ARRA Blog

Monthy Update - May 2010
Thu, 03 Jun 2010 14:31:00 +0000 - The cogongrass was sprayed May 20th -21st at Baldwin. We are soliciting bids on the signage and working on other projects that will enhance the demonstration forest.


Herbaceous weed control was applied on the planting at Geneva. We originally contracted a banded application but the application was delayed to allow the new trees to begin root growth. In the interim, the competing vegetation made it difficult for the applicator to follow the rows. Timberland Silvicultural Services was able to treat 36 acres of ground application and then Crop Production Services completed the remaining 194 acres of aerial broadcast. Jones Vegetation Management completed their portion of the understory mulching in May. Bach and Devos will finish in early June. We are 200 acres short of the 1,400 acre goal. If the weather and ground conditions permit, we will try to complete the remaining acres during the summer months.


Chesnut Forestry has been working at Choccolocco retreating kudzu spots from last fall.
Monthly Update - April 2010
Thu, 13 May 2010 15:41:00 +0000 - April

The burning at Baldwin was completed. The contractor worked over a three day period waiting on the best conditions for the spring burn. The quantity of understory fuel and cogongrass provided their own challenges. Even though there was some scorching we were pleased with the overall project. The roads have been worked adding ditches and water bars where necessary and gates were installed. The contract for cogongrass spraying was awarded to Progressive Solutions and will be completed this month.
Chopping was completed at Choccolocco, this completes the mechanical work. The site prep areas will resprout during the summer and herbicide will be ground and aerially applied late summer.
The mulchers completed work at Little River and moved back to Geneva. The weather is cooperating and we anticipate completing all the planned acres. Jones Vegetation Management will complete their work the beginning of May. Bach and Devos Forestry and Wildlife Services will continue to work through the month.
Monthly Update - March 2010
Tue, 06 Apr 2010 13:33:00 +0000 - March has been a busy month. Contractors have been active at all four sites, spring Longleaf Academies are wrapping up, and the brochure on the Economics of Longleaf Pine Management is under review.

The interior fine lanes at Baldwin were completed. The purpose of these 12-foot wide firebreaks is to separate the forest into smaller compartments that will enable a more manageable controlled burn. The lack of previous fire and the invasion of cogongrass across much of the site have created a heavy fuel load and the potential for significant heat buildup during the burn. This month the ground conditions were dry enough to allow the burn of 100 acres of the site. The burning will be completed as soon as the weather permits. We are working with the road contractor to finalize road improvement plans.

The majority of the chopping at Choccolocco has been completed. In addition to the drum chopper, we added a cutting machine and bulldozer to lay down the thickest areas of privet and small trees. There will be little activity for the remaining part of the spring and summer except for re-treating the kudzu spots from last fall.

Mulching the understory began at Little River during March. Currently there are three machines running and the work will be completed during the first week of April. During the summer these areas will re-sprout with vegetation followed by an herbicide application in early fall.

The weather is cooperating and spring is here so the ground conditions at Geneva are improving. One contractor has begun mulching the additional areas. During the next month, a second contractor will arrive and mulching should be completed by the end of April. The trees planted during the winter suffered some freeze damage, but most of them are showing signs of new growth. The herbaceous release contract on the longleaf planted during the winter has been awarded to Timberland Silvicultural Services.

The herbicide site prep at Choccolooco was awarded to Timberland Silvicultural Services and Crop Production Services. The Geneva and Little River understory control treatment contract was awarded to Crop Production Services. This work is scheduled for late summer and early fall.

Thirty-eight professional natural resource managers have used the $800 scholarships provided through the ARRA grant to attend a Longleaf Academy. There are 12 remaining scholarships scheduled to be used in April. The Academies have provided professional natural resource managers an opportunity to learn more about longleaf pine management.
Monthly Update - February 2010
Mon, 01 Mar 2010 14:47:00 +0000 - Work is progressing at Baldwin in preparation of burning. Fire lanes have been installed on the eastside of Baldwin and we have access to the westside of the property. The paper work for the turnout permit has been filed with Baldwin County. Once the permit is secured, the roadwork will begin.

