Ecological Restoration News & Analysis

The federal government recently announced a new and unprecedented initiative to restore up to a quarter-million acres of native longleaf pine forest in nine Southern states, including almost 45,000 acres here in Georgia. Longleaf pine forests once played a vital role in the economy and environment of the South. The forests covered as much as 90 million acres across nine states, from Virginia to Texas. Today only about 3 million acres remain. As the forests disappear, so do the species that live in them, such as bobwhite quail, wild turkey and many endangered plants and animals.