On behalf of the Tall Timbers Board of Trustees, I am proud to announce the selection of Dr. William (Bill) Palmer, as President/CEO of the organization later this year, as Lane Green, longtime Executive Director of Tall Timbers Research Station & Land Conservancy, will be retiring in December 2012. Dr. Palmer’s vision, energy and clear view of where Tall Timbers needs to go in the future, were the reasons for the Board of Trustees’ choice to replace Mr. Green. In addition to Dr. Palmer’s promotion, Mr. Vann Middleton, Director of Operations and Support, was promoted to Executive Vice President of Tall Timbers and Executive Director of Tall Timbers Foundation. The Board feels certain that they have selected a strong administrative team to continue to grow Tall Timbers’ programs.
Dr. Palmer joined Tall Timbers in 1996. Over the past 15 years, he has built a nationally-recognized research and management program with biologists in three states and multiple Federal and State partners. Bill Palmer operates the largest program at Tall Timbers and has consistently raised the greatest outside support (>$4 million dollars in grants and contracts to date). Bill has also attracted a major share of annual contributions to Tall Timbers. He is passionate about fire-maintained ecosystems, and was instrumental in promoting the restoration of Tall Timbers’ lands, which now support excellent quail and grassland bird populations.
Bill sees conservation of the plantations of north Florida and southwest Georgia as a critical but important challenge for Tall Timbers, and he is firmly committed to continue what makes Tall Timbers such a valuable resource to natural resource managers — a focus on long-term, applied research, and dissemination of that information through the newly created Outreach program. Bill says, “Thanks to our long-term research programs, Tall Timbers is uniquely positioned to provide reliable information to our constituency, and help them with their conservation and management objectives. While research is critical, it is the land that is the beneficiary of our work, and therefore we must continue to strive to protect these special landscapes for generations to come.” Learn more about Bill’s perspective on future opportunities for Tall Timbers in an upcoming issue of our E-News.
Mr. Middleton, who came to Tall Timbers in 2001, has been the most productive Development Director in the history of the organization. Vann recently led and completed a $9 million, 50th Anniversary Endowment Campaign, and has set records for annual giving. He is an essential element in our new administration team that will take better advantage of all he has to offer Tall Timbers and this community in the years to come. In his role as Executive Director of Tall Timbers Foundation, he will work with the Foundation Board to manage our endowment funds, as well as oversee the other financial and development activities of the Foundation.
The Board of Trustees feels strongly that we have found the ideal candidates for the future, as both Bill and Vann have earned the respect and admiration of our constituents through their outstanding accomplishments for more than a decade at Tall Timbers. We feel that we are in good hands, and know that you will give them the same continuing generous support and encouragement that Tall Timbers has enjoyed for more than 50 years.
Historic Resources hosts Archaeology and History Day
By Juanita Whiddon, Archives and Historical Resources Coordinator
On Saturday, February 26, Tall Timbers hosted our second annual Archaeology and History Day (commonly referred to by participants as “Dig Day”). Twenty Leon County middle-school students had a chance to tour the Jones Family Tenant Farm and talk with former tenant farm family members, Richard Jones and Gerri Jones Thompson about life on a Red Hills tenant farm in the 1940s. The students also had a chance to excavate at the project site under the supervision of project archaeologist, Ross Morrell. The group was divided into three teams so everyone had a chance for “hands-on” participation. Each group was encouraged to make comparisons of tenant farm life in the 1940s to urban and suburban life in 2012. The final comparison was a sample of a typical tenant family meal, before the group was treated to 21st century hamburgers and hotdogs. Activities like this would be impossible without good volunteers. We had 10 great ones help with "Dig Day". We are already looking forward to next year’s event.
By Vann Middleton, Director of Operations & Support
Over 150 of Tall Timbers closest friends and family attended this year’s Naturalists’ Ball Gala at Glen Arven Country Club in Thomasville, GA; the occasion? To honor the 74 very special donors who have made a lasting commitment to the Tall Timbers Endowment Campaign.
Clad in black tie and formal wear, the night was a special tribute to those who have meant so much to Tall Timbers’ future sustainability. Co-Chaired by Mrs. Daphne Wood and Mr. Tom Rankin, the Tall Timbers Endowment Campaign committee announced that they had raised over $9 million in cash and pledges for the benefit of the Tall Timbers Foundation and our investable Endowment Funds.
Tom Rankin and Daphne Wood, co-chairs of the Endowment Campaign, announce they had raised over $9 million in cash and pledges for the benefit of the Tall Timbers Foundation.