Chopping at Choccolocco began in February and will continue through March. We will continue to monitor their progress to ensure completion in a timely manner.

Mulching continues at Geneva; however, the rain events have slowed the work. As spring approaches, the ground conditions should improve so we can complete the designated areas. Additional sites have been identified in order to reach the targeted acreage.

We are in the process of soliciting bids for cogongrass control at Baldwin, herbicide site prep at Choccolocco, herbaceous control and understory competition control at Geneva, and understory competition control at Little River. This work will begin in April and continue through the year.
Monthly Update - January 2010
Tue, 02 Feb 2010 20:25:00 +0000 -

The Alliance met with AFC personnel on Choccolocco to review the mowing in progress. The fuelwood area is not clean enough for good planter access and will be added to the mowing and chopping contracts. Bach and Devos completed the mowing of 250 acres ($41,448) on Choccolocco. Chesnut Forestry was delayed in starting the chopping, however they are scheduled to begin and complete the work during February.

Contracts with Perry Malone Forestry and Robert Clark Homes have been executed for the burning and interior fire lines for the eastside on Baldwin. Morris Malone has been award the contract for road work; they are in the process of securing proper permits for the entrance on the eastside. The Alliance is working with AFC to secure access the westside of the property.

Little River has added 70 acres planting to their restoration project. A grant from the Arbor Day Foundation will supply the trees and ARRA funding will supply the labor. Planting is expected the first week of February. Mulching of the cone collection areas is still scheduled for February and extend into March.

Geneva mulching continues at a slow pace, 770 acres have been completed. Currently one contractor (Jones Vegetative Management) is working and the other is expected to return during February. Mulching of understory will stop the end of April in order for sufficient “green up” before applying herbicide. The newly planted longleaf is showing signs of freeze damage and The Alliance will continue to monitor their survival.


Monthly Update - December 2009
Sun, 10 Jan 2010 21:03:00 +0000 -

Bids for mechanical vegetative control on Choccolocco were awarded to Bach and Devos for 233 acres of mowing and to Chesnut Forestry for chopping 219 acres. Chopping is expected to begin in December. Rain continues to affect operations on Geneva. Through November, 700 acres have been mulched there at a total expense of $189,270.  The area to be planted was burned in mid-November with marginal success due to scattered fuel sources. Mussel Creek Forestry Services will plant 230 acres with containerized longleaf seedlings in December. Several contractors have been contacted for bids on roadwork, fire lines, and burning at Baldwin. Work there is expected to begin in late December or early January. Little River mowing will begin in mid-December. Treatment acres scheduled there have increased from the original 300 to 406. Even though we added the 100 acres, the overall cost at Little River will stay within the projected amount.


Monthly Update - November 2009
Sun, 10 Jan 2010 21:00:00 +0000 -

Anne Rilling began employment with The Longleaf Alliance on November 2nd with the primary responsibility of coordinating the ARRA projects. On November 3rd, she visited the Geneva site and met with the contractors and staff. On November 4th, Anne, Rhett, and David Jones visited the Baldwin to begin development of a final management plan for restoring that forest.  Bids were solicited for mechanical vegetation control on the Choccolocco sites with bids expected on the second week of November. Invoices were submitted for mulching completed at Geneva in the amount of $64,820 for 240 acres. Rain continues to hamper operations. Plans to move a mulching crew to the Little River sites by the second week in November will be affected by the weather.


