Project Profile: Longleaf Pine Savanna Ecosystem Restoration

NPS Photo

Bipartisan Infrastructure Law
Federal Lands Contracts | FY23 $504,620

The National Park Service (NPS) will increase capacity of an existing Longleaf pine savanna restoration program and leverage a cross-bureau effort to reintroduce endangered Red-cockaded woodpeckers at Big Thicket National Preserve. The project will restore the ecosystems’ climate resilience and biodiversity by reducing woody fuel accumulation and shrub encroachment for more effective application of prescribed fire.

Why? Longleaf pine savanna is an imperiled, highly fire-dependent ecosystem that provides critical habitat for numerous species, supporting as many as 40 plant species per square meter. Big Thicket National Park contains the largest historic tracts of Longleaf pine savanna in the National Park System.

What Else? The NPS is partnering with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Forest Service, as well as the state of Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, to coordinate planning, permitting, and compliance for the handling and monitoring of Red-cockaded woodpeckers utilizing the Longleaf pine savanna ecosystem.

Bipartisan Infrastructure Law – Ecosystem Restoration

This project was made possible by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law – Ecosystem Restoration, signed on November 15, 2021. It is a historic investment in the restoration and protection of the environment.