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The Longleaf Alliance
president’s message CAROL DENHOF
Branching Out Many of us will immediately picture our favorite tree — the longleaf pine — when hearing the word ‘branching.’ Longleaf pines certainly have distinctive, stout branches that serve as one of the identifying characteristics we look for when distinguishing it from other southern pines. These branches hold the tufted clusters of long needles and large cones aloft by reaching up and away from the tree's trunk. This arrangement allows ample light to filter through to the forest floor, encouraging the abundance of plant and animal species that support the overall diversity for which this system is known. And the structure of the canopy and branches of a longleaf pine adds to this species' resilience to high wind events like hurricanes and tornadoes. In terms of our longleaf efforts, though, we want to think of “branching out” in the context of how it relates to initiating different activities and opportunities. These new activities must be aimed at keeping our existing partners engaged and reaching new audiences. We are a stronger collaborative when we incorporate a variety of perspectives, experiences, and skills into our strategies for getting more and better work done on the ground. Building out this community of thinkers and doers is instrumental to pushing forward the shared goals and objectives of The Longleaf Alliance and our partners within America’s Longleaf. These lines from Suzy Kassem’s poem Forked Branches bring to mind the beginnings of the longleaf effort, the growth and expansion of our partnerships over the years, and the The Longleaf Leader | Summer 2022
different roles that we all play in our similar dream of bringing back longleaf: And though our roots belong to The same tree, Our branches have grown In different directions. Our tree, Now resembles a thousand Other trees In a sea of a trillion Other trees With parallel destinies And similar dreams. “Branching Out” to increase the amount of longleaf restoration and conservation occurring in the Southeast is an important topic and one that we will focus on at the upcoming Biennial Longleaf Conference in Wilmington this October. We will examine ways to increase awareness of the longleaf ecosystem and widen the longleaf restoration community tent by bringing non-traditional partners into our efforts. Reaching outside of the traditional longleaf box allows us to expand our reach and make meaningful long-term advances in longleaf restoration.
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Volume XV - Issue 2
