Field Tour – Nokuse Plantation & Eglin Air Force Base
Thursday, October 10, 2024 | 8:00 a.m. - 4:05 p.m.
$125 to attend; includes lunch. Field trip expense is not included in full conference registration.
Experience a landscape where old growth longleaf pine nearly reaches the sandy shores of the Choctawhatchee Bay, where wiregrass flows as far as the eye can see, and rare, threatened, and endangered species can find refuge.
This year’s Longleaf Conference Field Tour will bring participants to two properties that anchor the Gulf Coastal Plain Ecosystem Partnership (GCPEP) in Okaloosa and Walton counties, Florida.
Nokuse Plantation (pronounced “no-go-see,” from the Creek word for black bear) is a 56,000 -acre private conservation initiative. It is touted as the largest private conservation project east of the Mississippi River and is a strategic connection on the eastern end of the GCPEP landscape. The mission of Nokuse Plantation is to restore and preserve viable ecosystems that support native plants and animals. To that end, Nokuse has become renowned for its status as a recipient site for gopher tortoises that are displaced and relocated due to development projects. Nokuse’s mostly xeric upland habitats, well-managed with fire, has made it a success story still in progress. During the tour stop at Nokuse, guests will hear from their dedicated staff and partners on the landscape-level conservation work that is taking place to replenish and restore Northwest Florida’s biodiversity.
At 463,441 acres, Eglin Air Force Base is the largest military base in the United States. Eglin serves as the focal point for all Air Force armament. It also protects the largest remaining old growth longleaf pine stands in the world, along with other unique communities and species. The Brier Creek area is a mosaic of seepage slopes (or bogs) embedded within rolling sandhills, mesic flatwoods and upland pine communities. This area is designated by Eglin natural resource managers as an Outstanding Natural Area due to its floristic diversity, fire-maintained baygall and seep ecotones, and habitat for endangered species including the red-cockaded woodpecker. Brier Creek is well interior to the Air Force Base and is not readily accessible to the public. The tour will provide guests with a unique opportunity to experience this truly “outstanding” landscape.
A lunch featuring local flavors will be served at White Point Recreation Area. Guests will be invited to take a short walking tour of White Point during this stop. White Point is located on the shores of the Choctawhatchee Bay, where a 170-acre stand of coastal old growth longleaf pine has persisted in an unusual transition from sandhill to flatwoods to salt marsh. This area is also an example of wildland-urban interface, with the town of Niceville abutting the north line of this natural area, managed by the natural resources staff at Eglin Air Force Base.
The tour is expected to depart the Sandestin Resort at 8:00 am and return to the resort at 4:05 pm. We’ll travel in comfortable coach buses, and lunch will be provided for all registered attendees on the tour, as will drinking water and snacks. Portable restroom facilities will be available throughout the day.
Each of the tour stops requires moderate walking over uneven terrain to experience the full program, with some standing for periods of time. If you have questions over the accessibility of the tour, please indicate your concerns on the registration form so that we can do our best to accommodate those.
This year’s Longleaf Conference Field Tour will bring participants to two properties that anchor the Gulf Coastal Plain Ecosystem Partnership (GCPEP) in Okaloosa and Walton counties, Florida.
Nokuse Plantation (pronounced “no-go-see,” from the Creek word for black bear) is a 56,000 -acre private conservation initiative. It is touted as the largest private conservation project east of the Mississippi River and is a strategic connection on the eastern end of the GCPEP landscape. The mission of Nokuse Plantation is to restore and preserve viable ecosystems that support native plants and animals. To that end, Nokuse has become renowned for its status as a recipient site for gopher tortoises that are displaced and relocated due to development projects. Nokuse’s mostly xeric upland habitats, well-managed with fire, has made it a success story still in progress. During the tour stop at Nokuse, guests will hear from their dedicated staff and partners on the landscape-level conservation work that is taking place to replenish and restore Northwest Florida’s biodiversity.
At 463,441 acres, Eglin Air Force Base is the largest military base in the United States. Eglin serves as the focal point for all Air Force armament. It also protects the largest remaining old growth longleaf pine stands in the world, along with other unique communities and species. The Brier Creek area is a mosaic of seepage slopes (or bogs) embedded within rolling sandhills, mesic flatwoods and upland pine communities. This area is designated by Eglin natural resource managers as an Outstanding Natural Area due to its floristic diversity, fire-maintained baygall and seep ecotones, and habitat for endangered species including the red-cockaded woodpecker. Brier Creek is well interior to the Air Force Base and is not readily accessible to the public. The tour will provide guests with a unique opportunity to experience this truly “outstanding” landscape.
A lunch featuring local flavors will be served at White Point Recreation Area. Guests will be invited to take a short walking tour of White Point during this stop. White Point is located on the shores of the Choctawhatchee Bay, where a 170-acre stand of coastal old growth longleaf pine has persisted in an unusual transition from sandhill to flatwoods to salt marsh. This area is also an example of wildland-urban interface, with the town of Niceville abutting the north line of this natural area, managed by the natural resources staff at Eglin Air Force Base.
The tour is expected to depart the Sandestin Resort at 8:00 am and return to the resort at 4:05 pm. We’ll travel in comfortable coach buses, and lunch will be provided for all registered attendees on the tour, as will drinking water and snacks. Portable restroom facilities will be available throughout the day.
Each of the tour stops requires moderate walking over uneven terrain to experience the full program, with some standing for periods of time. If you have questions over the accessibility of the tour, please indicate your concerns on the registration form so that we can do our best to accommodate those.