Invasive Species Awareness Did you know? National Invasive Species Awareness Week wraps up this weekend! What better way to participate in #NISAW than to raise your own awareness about the invasives species on your property and make a plan to address the problem. Let us know if we can help > https://longleafalliance.org/contact

📷 Recognizing the threat posed by the Chinese tallow tree, the Gulf Coastal Plain Ecosystem Partnership (GCPEP) identified control of this and other invasive species as a high priority.  Thanks to a State Wildlife Grant and support from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, The Longleaf Alliance (TLA) staff have located and treated over 7,000 Chinese tallow trees within the Florida portion of the Yellow River watershed, with more work needed for successful control in the GCPEP landscape. Pictured here is TLA's Kaiden Spurlock cutting a Chinese tallow tree; after cutting the stump was treated with herbicide. Photo by Vernon Compton.
#LongleafPine forests have been burning for millen #LongleafPine forests have been burning for millennia. To all of our benefit. Before there were houses or roads, lightning and indigenous people started fires that naturally stopped at rivers or wetlands. These fires removed overgrowth that, if left to build up, became fuel for wildfire, threatened native plant species and damaged wildlife habitats. Today, we use prescribed fire to get these same benefits. #resotrelongleaf #longleaf #longleafpines #goodfire

📷 Carvers Creek State Park. Photo by @mt.walker
We are thrilled to announce a NEW #PrescribedFire We are thrilled to announce a NEW #PrescribedFire Pilot Project in partnership with the Georgia Sentinel Landscape (GSL), which aims to coordinate conservation priorities across the landscape that benefit natural resources as well as national defense. Managing and maintaining healthy forestlands in Georgia benefits wildlife habitat and at-risk species while simultaneously strengthening Georgia’s rural economies and military installations. This project will increase prescribed burning within the GSL by 35,000 acres by providing technical and financial resources to private landowners who are interested in implementing prescribed burning, installing firebreaks, and obtaining burn plans.

We are equally thrilled to have Susan French join The Longleaf Alliance (TLA) staff as Georgia Sentinel Landscape Pilot Project Coordinator to lead this exciting effort. Before joining TLA, Susan worked as a wildlife biologist for the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, focusing on providing technical assistance to private landowners. She is a Certified Prescribed Fire Manager in South Carolina and holds a B.S. in Wildlife Ecology & Management from Auburn University and a M.S. in Wildlife & Fisheries Biology from Clemson University.

Read more about the project on our website under News! Link in our bio.

#goodfire #restorelongleaf #longleaf #longleafpine #lonlgeafpines
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