Georgia’s longleaf pine needs help. $2.9M coming soon for restoration
Georgia will receive a share of $20 million in federal grants to restore longleaf pine forests as part of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation's annual Longleaf Landscape Stewardship Fund.
Some of that money is coming to Middle Georgia. The Georgia Forestry Commission will get about $1.5 million to improve management of more than 20,000 acres of longleaf pine and pine-oak forest in the Upper Ocmulgee watershed.
The work will help private landowners carry out prescribed burns and other management practices, with the goal of benefiting northern bobwhite, wild turkey and other forest-dependent wildlife.
The Longleaf Pine Range is one of the most biologically diverse ecosystems. It has been named one of the nation’s Critical Conservation Areas due to its thinning plant life, shrinking habitat and worsening water quality.
The work is expected to help wildlife well beyond the longleaf pine itself. At-risk species like the gopher tortoise, red-cockaded woodpecker and eastern indigo snake will benefit through captive breeding programs that release animals back into restored longleaf pine habitat.
The projects also will help wild game species like wild turkey and northern bobwhite by thinning overcrowded forests, which promote growth in the plants these species need for forage and cover.
“Longleaf pine forests are part of Georgia’s natural heritage, and restoring them means healthier working lands, stronger wildlife habitat, cleaner water and a more resilient rural economy for the families who live and work here,” said Congressman Sanford Bishop (D-02) in a news release about the grant.
Two other Georgia-specific grants were awarded as well.
The Georgia Department of Natural Resources received $387,100 for work on Berry College land and an adjacent wildlife management area in northwest Georgia. The University of Georgia Research Foundation got $1 million to help private landowners restore longleaf habitat in southern Georgia.
A few multistate grants also list Georgia, including money to Tall Timbers Research for work in the southwest part of the state and a $2 million grant to The Longleaf Alliance for projects in southeast Georgia.
The federal foundation announced the full $20 million package on June 17, spread across 25 grants in nine Southern states.
The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation said the projects will result in more than 30,000 acres of new longleaf pine planted and a prescribed burn of 350,000 acres.
“Georgia’s forest industry supports more than 140,000 jobs and contributes billions of dollars to the state’s economy, so investments like these are not just about conservation, they are also about protecting livelihoods, communities and a way of life,” Bishop said.
