Standing Tall
Friday, December 18 2009
by Frank Stasio, Katy Barron, and Susan Davis
Longleaf pine forests once covered some 90 million acres of the Southeast U.S., but overcutting and other factors have dwindled the species down to less than three percent of its original range. Still, the longleaf pine could be making a comeback. Scientists are promoting it as the key to helping the South adapt to global warming. Host Frank Stasio discusses how the longleaf pine is central to our region’s economy and environment with: Eric Palola, senior director of the National Wildlife Federation's Forests for Wildlife program and co-author of the report, “Standing Tall: How Restoring Longleaf Pine Can Help Prepare the Southeast for Global Warming;” and Lawrence Earley, author of “Looking for Longleaf: The Fall and Rise of an American Forest.”
