Spring 2017 Longleaf Partnership Council Meeting

America’s Longleaf Restoration Initiative joined members and friends in Montgomery, AL on April 3-4, 2017 for a Longleaf Partnership Council semi-annual meeting to promote broader understanding, coordination of, and participation in ongoing activities in support of longleaf pine restoration within the longleaf range, and attend to the business of the Council. Partners discussed the progress of various “game changers” that could speed up the pace of longleaf restoration across the landscape. Council members also observed some individual partner updates regarding on-the-ground conservation efforts, Farm Bill and other potential opportunities, mapping and conservation planning at the local implementation team level, and prescribed burning. Large landowner engagement and at-risk species conservation were also discussed. The longleaf community looks forward to all the progress we can make together through the new year!

Following the Longleaf Partnership Council meeting, many partners stayed over to attend the 14^th Annual Stewardship Partners Meeting co-hosted by Alabama Power Company, Southern Company and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.  The conference turned out to be a fun and productive way to network with peers and promote conservation in the Southeast.   The conference featured experts in a variety of topics, an overview of Alabama environmental history, storytelling through photography, and field tours nearby. 

Partners in the America's Longleaf Restoration Initiative are dedicated to achieving a goal of 8-million acres of longleaf back on the landscape by 2025. The Longleaf Stewardship Fund and non-traditional partners have also contributed to new ideas and conservation opportunities in high priority regions through the local implementation teams as Jim Guldin, Supervisory Research Ecologist and Project Leader with the U.S. Forest Service, highlighted. To date, 94 grants totaling $18.6 million have been awarded to projects that will impact nearly 850,000 acres of longleaf habitat.

The Longleaf Partnership Council looks forward to having another successful meeting in the North Carolina Sandhills Region during the week of October 23rd.

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