National Security: Longleaf

The longleaf pine is well-represented in our area of North Florida, but in other areas of the southeast, it is rare. That was not always the case. Three centuries ago, the Longleaf Savanah covered 95 million acres across the southeastern coastal plain from east Texas to southern Virginia. Those natural growth longleaf pine trees were cut down and milled for lumber to construct homes, churches, villages and businesses. The land was converted into cropland suitable for growing cash and sustenance