Ft. Stewart/Altamaha Longleaf Partnership Awarded Grant Extending the Partnership

By Randy Tate, The Longleaf Alliance

The Ft. Stewart/Altamaha Longleaf Restoration Partnership (FSA/LRP) was recently awarded a Longleaf Stewardship Fund grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) to continue on-the-ground longleaf ecosystem restoration and assessment of lands for future restoration within its Significant Geographic Area (SGA). This new grant commences January 1, 2016, and it builds on relationships established and work completed by the Partnership over the last three years. It will also strengthen ties and improve information flow between different partners while providing a mechanism for sharing resources.  It will also help ensure the continuation of the vital military missions of the two Department of Defense (DOD) installations within the SGA, especially for Townsend Bombing Range and its expansion plans.

The new grant will continue funding for the Local Implementation Team Coordinator and provide partial funding for several other positions at the Georgia Department of Natural Resources and The Orianne Society. These positions will provide direct prescribed fire management assistance on both public and private lands.

One focus area for the new grant is groundcover restoration. A 46 acre groundcover donor site is being established at the Orianne Indigo Snake Preserve in Telfair County, GA. This will be a site for seed collection to aid groundcover establishment in other areas of the SGA on both public and private lands.

The new grant also provides funding for longleaf pine establishment at Sansavilla Wildlife Management Area along the Altamaha River in Wayne County, GA. Two Longleaf Academies will also be funded.

Image 1: The Nature Conservancy's LEAF Interns (Leaders in Environmental Action for the Future) help collect groundcover seed for use in groundcover restoration demonstration plots at Moody Forest Natural Area, Baxley, Georgia.  Photo by Randy Tate.

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