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Today’s #WellManaged forest is the longleaf pine/wiregrass ecosystem. Did you know they are one of the most diverse forests in the US? You can find up to 50 species of plants in one square meter. 
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Before I begin I want to acknowledge that longleaf pine forests were historically managed by indigenous people, most notably the Muscogee Creek people and their relatives, and lightning. Settlers brought the ecosystem to the brink of extinction. 2/
(Disclaimer: I have never lived in the Southeast; I spent a few weeks in the Carolinas and have done some independent research, but I’m not an expert by any means! I just really love these trees! Look at their grass stage!) 3/
So, these forests were quite literally built by fire. In most of the US, fire is an integral part of forest management & it will be a common theme throughout this series. Also, I say “forest” but they are more like savannas. Very similar to the Northeast’s pine barrens! 4/
Beginning in the 1800s, longleaf forests were cut down by settlers and fire restrictions in the early 20th century further diminished the native forests. 90% of the original ~100 mil acres of longleaf was destroyed. Loblolly pines (and pine plantations) took their place. 5/
Again, there’s way too much history to delve into here, but we now know what Indigenous people always knew: how ecologically valuable longleaf systems are. Starting in the 1990s (?) there has been a huge effort to restore them. 6/
I visited a longleaf forest that was being restored in South Carolina with the help of the @longleafallianc. Look how happy I am. Pine trees! Fire! YEAH!!! 7/
This is where the Stoddard-Neel approach to forestry comes in. Basically, the S-N method seeks to balance economic and ecologic concerns — it’s not a money maker, like pine plantations, but it’s not ecologically devastating either. 8/
Most orgs like TNC don’t make money through timber harvesting, so they focus on restoration with fire only, but for small landowners harvesting trees can be an important source of supplemental income. 9/
The owner of this forest harvested trees, leased his land for hunting, AND used fire to maintain longleafs. It was all connected. (And intensively managed!) 10/
But what’s really important for longleaf forests is reintroducing fire. Southerners know how to burn and burn *well*. The West should look to the Southeast when it comes to embracing fire as a part of life. 11/
I want to loop back to the beginning, and admit I don’t know much about the role Indigenous people play in managing longleaf forests today. Someone must have more knowledge than I do, and I’d love for them to add on to this thread. 12/
So what can we learn from longleaf forests? 1) Collaboration is key. Most of the Southeast is private land, and orgs had to get really creative on bringing this ecosystem back. 13/
2) We get more done when we work together. Over the past 10 years, millions of acres of longleaf has been restored. It’s nearing the equivalent of restoring all the forests under the NWFP. Wow!!!!!! 14/
3) Thinking of forests as whole ecosystems is so so so important. Longleaf pine trees, on their own, are not rare. But the longleaf *ecosystem* is. 15/
Applying a single-lens focus to forests is a catastrophe waiting to happen. Forests are more than the carbon they store, more than the owls they house, and more than logs waiting to be made into wood products. 16/
Thank you for coming to my longleaf TED Talk. I will end with this incredible TikTok @LarsFilson sent me: https://m.tiktok.com/v/6920290497223200005.html?u_code=dgkha9m23if2ha&preview_pb=0&language=en&_d=dgkha9b9fk2a1d&share_item_id=6920290497223200005×tamp=1611860227
