News Release

Big Thicket to Host Three Volunteer Longleaf Pine Tree Planting Events this Winter

Leave a legacy in the Big Thicket by helping us plant longleaf pine seedlings.

NPS Photo / Scott Sharaga

News Release Date: November 16, 2021

Contact: Megan Urban, 409-951-6721

KOUNTZE, Texas—Big Thicket National Preserve is expanding the volunteer longleaf pine tree planting efforts to three events this coming winter. Volunteers can join park staff and partners to plant over 20,000 longleaf pine trees in December, January, and February.

“In the past, Big Thicket has only hosted one longleaf pine tree planting event, Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service, an event that has been taking place in the preserve for over 10 years,” stated Superintendent Wayne Prokopetz. “We are looking to expand the number of trees planted and number of events for volunteers.” The increased number of trees being planted will give Big Thicket a much-needed boost on longleaf pine savannah restoration plans taking place in the preserve.

The first longleaf pine tree planting event is scheduled for Saturday, December 11, 2021, and is geared towards youth organizations. Youth of all ages are invited to learn more about the preserve while planting longleaf pine trees. The second tree planting event will take place on Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service on Monday, January 17, 2022, followed by the planting event on President’s Day, Monday, February 21, 2022.

Big Thicket is excited to host these events with the help of partner and friends’ groups including Big Thicket Association, Big Thicket Biosphere Reserve, Big Thicket Natural Heritage Trust, National Parks Conservation Association, and Texas Conservation Alliance.

“For more than a decade, we have been bringing communities together to grow and thrive at the thicket,” said Erika Pelletier, Texas associate director for the National Parks Conservation Association. “With every new planting comes a new opportunity to build a better Big Thicket for visitors and wildlife alike. This is a national preserve, but it’s also part of our home.”

To sign up for a longleaf planting event, visit the Texas Conservation Alliance events page. Once registered, volunteers will receive the location of the event and volunteer paperwork to be filled out before their arrival.

Big Thicket National Preserve is located in Southeast Texas, near the city of Beaumont and 75 miles northeast of Houston. The preserve consists of nine land units and six water corridors encompassing more than 113,000 acres. The Big Thicket, often referred to as a “biological crossroads,” is a transition zone between four distinct vegetation types – the moist eastern hardwood forest, the southwestern desert, the southeastern swamp, and the central prairies. Species from all of these different vegetation types come together in the thicket, exhibiting a variety of vegetation and wildlife that has received global interest.

-NPS-