Highlights Longleaf Pine Heritage Preserve was acquired and dedicated by the DNR's Heritage Trust Program to protect a seasonally-wet longleaf pine Pinus palustris savanna, several pond cypress Taxodium ascendens depressions, and the rare species associated with these ecological communities. Longleaf occurred on about 90 million acres, and dominated about 60 million acres. Today, because of fire suppression and harvesting without replacement, only about 3 million acres remain. Longleaf forests, although dominated by a single canopy tree species, are one of the most biologically diverse ecosystems outside the tropics. The preserve's seasonally-wet longleaf pine forest has subsisted because of periodic fire.
Biologists conduct prescribed burns on the preserve to mimic natural fires.
Several fallow agricultural fields lie on the preserve's high ground. These fields were once part of the longleaf savanna, and have been replanted in longleaf pine. This bird is rare because of habitat alteration. The RCW's moniker derives from a very small red patch, or cockade located on the back of the male's head. Aggregates of these cavity trees are called clusters.