Gift Trees Planting Project – Florida

Project Description

This Gifted Tree Planting Project is  in Apalachicola National Forest, Florida.
This forest is the largest U.S. national forest in the state of Florida, located just outside
the capital of Tallahassee. It encompasses 632,890 acres and is the only
national forest located in the Florida Panhandle.

The Apalachicola National Forest is home to some of the most unique animal and plant species in the
country. Notable animals that inhabit its forest are red-cockaded woodpecker, red fox, racoon, gray fox,
bobcat, coyote, black bear, wild turkey, and alligator. In recent years, unhealthy forests have been major
contributors to Florida’s disastrous wildfires and unprecedented outbreaks of southern pine beetles.
Additionally, the region is frequently hit by strong storms and hurricanes, contributing to severe,
long-term damage to forest resources.

Longleaf pine forests and savannas have been drastically reduced
from an estimated 90 million acres to less than 3 million due to the above factors and over-utilization.
Your tree planting project will help restore the Longleaf Pine overstory on this historically wooded site.
Re-establishing the pine overstory will improve habitat for native wildlife species as well as provide
watershed benefits, such as improved water filtration and erosion control, to the nearby rivers.