NWFWMD plants nearly 1 million longleaf pines

HAVANA – Nearly one million longleaf pines will now take root in the Florida Panhandle thanks to a recent planting effort by the Northwest Florida Water Management District.

The District planted 830,600 longleaf pine tubelings – or young, seedling trees – during the month of January. Workers spread the tubelings across 1,198 acres of District lands in the Econfina Creek and Chipola River Water Management Areas in Bay, Jackson, and Washington counties.

This marks the 23rd consecutive year the District has planted native species on its Water Management Area lands. In total, the District has planted more than 14 million longleaf pines, nearly 825,000 other pine species, almost 700,000 cypress trees and 6.35 million native grass (wiregrass and toothache grass) tubelings since 1993.

A year ago, more than one million longleaf pine and wiregrass tubelings and native hardwoods were planted in Bay, Escambia, Holmes, Jackson, Walton and Washington counties.

“The magnitude of these plantings clearly demonstrates this District’s commitment to restoring native species to public lands throughout the Panhandle,” NWFWMD executive director Brett Cyphers said. “Our Governing Board and staff understand the significant role the longleaf pine habitat plays in northwest Florida and we take great pride in our annual planting efforts.”

The longleaf pine is a critical piece of northern Florida ecosystems. The tree’s presence helps improve plant species diversity and provides wildlife habitat for animal and insect species. It also provides erosion control and natural fuel for effective prescribed burns.

Funding for the planting project came largely from revenue collected through the District’s timber sales and was complemented by an additional $12,750 from the Longleaf Stewardship Fund, a partnership between The Nature Conservancy in Florida, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Gulf Power and Southern Company, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Department of Defense, and Natural Resources Conservation Service.