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​Longleaf pine forest

Longleaf Landscape Stewardship Fund

​Longleaf pine forest | Credit: Christine Ambrose

The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation's Longleaf Landscape Stewardship Fund expands, enhances and accelerates longleaf pine ecosystem restoration across longleaf pine’s historical range throughout the southeastern United States.

Partners

The longleaf pine ecosystem once encompassed more than 90 million acres of North America, from Virginia to Texas. Unique to the southeastern United States, it contains a stunning diversity of plants and animals, including rare and endangered wildlife like the indigo snake, red-cockaded woodpecker and gopher tortoise. Unfortunately, less than 5 percent of the original acreage remains, and threatened and endangered species that depend on the habitat are struggling to survive.

The Longleaf Landscape Stewardship Fund is a landmark public-private partnership supported with federal funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, the U.S. Forest Service, the U.S. Department of Defense, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, International Paper’s Forestland Stewards Partnership, One Tree Planted, Southern Company,  American Forest Foundation, the Arbor Day Foundation, Altria Group and The Orton Foundation, an affiliate of The Moore Charitable Foundation, founded by Louis Bacon.

Funding priorities for this program include:

  • ​Restoring the longleaf pine ecosystem through collaborative and result-oriented actions that help advance the goals of the Range-Wide Conservation Plan for Longleaf Pine;
  • Maintaining, enhancing and expanding productive understory habitat of the longleaf pine ecosystem;
  • Aiding federal agencies in achieving their mission-oriented objectives;
  • Supporting the recovery of iconic species through habitat enhancements;Strengthening the capacity of local organizations to establish, advance or lead local longleaf pine ecosystem restoration efforts; and
  • Expanding the number of landowners engaged in longleaf pine restoration and maintenance on private lands, and supporting working forests by demonstrating their environmental and socioeconomic benefits.

The Longleaf Landscape Stewardship Fund builds on the success of the Longleaf Legacy Program, a partnership between Southern Company and NFWF since 2004, which has invested more than $8.7 million into projects that will restore more than 87,000 acres of longleaf pine forest and the native species that rely on it.​

Application Information


Longleaf Landscape Stewardship Fund 2024 Request for Proposals - CLOSED View Now
Program Fact Sheet Download the PDF
2023 Grant Slate Download the PDF
Longleaf Forests and Rivers Business Plan Download the PDF
A Decade of Longleaf Conservation Infographic Download the PDF
2022 Grant Slate Download the PDF
2021 Grant Slate Download the PDF
2020 Grant Slate Download the PDF
2019 Grant Slate Download the PDF
2018 Grant Slate Download the PDF
Staff Representatives

Director, Southern Regional Office

Program Director, Southern Forests

Manager, Southern Forests

Regional Program Coordinator