Looking for Longleaf: The Fall and Rise of an American Forest / Edition 1

by Lawrence S. Earley

Overview

Covering 92 million acres from Virginia to Texas, the longleaf pine ecosystem was, in its prime, one of the most extensive and biologically diverse ecosystems in North America. Today these magnificent forests have declined to a fraction of their original extent, threatening such species as the gopher tortoise, the red-cockaded woodpecker, and the Venus fly-trap. Conservationists have proclaimed longleaf restoration a major goal, but has it come too late?

In Looking for Longleaf, Lawrence S. Earley explores the history of these forests and the astonishing biodiversity of the longleaf ecosystem, drawing on extensive research and telling the story through first-person travel accounts and interviews with foresters, ecologists, biologists, botanists, and landowners. For centuries, these vast grass-covered forests provided pasture for large cattle herds, in addition to serving as the world's greatest source of naval stores. They sustained the exploitative turpentine and lumber industries until nearly all of the virgin longleaf had vanished.

Looking for Longleaf demonstrates how, in the twentieth century, forest managers and ecologists struggled to understand the special demands of longleaf and to halt its overall decline. The compelling story Earley tells here offers hope that with continued human commitment, the longleaf pine might not just survive, but once again thrive.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780807856994
Publisher:	The University of North Carolina Press
Publication date:	02/27/2006
Edition description:	1
Pages:	336
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.25(h) x 0.75(d)

About the Author

Lawrence S. Earley, former editor of Wildlife in North Carolina magazine, is a writer and photographer living in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments Prologue: Land of the Longleaf Pine Part I. Ecology Chapter 1. What Bartram Saw Chapter 2. Fire in the Cathedral Chapter 3. A Wondrous Diversity Chapter 4. Webs of Life Part II. Exploitation Chapter 5. Piney Woods People Chapter 6. Tar Kilns and Tar Heels Chapter 7. Getting Turpentine Chapter 8. A Reckless Destruction Chapter 9. Assault on the Southern Pines Part III. Forest Management Chapter 10. Forestry Practice and Malpractice Chapter 11. Health, Quail, and Fire Chapter 12. Fools for Longleaf Part IV. Ecosystem Restoration Chapter 13. Woodpeckers and Forests Chapter 14. Restoring an Ecosystem Epilogue: A Presence on the Land?
Notes Bibliography Index

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

Easy to digest for a non-technical reader. . . . Remarkably complete.—Natural Areas Journal

A history of the southeast, an informative natural history, and a paean to a beautiful tree.—Southeastern Naturalist

A welcomed addition on an important topic. . . . Should be required reading for anyone interested in the history of conservation in the South.—Georgia Historical Quarterly

Not to be overlooked [and] reader-friendly.—RaleighNews & Observer

Brings a love of the outdoors and the gift of a great storyteller.—Chapel Hill News

The longleaf story, supplemented by ample illustrations, is presented here in lucid, graceful prose. The tale is not just reader-friendly; it's a page-turner.—Wildlife in North Carolina

Upon reading Earley's accounts of the demise and resurgence of the longleaf pine ecosystem, I was taken in, not only by his ability to present scientific and historical information in a highly accessible manner, but by his ability to evoke the smell and sound of longleaf pines in the southern wind, the distinctive odor of turpentine being distilled, the splinters and sawdust flying as giant longleaf pines were being cut for lumber, the decades-long frustration of professional foresters unable to regenerate longleaf, the excitement of a quail hunt, and the swirl of dust as a consulting forester swings his pickup to halt in front of a newly restored longleaf stand. Looking for Longleaf is a rich travelogue through time, written to inform and delight its reader. . . . Lawrence Earley's Looking for Longleaf is such an engaging book that I read it straight through from prologue to epilogue. You might want to take a more casual approach, but I suspect that putting it down won't be as easy as you think.—Dave Egan, Ecological Restoration

[Earley's] fascination with his subject comes through clearly, and it's also clear that he hopes to pass that fascination, and all the history, on to the rest of us.—Winston-Salem Journal

Earley tells this story in a way any reader can follow and enjoy. . . . Looking for Longleaf is full of such interesting insights into the human culture as well as the silviculture of our Southeast region. It is well illustrated with historic photographs. Anyone interested in the history of our natural surroundings will find it well worth reading.—The Roanoke Times

Earley's vivid account of the pine's history and impact on the area makes for a compelling story.—Rapid River Magazine

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Editorial Reviews

"Richly detailed, impeccably researched and at times controversial: this merits a place alongside Bartram in the library devoted to the South."
"Kirkus Reviews", starred review

"Easy to digest for a non-technical reader. . . . Remarkably complete."
-- "Natural Areas Journal"

"A history of the southeast, an informative natural history, and a paean to a beautiful tree."
-- "Southeastern Naturalist"

"A welcomed addition on an important topic. . . . Should be required reading for anyone interested in the history of conservation in the South."
-- "Georgia Historical Quarterly"

"A fine, informative read for anyone interested in acquiring a general understanding of this interesting forest ecosystem."
"Choice"

"Lawrence Earley's "Looking for Longleaf" is such an engaging book that I read it straight through from prologue to epilogue."
Dave Egan, "Ecological Restoration"

"The decline of the longleaf pine is a complex story, well and thoroughly told by Earley."
"Wilson Quarterly"

"This is the definitive book on longleaf pine. For people curious about biology and history, it is fascinating."
"WoodenBoat"

From the Publisher

A learned stroll through the shady groves of the South, past and present, where the longleaf pine once flourished and may yet rise again. North Carolinian journalist and debut author Earley assembles an impressive sweep of knowledge in these pages, which open with a startling observation: where forests of longleaf pine once "sprawled over nearly 150,000 square miles, covering a wide swath of every coastal state from the James River in southeastern Virginia to the shores of Lake Okeechobee in the Florida peninsula and west to southeastern Texas," its numbers had fallen by some 98 percent by the end of the 20th century-and only 12,000 acres of old-growth forest remain, scattered across the South. Where did the trees go? In times past, writes Earley, the longleaf formed the basis of a thriving pitch and tar industry, which was vital to the navies of Europe in those days of ocean-crossing wooden ships; not for nothing are North Carolinians called "Tarheels." The industry emerged slowly at the beginning of the 18th century but quickly became of major importance, so that in the 1720s, "120 vessels were engaged in the coastwise and transatlantic trade of colonial tar, pitch, and raw gum." The tree faced a new enemy long after the wooden ships disappeared: the US Forest Service, which embraced a policy of fire suppression and aggressive logging until very recently, but now finds itself in the position of retooling from being "the worst land managers in the world" to being champions of environmental restraint. Blending journalism with natural and human history and a keen appreciation for the land, Earley offers persuasive advocacy for a tree little known outside of its immediate region-but one ofobvious importance, and one whose ongoing restoration can show other regions how to bring their old ecosystems back to life. Richly detailed, impeccably researched, and at times controversial: this merits a place alongside Bartram in the library devoted to the South.

Kirkus Reviews