GCPEP - 25 Years of Collaboration

By Vernon Compton, The Longleaf Alliance

RECOGNIZING 25 Years of Collaboration RESTORING the Longleaf Ecosystem

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 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

Founding GCPEP Partners:

Champion International Corporation Eglin Air Force Base Florida Division of Forestry Northwest Florida Water Management District The Nature Conservancy U.S. Forest Service — National Forests in Florida and Alabama

one-quarter of what remained of the imperiled longleaf pine habitat.

Initially, partners identified a set of cooperative, voluntary conservation strategies to guide projects pertaining to upland and aquatic conservation targets. Of special note were unique natural communities such as steephead ravines and seepage slopes and rare species such as red-cockaded woodpeckers, the Gulf sturgeon, and the Okaloosa darter. Early conservation projects included a landscape-level site conservation plan, gully restoration and streambank stabilization with native vegetation, RCW cavity nests and translocations, cooperative prescribed fires, and public education programs.

Expanding the Footprint

Partners agreed that dedicated staff was essential to ensure the Partnership’s long-term success. Additional hands were needed to address conservation priorities, lead education and outreach efforts, and raise funds to support important projects. TNC hired initial staff in 1998, and in 2004 the Ecosystem Support Team was created as partners highlighted the need for additional resources and staff. TNC continued to facilitate the Partnership and provide staff support through 2010. At that time, the transition was made to The Longleaf Alliance (TLA). From there, the EST grew to a full-time team of four, trained to implement prescribed fire, control invasive species, and assist with recovery of rare species, focusing on the red-cockaded woodpecker. Today TLA has a team of up to 20 full-time and seasonal staff that support conservation priorities in the GCPEP landscape, including two additional teams, the Wetland Ecosystem Support Team (WEST) and the AMBBIS (Ambystoma bishopi) Team focused on the recovery of the reticulated flatwoods salamander. The field crews and support staff continue to make a tremendous difference by providing support to partners. That work would not be possible without the leadership provided by the partners and the longleaf ecosystem funding, both private and public, that helps to get more of the critical work on the ground completed.

From the beginning, partners hoped that the impact of the Partnership would grow and more landowners would join GCPEP as partners in the MOU, which is exactly what has happened. Today 16 partners work together on lands they manage in the landscape that covers over 1.3 million acres. Goals have remained consistent with a focus on restoration and management of the longleaf ecosystem. Partners prioritized actions on the ground as the greatest need. The highest priorities have centered on prescribed fire, invasive species control, rare species recovery, longleaf and groundcover restoration and management, land protection of crucial buffers and wildlife corridors, and private landowner education, outreach, and technical assistance. It is hard to imagine the level of conservation success without the extent of partner collaboration made possible by GCPEP.

2021 GCPEP Partners:

Department of Defense Florida Forest Service Resource Management Service, LLC Northwest Florida Water Management District U.S. Forest Service National Park Service Nokuse Plantation Florida Department of Environmental Protection Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission The Nature Conservancy Alabama Forestry Commission Gulf Power National Wild Turkey Federation Westervelt Ecological Services Escambia County, Florida The Longleaf Alliance

The trajectories for our conservation priorities are continually improving.

Longleaf on Conecuh National Forest. Photo by Vernon Compton.

Conservation in Action

When GCPEP started, partners averaged less than 100,000 acres of prescribed fire per year. Today partners regularly attain 200,000 – 250,000 acres per year, a more sustainable rotation for ecosystem health. Just this year, the TLA field crews have assisted in over 90,000 acres of prescribed fire. Prescribed fire is the driver of ecosystem health for many rare species and the habitat they require for survival, and the Partnership focus on getting more fire on the ground is making a difference.

The trajectories for our conservation priorities are continually improving. Two rare species, the Okaloosa darter and RCW, were in decline when the Partnership began and are now showing strong recovery. Endemic to the landscape, the Okaloosa darter benefited from stream restoration at Eglin Air Force Base (AFB) and resulting population recovery, moving from endangered under the Endangered Species Act to reclassification as threatened. The RCW was declining on three partner lands in the GCPEP landscape— Eglin AFB, Conecuh National Forest, and Blackwater River State Forest; today, the RCW population has reached recovered status on Eglin AFB. It has dramatically increased on both the Conecuh and Blackwater due to habitat restoration and other management actions, including cavity inserts. The Partnership focus has also been elevated on other rare species that rely on fire-maintained wetlands, such as the reticulated flatwoods salamander and the Florida bog frog. Like many natural communities across the landscape, fire is imperative during the growing or lightning season (during periods of dryness) to promote groundcover, an integral part of the life cycle of wildlife in the longleaf ecosystem.

Invasive species control efforts have also accelerated on species with the most significant threat potential, including cogongrass, tallow tree, privet, and climbing fern.

Land protection efforts have centered on key buffers and wildlife corridors providing for large-ranging species such as the Florida black bear and the RCW. Many partners played vital roles in the success of connectors like the Yellow River Ravines and Nokuse Plantation. Nokuse Plantation, an over 50,000-acre nature preserve, was envisioned and made possible by the generosity of the late M.C. Davis. Today it is home to thousands of gopher tortoises and the Florida black bear that he so loved. He also played a significant role in the first wildlife underpasses, providing safe passage for the bear and many other species moving between Nokuse Plantation and Eglin AFB.

With greater education, outreach, and technical assistance, so many more have learned about the tremendous diversity of the longleaf ecosystem and how to best restore and manage

A.

A. Orange fringed orchid. Photo by Vernon Compton. B. GCPEP native plant demonstration project at Eglin AFB. Photo by The Nature Conservancy. C. Early GCPEP Steering Committee Meeting. Photo by The Nature Conservancy.

It has been a pleasure and an honor to have been affiliated with GCPEP for all of these years. This organization was designed to reach out beyond the borders of our respective land bases and effectively cooperate towards mutual goals, and for it to have been doing just that for over 25 years is an absolutely remarkable accomplishment. Now, 25 years later, I am quite proud to represent Eglin AFB in this remarkable partnership. There is definitely something to be said for the satisfaction obtained by being involved in such a long-lasting and effective organization like GCPEP.

Bruce Hagedorn, Chief, Natural Resources, Eglin AFB

the system. As a result, the sight of young longleaf pine shooting up from the grass stage is becoming more and more common.

GCPEP and each of its partners deserve a ‘job well done!’ for 25 years of heightened conservation accomplishments. What a difference each contributing partner has made and continues to make today. More work remains, but GCPEP will shine on as an example of how working together best supports the recovery and management of the longleaf ecosystem.