LANDOWNER CORNER

“Rehabilitation” of this longleaf stand, with loblolly pine encroachment, is underway. Suella has completed the site’s first prescribed fire in less than a year of property ownership. Photo by Laci Smitherman of Georgia-Alabama Land Trust.

By Suella McCrimmon Planning FOR LONGLEAF

As a child in the backseat, I rode with my father and uncles to see Jim Fowler’s pine trees. Mr. Fowler was their cousin, and in the mid-twenties, began growing slash pine as a crop in Treutlen County, Georgia. He and Dr. Charles Herty, the chemist who developed newsprint from wood pulp, were actively interested in pines. In 1933, the Soperton News of Treutlen County printed on the first newsprint manufactured from wood pulp. The wood was from Jim Fowler’s trees. The trees I saw impressed me because they were planted in well-defined rows. That trip sparked my interest in pines. When I see pictures of young children surrounded by pines, I remember.

For more than 20 years, I lived in Emanuel County, Georgia, where pines covered approximately two-thirds of the land area. As a retired teacher, I enrolled in forestry classes at the local technical school and read Looking for Longleaf: The Fall and Rise of an American Forest by Larry Early. Emanuel County was named on the first page of Mr. Early’s book. Longleaf pine became my favorite tree, and I quickly learned about its rich ecology and history.

The wood of longleaf is high-quality, dense, resinous, and strong. Poles are the most valuable of its wood products. Because the taproot is long and grows straight down, longleaf is drought resistant. It is also resistant to many of the diseases and insects which plague other southern pines. Fire clears competing vegetation, allows seedlings to sprout, and facilitates the return of vegetation natural to a longleaf forest. Longleaf is, in fact, fire-friendly. At the time of European settlement, there were approximately 90 million acres of longleaf along the Eastern seaboard and northern Gulf Coast. Longleaf pine had a decided influence on southern history.

In 2010, I planted longleaf on family property in Treutlen County, Georgia, but that planting was unsuccessful. A local producer of longleaf seedlings visited the site and explained

Prescribed burn on Suella McCrimmon's family property in Treutlen County. These regularly burned Georgia longleaf are now ten years old. Photo by Will Heath. Rolling hills on the McCrimmon property in Perry County, Alabama. Photo by Laci Smitherman of Georgia-Alabama Land Trust.

Growing longleaf is, for me, a reason to learn and stay active.

the first planting likely failed due to a hardpan in the old fields. He also identified someone who would mechanically loosen the soil and plant seedlings at an appropriate depth. In the years since, I’ve burned regularly and happily watched my longleaf grow. Once I began thinking seriously about returning to Alabama, where I have family roots and childhood memories, it dawned on me that leaving my trees would be difficult. So in November of 2020, I purchased 66 acres in Perry County, the upper reaches of Alabama’s longleaf belt, about 50 miles south of metropolitan Birmingham. What follows are my reflections on that purchase and my plans for growing longleaf.

My land in Alabama is rolling hills bordered on two sides by the Talladega National Forest (TNF). A preliminary description of the area (L. Smitherman, personal communication, August 9, 2021) described the property type as “rugged hills with rounded tops and slopes that vary from gentle to steep.” The up and down of a newly built road confirms that description. The soil, sometimes described as loamy, is nonsticky clay mixed with sand. On a pre-purchase visit, I spotted two healthy, grass-stage volunteer longleaf. The soil worked well for those young pines. The acreage is in two plots that touch on a corner. Twenty-eight of the acres are currently planted in eight-year-old loblolly. The remaining portion is in eleven-year-old longleaf, which has not been burned regularly. There is also mesic hardwood along an intermittent creek from the southwest corner of the longleaf portion to the mid-line of its northern boundary adjacent to the TNF. My friend, an experienced Alabama forester, called it a “rehabilitation stand.” In the year that I’ve owned the property, I’ve already sprayed the loblolly stand to control woody competition and burned the longleaf stand.

I look forward to allowing the loblolly to grow until it’s mature enough to be harvested for pulpwood, then replant longleaf. With frequent prescribed fire, the vegetation and creatures natural to longleaf will hopefully return. I’ve observed birds and butterflies and the tracks of deer and smaller four-legged animals on walkabouts. Those creatures roam freely to and from the adjacent TNF. The endangered redcockaded woodpecker is also established in the TNF. The nearby Cahaba, Alabama’s longest free-flowing river, shelters abundant biodiversity.

Trees provide useful wood products, pleasant settings for recreation, and offer environmental benefits. Sustainability

recognizes that production matters and that harvested trees should be replanted, but also that trees facilitate clean water and carbon sequestration. Georgia Congressman David Scott re ported the EPA’s latest estimate that forests in the U.S. sequester over 10% of our emissions (“Q&A Mr. Chair man,” 2021). My 66 acres of approximately ten-year-old pine sequester roughly 358 tons of greenhouse gases (D. Chappell, personal communication, September 2021). Trees may be grown sustainably, but growing trees requires time, patience, problemsolving, and long-range planning. The principle of an “ecological civilization” rings true for me. Doyle (2021) described the origin of that phrase; then used it to represent a fundamental mutual relationship between humanity's wellbeing and our planet's well-being. Planting longleaf is my one small step toward an ecological civilization.

Because I have no direct heirs, I intend to establish a conservation agreement with an organization to care for the property after my death. Longleaf pine can be managed to enhance its ecological setting and live for 300 years or more. Hopefully, red-cockaded woodpeckers will someday flourish in the longleaf ecosystem of which my property is a part. I like knowing the longleaf pine I nurture will touch the future.

Planning well is necessary to accomplish any long-term goal; for me, that goal is to grow longleaf pine. I expect to read, ask questions, and maintain relationships with more knowledgeable people to do just that. I like being a learner, am active and alert in my late seventies, and hope to remain so in the years ahead. Growing longleaf is, for me, a reason to learn and stay active. Watching trees grow is fun!

Natural longleaf recruits

embody the future Suella References McCrimmon envisions for Doyle, L.A. (2021). Toward an ecological civilization:her property. Photo by Laci Smitherman of GeorgiaAlabama Land Trust. Perspectives from Daoism. Journal of Daoist Studies. 14. 221-228. Q&A Mr. Chairman. (Summer, 2021). Georgia Forestry. 5, 24-28.