Tuesday, January 29, 2019

New Longleaf Forest

40 more acres in the hills of Alabama has been converted back to the native longleaf pines.  The elevation these longleaf are being planted on is about 1370 feet, much different than the Coastal Plains longleaf.  This tract had one of the native trees growing on it and was not harvested.  The tree has a 12" diameter and was left as a testament to the trees native range. 

These men are the best at what they do.  I enjoy trying to communicate with them while we are planting.  Two men in this crew planted trees for me two years ago.  They were excited to see how the trees had grown that they had planted and it gave them motivation to do a good job planting.  Most of the time they never get to see the results of their hard work because they move on to a different location and never see what a site looks like later.   
In the back ground you can see the highest point in Alabama. 

These, over 20,000 seedlings, are off to a good start with all of the rain we have been having.  They will on day make a beautiful forest where their needles will make a special music that no other pine makes when blowing in the breeze. With fire going through these every two or three years it will become a place frequented by wildlife because of the great habitat these trees provide with good management.