By By Lydia Grimes
features reporter
For 60 years, the U.S. Forest Service has been helping private landowners learn more about regeneration of the longleaf pine through its Escambia Experimental Forest program.
That research has helped the forestry industry and wildlife habitats, Forest Service officials said.
On Tuesday, Forest Service officials and others in the industry gathered to celebrate the anniversary and take a field trip through the forest.
Private landowners gathered at the headquarters of the experimental forest south of Brewton to learn the history and advances in the growth of longleaf pines. They were given tours to different parts of the forest.
One of those presentations came from Research Forester William D. Boyer, who gave a demonstration on the growth and regeneration in specified areas of the forest.
The Escambia was established in 1947 on private land leased from the Cedar Creek Land and Timber Company, formerly T.R. Miller Mill Company. The 3,000-acre tract has served as a demonstration site for longleaf pine management for the small-scale private landowner.