Florala, AL 36442(Covington County)

A rare opportunity for the discriminating conservation buyer: 3533 acres, the vast majority of which is natural longleaf pine. A few longleaf plantations are present as farm fields, pastures and acquired adjacent parcels are being restored to their natural state. There is one small loblolly pine plantation, a later addition by acquiring an adjoining property that had been enrolled in the CRP, and a few stands of planted slash pine.

These photos convey more than words, but you need to come and see it yourself to truly appreciate it. What sets this property apart from others in the region is that since World War II most of it has been in the same family that appreciated the original longleaf pine ecosystem and did not convert to intensively managed loblolly plantation as unfortunately happened on virtually all private lands in this region. It continued to receive periodic fire, so the landscape retains its original beauty and the rich diversity of longleaf-adapted species that once lost is so difficult, time consuming, and expensive to restore. Since the 1980s management has focused on selective thinning and biannual prescribed burning resulting in some of the best uneven-aged longleaf pine forest remaining on private lands.

Wildlife includes abundant deer, turkey, and bobwhite quail as well as gopher tortoises, pocket gophers, Bachmans sparrows, fox squirrels, and other now-uncommon longleaf specialist species. A large spring-fed, sand-bottomed creek flows across the property, and there are scattered special places like pitcher plant bogs, ponds, and sandhills.

Location:

On the Alabama-Florida border and within an hour of Gulf beaches.