2024 report highlights gains from Longleaf Pine restoration, boosting biodiversity, habitat resilience, and opportunities for hunting and fishing.

The Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership (TRCP) commends America’s Longleaf Restoration Initiative (ALRI) on the successful release of its 2024 Range-wide Accomplishment Report, showcasing transformative progress for America’s iconic longleaf pine ecosystem. The report is a testament to 15 years of collaborative dedication across the historic longleaf range.

Once covering more than 90 million acres across the Southeast, the longleaf pine ecosystem continues to rebound thanks to strategic collaboration across federal, state, NGO, Tribal, and private partners. When longleaf pine forests are healthy and fully restored, they rank among the most biologically diverse forest ecosystems on Earth. These landscapes provide vital habitat for species like bobwhite quail, wild turkey, white-tailed deer, and the Florida black bear. Longleaf pine ecosystems are also uniquely resilient, better able to withstand and recover from threats such as habitat loss, invasive pests, disease, and wildfire compared to other southern pine forests. Their restoration is a key strategy for safeguarding biodiversity and providing lasting benefits for fish and wildlife, hunters and anglers, private landowners, and the communities that rely on them.

ALRI’s 2024 Range-wide Accomplishment Report illustrates how purposeful ecological work directly improves wildlife, communities, economies, and even national security. These accomplishments resonate deeply with TRCP’s mission to guarantee all Americans quality places to hunt and fish through commonsense, science backed conservation efforts.

Some of the key 2024 highlights include:

• 2.7 million acres of longleaf pine trees gained through planting and forest management: Since ALRI began tracking in 2010, partners have restored more than 2 million acres of longleaf pine, bringing these fire-adapted forests back into vibrant landscapes.
• Over 20 million acres treated with prescribed fire: Prescribed burns have impacted over 21 million acres since 2010, including a record-breaking 2.3 million acres in 2024, the fourth consecutive burn year on record.
• More than 100,000 acres of new longleaf planted: Within 2024 alone, 100,260 acres were newly planted, showcasing an ongoing investment in longleaf restoration. Longleaf pine forests provide essential habitat for game species like wild turkey, white-tailed deer, and bobwhite quail.
• Nearly 50,000 acres safeguarded via easements and acquisitions: An estimated 49,337 acres were secured through conservation easements and acquisitions, fortifying these forests for future generations.
• Measurable benefits to air, water, economy, and wildlife: Restored longleaf stands bolster clean water supplies, support climate resilient forest, open up economic opportunities through timber and understory harvesting, and provide critical habitat, including aiding in the recovery of the red-cockaded woodpecker, now formally down listed from endangered to threatened.
• Supporting military readiness: The Department of Defense protected approximately 50,000 acres around Fort Stewart, establishing 11,000 longleaf acres and applying burns across 400,000 acres of existing longleaf habitat, helping preserve buffer zones critical for military training.

Why These Achievements Matter to Hunters and Anglers

For hunters and anglers, healthy habitat means better days afield and on the water. Thriving longleaf pine ecosystems provide essential habitat for species that hunters and anglers value, while also safeguarding the clean water that supports robust fish populations. At TRCP, we work to ensure conservation efforts benefit fish, wildlife, and the sporting traditions we cherish. The 2024 ALRI accomplishments directly advance that mission by restoring and enhancing habitat that improves hunting and fishing opportunities across the Southeast. Here are a few highlights from the report:

• Scalable impact – Restoring over 2 million acres demonstrates what effective, collaborative conservation can achieve and mirrors our efforts in public lands, freshwater, marine fisheries, and grassland systems.
• Fire management – Prescribed fire maintains ecosystem health, wildfire resilience, and recreation. TRCP supports policies that fund and scale safe burns across all public lands, and advocate for authorized planned burns that enhance forest and grasslands health on private lands.
• Public and private synergy – ALRI’s model integrates federal and state agency leadership with engagement from industry, NGO’s, local foresters, and private landowners. These partnerships are essential to all TRCP-supported programs from access initiatives to habitat incentives.
• Conservation that matters – Longleaf restoration isn’t simply about the trees, it’s also about clean water, wildlife corridors, economic returns from sustainable timber and tourism, and protecting access to lands. TRCP’s advocacy amplifies these real-world benefits when conservation dollars are in play.
• Military-community alignment – Ensuring military training lands remain viable without encroachment for wildfire risk is an underappreciated pillar of national preparedness. By supporting programs like the Department of Defense’s Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration Program, TRCP not only supports biodiversity but also critical national security infrastructure.

The 2024 ALRI Accomplishment Report demonstrates what’s possible when diverse partners come together around a common goal: healthier longleaf pine forests that benefit hunters, anglers, public access, and local communities alike. These efforts improve habitat for the fish and wildlife we love to pursue, while supporting clean water, public access, and the economies that depend on it. This kind of collaborative, science-driven conservation is essential to sustaining our sporting traditions for generations to come.

You can read the full report HERE.

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