Virginia's Pinelands

The story of longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) in Virginia spans many eras. Pollen dating, or palynology, records a climate-driven transition from boreal forest to pine savanna. This was followed by several thousand years of Indigenous stewardship, as native communities used fire to shape the landscape.

More than 1 million acres of longleaf forest extended south from the James River when English settlers arrived in 1607. The trees were the backbone of colonial America’s naval stores, providing masts, waterproof pitch and turpentine—much of it produced through the labor of enslaved individuals.

This sprawling longleaf forest was harvested to near extinction by 1893. A census conducted in 1998 revealed that just 200 mature native trees remained in Virginia. 

A new era of restoration is turning the tide and rewriting the story of longleaf pine in Virginia.

An Era of Restoration

The Nature Conservancy purchased a 2,700-acre tract of pineland in Sussex County, Virginia from the Hancock Timber Resource Group in 1998 to create Piney Grove Preserve.

Our mission was to restore the property to a pine savanna, showcasing the remarkable biological diversity of southeastern Virginia’s longleaf forests. 

Since our first purchase, we’ve expanded the preserve and adjacent public lands to more than 10,000 acres in partnership with the commonwealth

Longleaf pine trees vanished from Piney Grove and adjacent lands many years ago, but guided by science, TNC and partners are gradually restoring the tree to its former prominence. This effort involves selectively harvesting patches of the existing forest—primarily loblolly pine—to create forest openings suitable for planted longleaf seedlings to grow. 

Life Cycle of the Longleaf

As a seedling, longleaf looks more like a clump of grass than the slender, towering tree it will become. This grass stage can last from one year to a dozen, depending on competition for resources with other plants.

The young longleaf isn’t very impressive above ground, but makes up for its lack of height by putting down a massive root system. Energy stored below ground and lush thick needles help the seedling survive fire events. 

At the bottlebrush stage, the tree grows three to four feet straight up with no branches. After a few years, branches emerge and a sapling is born. After 30 years, the longleaf is finally ready to reproduce, dropping huge pine cones and the cycle begins anew.

Home Grown

As restoration efforts gained momentum in the early 2000s, preserving the unique genetics of Virginia's remaining native longleafs became a priority. Seeds were collected in Virginia and grown in North Carolina, which has well-established longleaf pine nursery capacity. In 2017, the Virginia Department of Forestry installed equipment at their Garland Gray Nursery to enable the process to be completed in-state. 

The longleaf trees we plant at Piney Grove are grown from seeds of native Virginia trees for optimal seedling survival and growth. We also conduct plantings in close partnership with Virginia’s departments of Conservation and Recreation, Forestry and Wildlife Resources to restore longleaf on the state’s public lands.

Private landowners like TNC partner Bill Owen have hosted some of the largest planting projects in Virginia. Since 2003, Owen has worked with TNC and our partners to plant more than 1,500 acres of longleaf on his property in the Raccoon Creek Pinelands project area. In addition, Owen has placed his entire 1,850-acre property under conservation easement with TNC to ensure it will always be managed for its ecological diversity. 

Virginia's Rarest Bird

Longleaf forests are among the world’s most biologically diverse, home to hundreds of species of birds and 920 plant species found nowhere else on Earth. 

The signature creature of Southern pine forests is the red-cockaded woodpecker (RCW); Piney Grove harbors one of the northernmost breeding populations in the U.S. Listed as endangered in 1970, this bird nests exclusively in live pines and requires mature trees with soft heartwood for excavating nest cavities.

Returning Fire, Returning Forest

Open pine savannas, especially longleaf, evolved naturally over many centuries as lightning strikes and Native American burning made fire a regular part of the landscape. With support from numerous partners, TNC has worked since 1999 to return fire to Piney Grove.

Our fire team carefully plans and conducts prescribed burns across the preserve, revisiting previously burned areas every two to four years to mimic the historic frequency of fire. Many native plant species depend on fire to reveal bare mineral soil, stimulate seed germination and reduce competition from shrubs and faster-growing tree species. Planted longleaf seedlings on the preserve thrive after being burned.

In 2017, nearly 40 fire team members from TNC and an alphabet soup of agencies collaborated to undertake what, at the time, was the largest controlled burn ever ignited at Piney Grove. Fire crews on the ground and in the sky successfully burned more than 1,800 acres owned by both TNC and the state of Virginia. Participating partners included the Virginia departments of Conservation and Recreation (Natural Heritage Program), Wildlife Resources and Forestry, as well as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and a team of young AmeriCorps volunteers.

Resuming large scale fire after the Pandemic, the 2017 Piney Grove burn was surpassed in 2021 with a record-setting 2,500-acre effort that included a relatively new fire partner, DCR State Parks.

Looking Forward to the Future

Two centuries ago, longleaf pine forests rolled like a dark green tide across the southeastern United States. More than 92 million acres extended from Virginia and down into the Carolinas before fanning out across the Gulf states and reaching deep into Texas.

While we can’t turn back the clock, The Nature Conservancy is committed to protecting what’s left. And with thoughtful planning and collaboration with partners, we can also reclaim some of what we’ve lost.