North Carolina Sandhills Longleaf Pine Project Update

Stephanie Wagner, Sandhills Area Land Trust

As the first year of our NFWF grant comes to a close, the NC Sandhills Longleaf Pine Project has held seven events, providing over 400 landowners and community members a deeper connection to the need and methods for longleaf pine restoration. At the end of the summer, the Sandhills Area Land Trust and its partners hosted two longleaf pine field days. The first was for private landowners in Harnett County, which expanded outreach further east into the NC Sandhills. The second was held in Moore County and focused on minority landowners. Both events featured a structured indoor portion on all aspects of longleaf management and conservation, followed by field tours of private longleaf properties and a hands-on, peer-based look at prescribed fire as a forest management tool. Also on the agenda, was the premiere of a video produced with the NC Sandhills Prescribed Burn Association (PBA). This video is being used in person and online as an educational piece to build awareness of the PBA and its role of increasing capacity to accomplish prescribed burning through mentorship and resource-sharing.  These events and materials are leveraging our NFWF grant thanks to funding from NC State Extension Forestry, NC Agricultural and Technical State University, and the NC Tree Farm Program.

Image 1: Consulting Forester assisting with a field day.  Photo by Stephanie Wagner, Sandhills Area Land Trust. 

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