1996 Mobile, Alabama (in review)

Longleaf Pine: A Regional Perspective of Challenges and Opportunities

The inaugural Longleaf Alliance regional conference was held on September 17 -19, 1996 at the Adam's Mark Hotel in Mobile, Alabama. The theme of this conference was Longleaf Pine: A Regional Perspective and Opportunities. The conference consisted of general sessions and panel discussions with invited speakers, poster sessions with volunteer papers, and a field trip consisting of a walking tour through a longleaf pine forest. Some 250 registrants representing 10 states and Washington, DC were in attendance. The sectors represented included 30% private, 20% state forestry organizations, 35% public agencies, and 15% universities.

Of particular note, the consumption of food and beverage was of voluminous quantities! Both the hotel and field trip barbecue caterers indicated that this group was the leading consumer of food as compared to all other groups that they had worked with. The consumption totals were as follows:

  • Breaks & Brunch - 43 gallons coffee; 408 sodas; 32 pitchers of juice; 27 dozen rolls, Danish, bagels, croissants, etc.
  • Social-157 call drinks; 214 beers; 55 glasses of wine; 2200 individual pieces of hor-d'oeuvres
  • Field Trip-468 beers, 228 sodas, 200 lbs. pork ribs, 175 lbs. chicken, 35 lbs. sausage, 10 gal. beans, 12 gal. potato salad, 1.5 gal. pickles, 22 loaves of bread, 6 pans of peach cobbler, and 20 gal. iced tea

Program:

September 17, 1996

10:00 am Registration

Session 1

Moderator: Charles Mcmahon, USDA Forest Service, Southern Research Station, Auburn, AL

1:00 pm -- Welcome and opening remarks: A Regional Approach to Longleaf Recovery. Tim Boyce, Alabama State Forester, Montgomery, AL

1:30 pm -- The Longleaf Alliance. Rhett Johnson and Dean Gjerstad, Co-Directors of the Longleaf Alliance

2:00 pm -- Learning from the Choctawhatchee: 90 years of longleaf pine management. Larry Earlely, North Carolina Wildlife Research Commission, Raleigh, NC

2:45 pm -- Break

3:15 pm -- Longleaf fundamentals: How longleaf develops, grows and reproduces in relationship to various habitats and environmental conditions. Latimore Smith, Louisiana Department of Fish and Game, Baton Rouge, LA

3:40 pm -- Longleaf pine and fire: A marriage of necessity. Dale Wade, USDA Forest Service, Southern Research Station, Macon, GA

4:10 pm -- Fire dependent communities. Bruce Means, Coastal Plains Institute, Tallahassee, FL

4:40 pm -- Questions and Discussion

5:30 - 7:00 pm -- Poster Session & Social with hosted bar and hot hor d'oeuvres

Dinner on your own

September 18, 1996

8:00 am -- "Longleaf success stories" Panel presentations and discussion. Each panel member told the story of their longleaf forest; how they planned, what they did, what worked and what failed.

Moderator: Roger Dennington USDA Forest Service (Retired), Southern Region, Atlanta, GA

Panel members: Earl Weaver (Huxford Trust, Brewton, AL); Rich Pouncey (Longleaf Foresters, Inc., Tallahassee, FL); Lynda Beam (National Tree Farmer of the Year, Savannah, GA); Ike McWhorter (Pineywoods Conservation Initiative-The Nature Conservancy, Silsbee, TX); Todd Engstrom (Tall Timbers, Tallahassee, FL)

10:00 am -- Poster Session and Brunch

12:30 pm -- Buses departed for the field trip: Longleaf successes, challenges, and opportunities (located on Larson & McGowin's Inc. Pierce Pasture Tract just west of Mobile on the AL/MS line). Coordinators: Julie Moore (Mississippi Heritage Program); Keville Larson (Larson & McGowin, Inc); Pat Waldrop (Alabama Forestry Commission). The field trip will consisted of an easy walk in a longleaf forest (Larson & McGown, Inc. property) with "experts" located at various stations to discuss key issues related to the management and restoration of longleaf forests and related natural communities.

5:00 pm -- Social and the "Best Barbecue East of Texas" dinner in the piney woods

September 19, 2002

Moderator: Lindsay Boring, Director, Joseph W. Jones Ecological Research Center, Newton, GA

8:00 am -- The best kept secret in southern forestry: New perspectives on longleaf economics. Rod Busby, USDA Forest Service, Southern Research Station, New Orleans.

8:30 am -- Longleaf can catch up! -- Bill Boyer, USDA Forest Service, Southern Research Station, Auburn, AL

9:00 am -- Habitat conservation: Economic incentives. Ralph Costa, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Clemson, SC

9:30 am -- Break

10:00 am -- How to plan for success. David Lewis, Southern Forestry Consultants, Monticello, FL

10:30 am -- New markets, strategies, and incentives. Mark Megalos, North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service, Raleigh, NC

11:00 am -- Ensuring success in your future longleaf ventures. Rhett Johnson & Dean Gjerstad
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A 178-page proceedings of the conference is available. Copies may be obtained by contacting the Longleaf Alliance.

Recognition

Although space does not allow the recognition of every individual who played an important role in developing this Longleaf Alliance Conference, some key individuals include: Tim Boyce, State Forester of Alabama, who had a vision that a regional effort on longleaf recovery was possible and provided funding through the Alabama Forestry Commission to initiate the effort; Julie Moore actively assisted in many of the organizational details and coordinated the field trip activities; Ralph Meldahl organized a most successful silent auction; Dwayne Tew and Clint Mancil provided musical entertainment at the barbecue along with premiering their latest hit song on longleaf; Kathryn Besong spent endless hours preparing materials and corresponding with speakers and attendees; and John Kush who coordinated the poster session and served as editor of the proceedings. Keville Larson, Jessica Larson, and Michael Andreu of Larson & McGowin, Inc. hosted and organized the memorable field trip and went the extra mile to ensure that the afternoon was most enjoyable to those attending.