Over the course of the previous three years, this committee (which includes: Charlie Chapin, Tom Barron, Charlie Chapin, Cornie Corbett, Kate Ireland, Mason Hawkins, Dave Perkins, George Simmons, George Watkins and Cindy Webster) helped setup face-to-face meetings with over 100 prospective donors in hopes of convincing them of the importance of making a enduring gift to the campaign. Throughout the silent phase of the campaign, over $9 million has been pledged to support the research, conservation and education programs of Tall Timbers – an incredible feat!
After a sumptuous dinner prepared by the staff at Glen Arven, our patrons took to the dance floor to work off those extra calories to the rockin’ tunes of Jimmy Wells and the Pure Platinum Band.
The night was made even much more special when a guest and longtime Tall Timbers friend announced his intention to make a $500,000 pledge to the campaign. As the guests filed out later into the rainy February evening, staff was thrilled to add another major gift to the tote board.
On behalf of everyone at Tall Timbers, we thank each and every one of our Endowment Campaign donors for the confidence in and support of our long term vision and mission.
Stay tuned for more updates on the Endowment Campaign progress and how YOU can participate!!
WOW… WOW… WOW. I have said it so many times now that I can spell it backwards!! I am so impressed by the level of support we have had in building the endowment, especially during such an economically challenging time. The success of the endowment campaign is especially meaningful to me as it has forged the way for the creation of the Outreach Program. This, in turn, spawned the development of the Outreach/Education Coordinator position in October 2011, and further championed procurement of additional committed funds for the next three years. Once our final endowment goal is reached, the Outreach Program will be solidified more long-term, but in the meantime the exceptional level of support already garnered has definitely allowed the Outreach Program to get started on the right foot.
Over the past several months, I have been so blessed to be welcomed with open arms by many of you in the Red Hills community. I have already had a chance to meet several private landowners and land managers, and to visit many properties, when I have discussed various topics: quail, prescribed burning, longleaf pine establishment and maintenance, and general habitat management. Additionally, we have participated in numerous educational activities, such as hosting GIS Workshops for natural resource professionals and land managers, coordinating and leading birding tours for visiting college students, hosting local high school groups preparing for the Envirothon competition, and teaching prescribed burning techniques on multiple occasions. We hope to continue seeking opportunities to engage and interact with the Red Hills community, Tall Timbers members, and conservation partners. One opportunity is this June when we will host the First Annual Land Manager's Luncheon — hope to see you there!
Staying up to date on conservation efforts and important issues affecting the Red Hills
By Neil Fleckenstein, Land Conservancy Planning Coordinator
The Tall Timbers website is a great way to access information on a wide array of topics related to Tall Timbers and the Red Hills region. The Tall Timbers Land Conservancy (TTLC) portion of the site is focused on two important aspects of our work: land conservation and land use planning/advocacy. By clicking on http://www.talltimbers.org/landconservancy.html, you can learn the basics about conservation easements including financial incentives for doing an easement, easement process and costs, and answers to common easement-related questions.
The TTLC portion of the Tall Timbers website also includes a link to stay informed about the growth and infrastructure-related issues that could adversely affect the Red Hills region. Web surfers pointing their browser to http://www.talltimbers.org/lc-advocacy.html can access detailed issue briefs organized in four subject areas: Land Use and Community Planning, Transportation and Infrastructure, Water Resources, and Air Quality. For example, the Water Resources section includes issue briefs on protecting the Wacissa River from commercial water extraction and the proposed Tired Creek Lake in Grady County.
An important part of each brief is an overview of the issue, how it could affect the Red Hills, and what the public can do to help. We believe this is a great way to provide up to date information on important issues affecting the Red Hills. Tall Timbers staff will also use Twitter (@talltimbers1958) and email to communicate time sensitive information to constituents.
Please contact TTLC Planning Coordinator Neil Fleckenstein at neil@ttrs.org or 850-893-4153, ext. 335 with any comments or questions.
The M-CORES program, which includes the proposed Suncoast Connector Toll Road in Jefferson County, passed through the Florida Legislature at breakneck speed with little review or analysis. Tall Timbers has a number of concerns given the potential for significant and wide spread impacts. These include fragmenting public and private conservation lands, robbing business from Main Street Monticello, impacting our rivers and other water resources, and making prescribed fire more difficult and costly.
Join us in asking the Jefferson County Board of County Commissioners to OPPOSE the Suncoast Connector toll road and its path through Jefferson County.
Take action now with our easy email form.
Send an email to all five Jefferson County Board of County Commissioners with one click!
