Why Longleaf?

More than a tree, it’s the symbol for our region.
by Pete Conroy
Summer 2006

If you are wondering why the name “Longleaf” has made its way to the cover of this magazine, you should read on, or to save time, just know and admit that you are living in Longleaf Country.

Longleaf is a tree, and it’s one that’s special to Alabama because it’s found almost everywhere in the state. In fact all 67 counties now grow the longleaf pine, Pinus palustrus, and over time, each place has probably taken advantage of the tree’s wood, resin, pulp and 12-inch needles. Economically it’s been a staple commodity from the local mountains to the distant Gulf Coast. From industrial turpentine and high-grade lumber to charcoal and delicately woven baskets, longleaf products are everywhere.

Longleaf has been especially important to Anniston. Despite the area’s rich supply of iron ore, it was the area’s more spectacular supply of old-growth longleaf that provided wood for railroad ties and charcoal to fire the furnaces. Throughout the South, iron towns failed without adequate timber, but Anniston, once known as “Pine Ankle,” had both.

Unfortunately, the longleaf’s popularity caused its own near demise. During pre-settlement times, the longleaf was thought to have inhabited 92 million acres throughout the Southeast, but after decades of logging without replanting, that number had been reduced to 3 million acres in 1995.

When the acreage statistics looked most bleak, Calhoun County came to the rescue as local state legislators Doug Ghee and Gerald Willis led Alabama in recognizing the longleaf pine as an official state symbol. They sponsored a successful bill making the longleaf Alabama’s new state tree. Simultaneously, successful conservation efforts to replant the longleaf were under way throughout the Southeast. Longleaf was back.

About the same time, the eastern half of the former Fort McClellan was recognized as being home to something notable, rich in biological diversity and very old. A significant portion of the McClellan-based Choccolocco Mountain range was found to have longleaf trees nearly 300 years old. These were trees that began to grow before the Declaration of Independence, before cars and certainly before anyone knew that fire was required to maintain a healthy longleaf pine ecosystem.

In fact, the best thing that could have happened to the longleaf forest was to have the Army and its explosive artillery move in as a neighbor. For decades, the Army unknowingly aided the pine ecosystem by causing frequent fires, burning away leaves and allowing new seeds to take root. The result has become the best example of the mountain longleaf ecosystem anywhere.

In 2001, McClellan’s longleaf forest created a new identity for the region, when, through the support of the community, state and U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions, it was designated the country’s 542nd national wildlife refuge. From that point forward, all national maps would indicate the Mountain Longleaf National Wildlife Refuge, an important conservation icon, as the region’s back yard.

Representing recovery, regeneration, natural beauty, history, strength, and a remarkable conservation story, longleaf may now become a new regional identity that’s both timely and meaningful. Who knows — it may be that in the future, all things “longleaf” become a brand for all things good.

Some examples:
The Calhoun County Chamber of Commerce has established the new Mountain Longleaf Region. The campaign was so successful that now the chambers of commerce from the entire region, from the deepest canyon to the highest mountain, are united in being the Mountain Longleaf Region.

The Calhoun County Community Foundation has established an important and unrestricted charitable fund called — what else? — the Longleaf Fund.

For two years running, McClellan has become the site of a new and successful festival of the arts and environment in mid-April. Its name? The Mountain Longleaf Festival, of course!

In 2004, McClellan became the summer home of the Alabama Symphony Orchestra. The residency is called “Music at McClellan: the Longleaf Outdoor Concert Series.”