Funding Available to Private Landowners for Longleaf Pine Conservation

Texas A&M Forest Service (TFS), on behalf of the Texas Longleaf Pine Implementation Team, announced today that funding is now available to private landowners to conserve and increase the total acreage of longleaf pine within Texas.

This funding, provided by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) and International Paper (NYSE: IP), through the Forestland Stewards Initiative, a partnership of NFWF and International Paper, was granted to conserve and restore southern forestlands representing some of America’s most iconic natural areas.

The Texas Longleaf Pine Implementation Team, including TFS and partner organizations, will restore and enhance approximately 5,000 acres of existing longleaf along the Central to Southeast Texas corridor. The project aims to educate private landowners on longleaf ecology and related resources and provide targeted technical assistance to engage landowners in available longleaf stewardship programs.

The longleaf pine ecosystem provides critical habitat for endangered wildlife and economic opportunities for local communities. This native ecosystem, once spanning over 92 million acres across the southern United States, now covers approximately 4.3 million acres.

“The contributions made by IP and NFWF through the Forestland Stewards Initiative will go a long way to restoring one of the most critical and diverse forest ecosystems within the state of Texas,” Hughes Simpson, project manager for the Texas longleaf conservation grant, said. “The forest sector contributes $27 billion dollars to the Texas economy annually. This project will add to that contribution, while providing critical habitat to endangered plant and animal species in Texas, resulting in healthy, working forests.”

The $650,000 in grants to support forestland restoration and working forests throughout the Piney Woods on the Louisiana-Texas border will be shared with the National Wild Turkey Federation in Louisiana.

Landowners interested in restoring and enhancing longleaf pine on their property can apply for financial assistance at http://tfsweb.tamu.edu/longleaf or by contacting TFS at 979-458-6650 or their local TFS office. Funding is currently available to assist with costs associated with site preparation, tree planting, prescribed burning and forest stand improvement activities in Angelina, Jasper, Newton, Sabine and Tyler counties.

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Hughes Simpson, TFS Program Coordinator II, 979-458-6658, [email protected]

Jon Scott, NFWF, Manager, Southeast Region, 202-595-2609, [email protected]

Texas A&M Forest Service Communications, 979-458-6606, [email protected]