The endangered longleaf pine covers only 3% of its original range across the Southeastern United States. Several conservation organizations are making efforts to restore the keystone species to its former glory.

The Longleaf Alliance, established in 1995, is a leading group in the species’ conservation, currently operating across nine states. Local Implementation Team Consul Ryan Bollinger said the species has long struggled due to a multitude of factors.

“We lost so much of [longleaf pine] due to logging and certain invasive species,” Bollinger said. “And their natural regeneration patterns were not adapted to development and agricultural practices.”

Bollinger said longleaf pines are vital to North Carolinanian ecosystems and had formed many positive adaptations during their dominance of the southeastern parts of the state.

“Longleaf pine has traits that help carry fire. They’re adapted, when fire comes through, to be able to regenerate,” Bollinger said.

The pines are a dense, resilient wood that is resistant to invasive species and the effects of climate change, meaning it can withstand all kinds of intense weather conditions. In trying to reforest North Carolina, planters want the most resilient, long-lasting trees. For that, longleaf pines are the way to go.

The NC State Cooperative Tree Improvement Program is pushing for a wider distribution of healthy, high-quality longleafs to replanters. Through the use of rigorous testing, the best parent trees are identified and interbred to amplify aesthetic and practical traits, like straightness, disease resistance and productivity. 

Trevor Walker, co-director of the Cooperative and assistant professor in the Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources, said loblolly pines, an extremely common species in the South, are vital to lumber production in North Carolina and have had extremely successful replanting efforts. 

The longleaf pine, however, was the tree that originally dominated the North Carolina landscape. Efforts began to try and reforest the longleaf, but it was found that a majority of the seedlings came from wild collections, meaning that growers didn’t know where their trees originated.

To remedy this problem, the Cooperative and the Longleaf Alliance partnered on a five-year project to improve the genetic resources for these trees. With funding from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, they are working to ensure local growers can receive seedlings that are predisposed to good health and high pine cone production. These traits further guarantee the success of the species and of individual farmers.

The program has been in operation for over 60 years and also supports student research. They work on a range of topics like the improvement of breeding, tree selection and genetic improvement. They also collaborate with local farmers and forestry programs to bring the best trees to as much land as possible. 

Similarly, the core of The Longleaf Alliance’s mission is education, including hands-on classes and fieldwork revolving around forest management. 

“Our bread and butter is outreach, training and education for private landowners and land managers,” Bollinger said. “We have fire festivals, we have education days, we have single-day events, we kind of just mix it up.”

In their goal to promote responsible stewardship, the organization teaches professionals in the field and private landowners who want to help. They have also hosted the Longleaf Biennial Conference across the South since 1996, open to anyone invested in the restoration of longleaf ecosystems.

The Alliance has a 15-year plan detailing its conservation goals for the future, including maintaining longleaf pine forests that are currently in good condition and improving and restoring forests in poor condition. Some ways Longleaf hopes to achieve these goals are by operating based on the most up-to-date scientific information available and through partnerships with similar organizations.

According to the National Wildlife Federation, more than 30 endangered and threatened species rely on longleaf ecosystems. It’s not only an effort to restore the longleaf, but to bolster every aspect of the ecosystems harmed by deforestation. 

“We’re bringing these species back. We’re hoping to recover things like the red cockaded woodpecker,” Bollinger said.

It is only through community collaboration between private landowners, researchers, corporations, government agencies and conservation groups that progress has been made. According to America’s Longleaf, over 2 million acres of longleaf pines have been gained since 2010. The amount of longleaf ecosystems being maintained with controlled burns has increased every year for the past four years.

“We’re one of the most successful initiatives in North America and it’s because we work so well together, and we see the value in what we’re doing,” Bollinger said.