Selected Publications authored by Wildland Fire Science staff.
Educating and guiding the next generation of fire researchers and managers is a key goal of Wildland Fire Science and a resource for testing new ideas in fire research.
Tall Timbers hosts the Prescribed Fire Science Consortium, a national network of researchers and managers who promote integrated research and management to advance next generation tools for fire practitioners. https://arcg.is/1DSjDT
Working with partners in the Prescribed Fire Science Consortium, the program is building nexgen 3-D fuel beds using terrestrial LiDAR and novel sampling techniques to power new fire behavior models for prescribed fire managers. This work links to Tall Timbers work in wildlife habitat usage and ecological forestry.
Tall Timbers is leading an effort to map fire regimes at the landscape scale. Staff work with numerous agencies to evaluate fire records and satellite imagery to build this critical conservation database. https://skfb.ly/6DqOY
We are linking physics and field observations to understand the fluid dynamics of fire behavior surface fire regimes. Our work combines field observations using advanced thermal imaging techniques, laboratory studies, and coupled fire-atmospheric modeling to help managers improve outcomes of managed fire regimes.
Burn prioritization modeling seminars and fire modeling tools are supported by Wildland Fire Science to train managers in the important planning stages of prescribed fires.
The conserved lands of the Greater Red Hills region are found on working, income-producing properties that support agriculture, forestry, and recreational hunting. These properties contribute $272 million annually to local economies and support 2,300 jobs. [link to Planning & Advocacy section] The landowners’ strong stewardship ethic preserves their working lands while replenishing drinking water supplies, protecting water quality, and providing wildlife habitat for dozens of rare and endangered species. Tall Timbers’ conservation easements on these working properties encourage landowners to retain their traditional livelihood by keeping farms in family ownership.
Home to world-class wild quail populations, the Greater Red Hills region contains the largest concentration of gamebird preserves in the United States. These preserves also support the largest community of Red-cockaded woodpeckers on private lands. Indicators of high quality habitat found here include the gopher tortoise, Bachman’s sparrow, fox squirrel, and many amphibians. Tall Timbers’ conservation easements identify and protect the critical habitats of these species.
The region also boasts outstanding aquatic resources. Large river systems, like the Flint/Apalachicola, Ochlockonee, and Aucilla, flow from Georgia and feed into the Gulf of Mexico to support some of the world’s most productive estuaries. Large disappearing sinkhole lakes, like Iamonia, Miccosukee, and Jackson, provide habitat for an array of aquatic species and migratory birds. Tall Timbers’ conservation easements protect these vital watersheds and wetlands that are the lifeblood for the ecological health of the region.
Once dominated by longleaf pine, our pine woodlands support abundant wildlife and local economies. These forests need prescribed fire to stay healthy. Herbert L. Stoddard and his associates Ed and Roy Komarek were pioneers in this emerging scientific field during the mid-20th century. Tall Timbers continues that legacy with applied research on prescribed fire and land management. Today, there is a tremendous need to expand prescribed fire use beyond the Red Hills to ensure ecosystem health and reduce wildfire risk. Additionally, Tall Timbers uses conservation easements to permanently protect private woodlands while balancing the need for economic return from selective timbering.
Tall Timbers hosts the premier fire technology transfer organization—the Southern Fire Exchange. This JFSP funded effort helps connect research to management through webinars, workshops, and support of the Prescribed Fire Science Consortium.
The Longleaf Legacy landscape prescribed fire burn team arm of Wildland Fire Science works directly with landowners and partners to effectively put fire on the ground and promote prescribed fire throughout the region.
Staff and researchers support Federal fire training by serving as a cadre for NWCG training courses, ranging from basic wildland fire to advanced fire effects.
(PFTC) specializes in training fire fighters the principles and techniques of prescribed fire through practical hands-on experience. https://www.fws.gov/fire/pftc/
Private land owners are the largest source of prescribed fire in the country. These land owners and the culture of fire that was maintained by them during decades of suppression are a part of why Tall Timbers is a world-wide center for prescribed fire science. Workshops and fire training are a critical focus of the Longleaf Legacy Landscape Burn Team and our support of the Georgia Forestry Commission Prescribed Fire Center in Marion County.
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.jpg?strip=all&lossy=1&w=890 "Tom Rankin and Daphne Wood at the Naturalists' Ball")
After a sumptuous dinner prepared by the staff at Glen Arven, our patrons took to the dance floor to work off those extra calories to the rockin’ tunes of Jimmy Wells and the Pure Platinum Band.
