Restoring the Longleaf Pine Ecosystem

The longleaf pine ecosystem once encompassed more than 90 million acres of North America, from Virginia to Texas. Now, only three percent of the original acreage remains, and threatened and endangered species that depend on the habitat are struggling to survive.

The Orton Foundation, Moore Charitable’s affiliate in North Carolina, is a key member of National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s (NFWF) Longleaf Stewardship Fund, which expands, enhances and accelerates longleaf pine ecosystem restoration across longleaf pine’s historical range. The Longleaf Stewardship Fund is a landmark public-private partnership supported with federal funding from the Department of Defense, the U.S. Forest Service, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and private funding from Southern Company, International Paper’s Forestland Stewards Initiative and Altria Group. 


Projects supported through Orton Foundation partnership are restoring more than 2,700 acres of longleaf pine & native groundcover and enhancing an additional 78,000 acres, primarily with prescribed fire. Project partners expected to reach more than 24,000 citizens at the close of 2018 through education and outreach events, including the Fire in the Pines Festival, field days and workshops.