The Washington, D.C.-based National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) has announced $7.5 million in grants to restore and protect longleaf pine forests in nine southern states.

The 22 grants will leverage an additional $9 million in matching contributions for project support totaling $16.5 million. Awarded through NFWF’s Longleaf Landscape Stewardship Fund (LLSF), the funding will bolster longleaf pine habitat restoration across the tree’s historic range, which includes Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, and Virginia. Only 5 percent of the tree’s original habitat remains, threatening the loss of “a stunning diversity” of plants and animals, including rare and endangered wildlife. Overall, 25,000 acres of new longleaf pine are to be planted and an additional 375,000 acres of existing habitat are to be restored through prescribed burning and the removal of invasive species. In addition, grantees will engage landowners through workshops, trainings, and one-on-one technical assistance to restore and maintain longleaf pine habitats on private lands.

LLSF is a public-private partnership that includes the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, the U.S. Forest Service, the U.S. Department of Defense, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, International Paper, One Tree Planted, Southern Company, Altria Group, and the Orton Foundation (the North Carolina affiliate of the Moore Charitable Foundation). Since 2012, the partnership has invested more than $57 million and leveraged an additional $69 million in matching contributions. Additional support was provided this year by the Bezos Earth Fund.

“Strategic, collaborative, and result-oriented actions are critical to restoring the longleaf pine ecosystem at a landscape scale,” said Louis Bacon, founder and chair of the Orton and Moore foundations. “We are proud to continue our support of NFWF’s efforts to restore, enhance, and protect critically threatened longleaf pine forests supporting the recovery of iconic and endangered species, and strengthening capacity of local organizations and communities to make impressive advances in forest health in the Southeast.”

For a complete list of LLSF grantees, see the NFWF website.

(Photo credit: Getty Images/cturtletrax)