The FSUCML recognizes the intimate connection between land and sea and is engaged in restoring a 25-acre stand of pine forest that is connected to our waterfront by a freshwater stream.

Historically, Longleaf pine forests, home to a variety of flora and fauna, once dominated the coastal plain in the southeastern United States. However, due to past exploitation of the forests’ resources and fire suppression, just 3% of pre-settlement Longleaf forests remain. Regular, low-intensity fires maintained the historic Longleaf communities and re-introducing fire is a useful management tool for restoring them. However, chronically unburned forests can easily be destroyed by a high-intensity fire if fuels are not reduced before the first prescribed burn.

We plan on using precise application of prescribed fire to restore the Longleaf pine community at the FSUCML. Your gift to this project will be used to ensure that proper preparations for a safe and effective prescribed burn are complete by the end of summer; just in time for the dormant season (November – February) when the first prescribed burn is most useful.

Click here to learn more about this ongoing project.