2006 Longleaf Legacy Grants

The Longleaf Legacy program is focused on restoring the South's signature longleaf pine ecosystem to conserve biological diversity and sequester carbon. The following organizations were awarded Longleaf Legacy grants:

• Leon County Division of Parks and Recreation - to restore 38 acres to longleaf and wiregrass in Leon County in the Florida panhandle. This restored habitat will be used as an educational tool for Master Wildlife Volunteers and for public school programs.
• The Nature Conservancy, Florida – to restore 577 acres of longleaf on the Apalachicola Bluffs and Ravines Preserve in the panhandle. This 10-year restoration, funded by Southern Company and subsidiary Gulf Power Company, complements longleaf restoration efforts on the nearby Apalachicola National Forest and Torreya State Park, and contributes to the 1 million-acre conservation corridor that extends from the Georgia border to the Gulf of Mexico.
• National Wild Turkey Federation – to restore 7,000 acres of longleaf on private and public lands over the next three years. Restoration on public lands will take place primarily on military installations, national forests, and wildlife management areas. The National Wild Turkey Federation will team up with Georgia-Pacific for the private lands component, hosting four workshops and providing personal consultations with biologists and foresters on longleaf restoration and forest management for interested landowners. This is the largest award made to date through the Longleaf Legacy program.
• Auburn University, School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences – to pilot methods to reintroduce fire in stands of longleaf in montane areas that have excessive undergrowth and fuel. Mountain longleaf often grows on steep slopes and rocky soil, which provides challenging conditions for fire and other types of management. Through this pilot project several different approaches will be taken to restore longleaf in Alabama, with the goal of creating management recommendations useful throughout the mountain longleaf’s range.