Kevin’s 5th Annual Southern Game Fair benefits Tall Timbers
Kevin’s 5th Annual Southern Game Fair celebrates Thomasville’s authentic historical sporting lifestyle by bringing families and community together to promote the preservation of longleaf pine forests and bobwhite quail. It was held November 11 and 12 at historic Greenwood Plantation near Thomasville, Georgia. The event was sponsored by Jon Kohler & Associates, Thomasville Ford Lincoln, and Kevin’s Fine Outdoor Gear & Apparel. A special thank you goes to Kathleen and Kevin Kelly for all their hard work organizing this fun community event that supports Tall Timbers’ Game Bird Program.
Tall Timbers’ 24th Annual Kate Ireland Memorial Auction & Dinner Honored Tom Rankin
The 24th Annual Kate Ireland Memorial Dinner & Auction was held Thursday evening, October 14, 2021 at Tall Timbers’ headquarters in Tallahassee, Florida. The event honored long-time Tall Timbers’ Trustee Tom Rankin. It was a sell-out event, with over 400 in attendance.
Festivities included a cocktail reception, silent and live auction, and dinner served under a huge tent overlooking Lake Iamonia. The auction featured a compelling collection of world class artwork, unparalleled hunting and fishing opportunities, vacation getaways, and unique offerings from the Red Hills region and beyond.
Tom Rankin was honored as a true steward of the Red Hills. His family and many friends were on hand to hear current Board Chairman George Simmons provided a humorous “roast” of Tom. But George also shared that Tom has supported Tall Timbers for over 30 years. Tom first became a Tall Timbers’ member in 1988, and served on the Board of Trustees since 2005. He guided the organization through an important period of growth as Chairman of the Board for the past six years.
In appreciation for his many years of service, Tom Rankin was given a historic longleaf pine section by Development Director Crystal Rice. The pine section is from a tree stump whose growth rings show it was a seedling in the 1400s and was 300 years old before its demise.
Tom’s approach to managing is “hands-on,” and he has taken this same approach as a Tall Timbers’ Board member. With a depth of business experience, he asks the hard questions, challenges our thinking, and then supports us. When the Red Hills that he cherishes was under threat from an unnecessary toll road set to run into Jefferson County, Tom dove in as a leader and team member for our outreach and education efforts to successfully repeal the legislation.
We are grateful that Tom has brought his stewardship ethic to both the land of the Red Hills and to the Tall Timbers organization. He is leaving his own fingerprints on the Red Hills and will be appreciated by all of us for years to come.
And, we thank the many sponsors who made this event honoring Tom Rankin possible and the guests who attended and supported Tall Timbers’ mission by generously bidding on the silent and live auction items. We really appreciate your support!
Auction Photo Gallery
Checking out the Silent Auction
Checking out the Silent Auction
Ladies from sponsor TC Federal Bank
Honoree Tom Rankin’s Grandchildren
Tom Rankin enjoyed the evening as family and friends were in attendance.
Board Chairman George Simmons “roasted” Tom before the Live Auction.
Tom is applauded for his service to Tall Timbers and commitment to the Red Hills region.
Auctioneer Charlie Whitney starts the Live Auction bidding.
Black Lab puppy with its new owner, the winning bidder. The puppy was donated by Blue Cypress Kennels.
Nilo is an 11,000-acre property in the heart of the Albany, Georgia Quail Plantation belt, well known for its world class wild quail hunting and large whitetails. Nilo is Olin spelled backwards, mirroring the last name of the original owner, John Olin, of Olin Winchester fame. Over 70 years later, the property is still in the family and is owned and operated by his grandchildren. Gene and Evelyn Williams (Mr. Olin’s daughter), were instrumental in establishing the Albany Quail Project in 1993, during their tenure as owners, as well as helping to oversee this project becoming part of Tall Timbers Game Bird Program in 2008. Therefore it is fitting the property would host this year’s event— marking the 30th year of the Albany Quail Project. This year’s tour will highlight intensive quail management on sandy land, large-scale cleanup and reforestation following the tornadoes and hurricanes of the last several years, and trophy whitetail deer management.
Kevin’s 5th Annual Southern Game Fair celebrates Thomasville’s authentic historical sporting lifestyle by bringing families and community together to promote the preservation of the longleaf pine forests and the bobwhite quail. This charity event benefits Tall Timbers.
The event will be held on the lawn at Tall Timbers in front of the historic Beadel House. Festivities include a cocktail reception, silent and live auction, and dinner. The auction features world class artwork, unparalleled hunting and fishing opportunities, and unique offerings from the Red Hills region and beyond. Reservations are required. The Auction Brochure provides sponsorship opportunities and ticket information. For questions, contact the Development Office at (850) 893-4153 x249.
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!
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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
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
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.
Selected Publications authored by Wildland Fire Science staff.
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.
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.
The 24th Annual Kate Ireland Memorial Dinner & Auction was held Thursday evening, October 14, 2021 at Tall Timbers’ headquarters in Tallahassee, Florida. The event honored long-time Tall Timbers’ Trustee Tom Rankin. It was a sell-out event, with over 400 in attendance.
Festivities included a cocktail reception, silent and live auction, and dinner served under a huge tent overlooking Lake Iamonia. The auction featured a compelling collection of world class artwork, unparalleled hunting and fishing opportunities, vacation getaways, and unique offerings from the Red Hills region and beyond.
