About Us:
The mission of the North Carolina Longleaf Coalition is to promote the maintenance and restoration of North Carolina’s longleaf pine ecosystem, including its cultural and economic values, by forming a collaborative network of diverse stakeholders to provide strategic leadership across the historic range while also supporting local restoration activities.
The formal organization of the Coalition in early 2010 built on a long history of interest in longleaf restoration in the Tar Heel state and was also inspired by the recent launch of the America’s Longleaf Restoration Initiative with its Range-Wide Conservation Plan.
The Coalition aims to provide the state/local level leadership called for in the Range-Wide Conservation Plan. Participants in the Coalition include multiple state agencies (Forest Service, Wildlife Resources Commission and the Heritage Program) and federal agencies (Fish and Wildlife, Forest Service, NRCS and the N.C. Commander’s Council representing multiple military services). The Coalition is rounded out by multiple nonprofits, consulting foresters/landowners, academics and other longleaf proponents. The Coalition coordinates closely with on-the-ground restoration efforts including the North Carolina Sandhills Conservation Partnership, the Onslow Bight Conservation Forum, Cape Fear Arch Conservation Collaboration, and the Greater Uwharrie Conservation Partnership.
Steering Committee:
- Don Barker – USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service
- Brady Beck – N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission
- Jimmy Dodson – N.C. State Parks
- Dave Halley – Consulting Forester
- Colby Lambert – N.C. State University
- Jeff Marcus – The Nature Conservancy
- Susan Miller – U.S. Forest Service
- Barry New – N.C. Forest Service
- Bill Ross – Southeast Regional Partnership for Planning and Sustainability (SERPPAS)
- John Ann Shearer – U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
- TBD – US Department of Defense