South Lowcountry – ACE Basin (SoLoACE) Longleaf Partnership

South Lowcountry – ACE Basin (SoLoACE) Longleaf Partnership Update

By Bobby Franklin, The Longleaf Alliance

The ‘Dog Days of Summer’ are in full swing in the SoLoACE LIT as I write this.  Summer has been feast or famine rainfall wise with two three-week periods of little or no rain followed by 8-12 inches in a week’s time on three occasions!  July 17-19 saw a successful Longleaf and Fire 201 Academy at the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory’s Conference Center in Aiken County.  The highlight was a field tour featuring a demonstration prescribed burn at Hitchcock Woods, a 2,000-acre urban forest in the town of Aiken.  A big shout-out to Bennett Tucker and his fire team for showing us the challenges of prescribed burning in the wildland-urban interface!  The Partnership was also pleased to help South Carolina Audubon place a conservation easement on Silver Bluff Audubon Center on the Savannah River where they are actively involved in restoring longleaf on the dry sandy ridges along the river.

As always, thanks to all our partners: The Longleaf Alliance, Clemson University, Ducks Unlimited, Hitchcock Woods, International Paper, Lowcountry Land Trust, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, National Wild Turkey Federation, USDA NRCS, The Nature Conservancy, Nemours Wildlife Foundation, Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, South Carolina Audubon Society, South Carollina Department of Natural Resources, South Carolina Forestry Commission, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, and U.S. Forest Service/Savannah River Forest Station.

IMAGE CAPTION:

F201 class observing a demonstration prescribed burn at Hitchcock Woods in Aiken, SC.  Photo by Bobby Franklin.

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