Lawrence S. Earley

The longleaf pine ecosystem, also known as the Piney Woods, was one of the most extensive and biologically diverse woodlands in North America. It stretched over 92 million acres from Virginia to Texas, providing pasture for large cattle herds, prolific supplies of naval stores for the world's ships, and some of the hardest and most durable lumber ever known. Today, nearly 98 percent of these vast grass-covered forests have disappeared, threatening their astonishing biodiversity. This illustrated talk will cover the natural and cultural history of this great woodland, the reasons for its demise, and the recent efforts to restore longleaf pine in the South.

Lawrence S. Earley is a writer, editor, and photographer. He is a former editor of the monthly magazineWildlife in North Carolina and directed the Wildlife Commission’s educational publications unit. His book, Looking for Longleaf: The Fall and Rise of an American Forest, published in September 2004 by the University of North Carolina Press, won the 2005 Philip D. Reed Memorial Award, given by the Southern Environmental Law Center.

For more information, please visit: http://www.uncpress.unc.educ/books/t-6844.html or http://www.larryearleyphotography.com.