The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Farm Service Agency (FSA) announced in October a major new practice to restore longleaf pine forests across nine southeastern states. Up to 250,000 acres are authorized for the new Longleaf Pine Initiative, known as CP36, in the Continuous Conservation Reserve Program (CCRP). This acreage will be in addition to the more than 200,000 total acres of longleaf pine forest already planted the last few years through general CRP signups under the national Longleaf Pine Conservation Priority Area. The Continuous CRP CP36 practice accelerates implementation of one of the highest ecosystem conservation priorities in the southeastern United States, reports the Wildlife Management Institute (WMI).

Longleaf pine forests once covered some 90 million acres of the coastal plain, from eastern Texas to southeastern Virginia. However, they were reduced by human land uses to only 3 to 4 million acres. Widely spaced trees that allow abundant sunlight to the ground, frequent fires and a lush, diverse herbaceous understory characterize the climax-stage longleaf pine ecosystem. The widespread conversion of this ecosystem for agriculture and loblolly pine plantation culture, as well as degradation due to elimination of frequent fire from the southern landscape, has led to corresponding, serious declines of numerous wildlife species. Extensive restoration of this ecosystem is a high management priority to enable recovery of populations of red-cockaded woodpeckers, Bachman's sparrows, brown-headed nuthatches, northern bobwhites, gopher tortoises, pine snakes, gopher frogs and indigo snakes.

An impressive, diverse coalition of more than 40 federal and state wildlife and forestry agencies, conservation organizations and environmental groups united to conceive and support the practice. The Longleaf Alliance (www.longleafalliance.org) launched the collective effort to create the practice, which resulted in a formal proposal to FSA in April 2005. The breadth and depth of support among conservationists for restoring the longleaf pine ecosystem, and the substantial value to both forest and wildlife resources are illustrated by the fact that this may be the first time that the Southern Group of State Foresters and the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies have endorsed the same proposal. Likewise, the proposal as been emphatically supported by both bobwhite and songbird conservationists as a major step forward for a landscape-scale opportunity to restore a critical suite of wildlife resources in the Southeast.

Under the CCRP, signup occurs continually throughout the year and eligible landowners are automatically accepted for the practice without having to compete during periodic national signups. The CP36 can be enrolled as either 10- or 15-year contracts and will be eligible for a one-time $100-per-acre signing incentive payment (SIP). A one-time practice incentive payment (PIP) will be made equal to 40 percent of the establishment costs, in addition to the standard 50 percent cost-share payments. The CP36 is available for lands with a cropping history within the pre-existing national Longleaf Pine Conservation priority Area.

For more information, contact Don McKenzie, WMI, at 501-941-7994.