Monthly Update - October 2009
Sun, 10 Jan 2010 20:58:00 +0000 -

Rain continued to plague contractors at Geneva in October, hampering both the mulching operations and delaying site preparation treatments on the cutover sites. Bids were solicited on the site preparation work as either a phased bid or a lump sum “lock and key” job. Only one bid was received and it was judged excessive, exceeding the total allotted for this project. The management plan was rewritten and rebid, resulting in the receipt of acceptable bids for site preparation, seedlings, and planting. An additional small firm, M&W Forestry Services, was low bidder and they then subcontracted with a firm specializing in aerial herbicide application to apply the chemicals. The herbicide was aerially applied on October 22 and 23. The cost of the site preparation work done on the site totaled $31,232 for the treatment of 131 acres.

During October, invoices were received and paid in the amount of $25,461 for the mulching of approximately 89 acres. Cone collection was instigated during the month with both seed orchard and wild cones being collected. Mulching was concentrated on areas with dry ground and heavy cone production to optimize success of this operation. This site was visited by USFS Liaison Glenn Gaines, AFC Assistant State Forester Patrick Glass, management staff from the agency and Rhett Johnson during the month to assess progress and discuss future actions.

Kudzu was treated on several small sites by another small firm for a total of $835.00. Two longleaf academies were held during October with 12 “scholarships” being used by consultants at a cost of $9,600. As of October 31, Geneva had received a total of 82 inches of rainfall during 2009, about 20 inches more than the long term average for the site for an entire year.


Monthly Update - September 2009
Sun, 10 Jan 2010 20:56:00 +0000 -

The sites slated for “in-woods” mulching as the Geneva and Little River projects were divided into approximately 300 acre units and bids solicited from all available contractors. Bids ranged from $150 per acre to $800 per acre. Bids were awarded to Bach and Devos and Jones Vegetation Management based on bid price, equipment capacity, and site conditions. A completion target date of November 1 was set based on the expected deadline for collecting longleaf cones before seed drop. Subcontractors were employed to expedite the work. Within days of awarding bids, 5 machines and 8 people from 4 small firms were on the job at Geneva. Immediately after the award of bids, rain began and continued for 19 consecutive days. Work was slowed considerably by a combination of stormy conditions and wet ground. By the end of September, nearly $25,000 had been expended for mulching of 102 acres. Bids were solicited for kudzu control at the end of September.


Monthly Update - August 2009
Sun, 10 Jan 2010 20:54:00 +0000 -

The Longleaf Alliance staff met with Alabama State Forester Linda Casey, former Assistant State Forester Bill Baisden, Management Chief Walter Cartwright, and field staff Mike Older, Gary Cole, Steve Lloyd, Chris Mead, Hank McKinley, and Pat Waldrop at the Solon Dixon Forestry Education Center to discuss projects and establish working relationships.


Introduction and Background
Sun, 10 Jan 2010 20:52:00 +0000 -

The America’s Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) included nearly $8.5 million in funds to be divided among the 5 states participating in the Southeastern Regional Partnership for Planning and Sustainability (SERPPAS) for longleaf pine ecosystem restoration. The states involved include North and South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, and Alabama. Each submitted a shopping list of projects to be funded and each received approximately $1.75 million with the multiple goals of creating jobs, restoring longleaf pine ecosystems, and stimulating the economy. The Alabama projects included: (1) longleaf establishment on 1,497 acres of cutover sites; (2) midstory and understory control to restore longleaf ecosystems and facilitate longleaf cone collection on 1,800 acres; (3) invasive species control, fuel reduction, and creation of a demonstration forest; (4) provision of longleaf seedlings sufficient to reforest 1,000 acres in support of the LIP and EQIP programs on private lands; (5) tuition for 50 private natural resources professionals to attend Longleaf Academies, and (6) development of a brochure to make the economic case for longleaf. In June, the Alabama Forestry Commission and The Longleaf Alliance began discussions regarding the expenditure of these funds. The Alliance agreed contractually to act as the coordinator for several of the projects. The Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources will administer the funds for the purchase and distribution of seedlings to private landowners. The Alliance will coordinate the remainder of the projects, acting essentially as the general contractor as well as service provider.