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Blackwater River State Forest seepage. Photo by Vernon Compton.
RECOGNIZING
25 Years of Collaboration RESTORING the Longleaf Ecosystem By Vernon Compton, The Longleaf Alliance
potential to reconnect the longleaf ecosystem and the possibility those lands could provide enough contiguous forest to aid in the recovery of the red-cockaded woodpecker and the Florida black bear. With an agreement to formalize the Partnership, The Nature Conservancy (TNC) led the effort with the six other landowners to create a Memorandum of Understanding. The purpose of the MOU was to develop and implement a voluntary and cooperative stewardship strategy to sustain the long-term viability of native plants and animals, the integrity of ecosystems, the production of commodities and ecosystem services, and the human communities that depend upon them. The MOU was signed by the original seven partners in 1996. Those first partners, including a state forest, two national forests, a water management district, the Department of Defense, a private timber company, and TNC, collectively managed 840,000 acres stretching from the Gulf of Mexico to the Conecuh National Forest in south Alabama. One of the largest expanses of longleaf pine remaining in the world, these acres represented what was known at the time to be nearly
What started as a group of landowners recognizing the need for more collaboration to address the decline of the longleaf forest and associated rare species resulted in creating a landscape-level partnership, the Gulf Coastal Plain Ecosystem Partnership (GCPEP). GCPEP is a great example of what can happen when landowners work together for a greater good. In this case, the greatest beneficiary of the heightened collaboration is the longleaf ecosystem itself. The Beginnings The idea began to circulate in 1994 and 1995 among agencies and landowners working to better understand longleaf pine, the effects of fire, and the causes of declining red-cockaded woodpecker (RCW) populations and other rare species. Many science-related meetings were held at Eglin Air Force Base, and research led by The Nature Conservancy was discussed. Field trips offered increased opportunities to learn from each other, focused on what was working or not working with restoration and management efforts. Support for the idea of partnering together grew. There was excitement about the [ 10 ]
