Recently, the L-A-D Foundation came out with its annual report for 2023, giving local communities a chance to look over its recent strides and future plans. The opening statement, provided by foundation president Susan Flader, detailed continued work being done to complete the strategic plan set by the foundation, as well as completion of a number of key projects including the completion of its 2022 Continuous Forest Inventory, receiving its forest management certification, and the development of its ecological management plan.
Also highlighted within its 2023 annual report was the transformation of the Ozark Natural and Cultural Resource Center, in which a committee comprised of ONCRC and SACBA (Salem Area Community Betterment Association) board members and volunteers met in late 2022 for a strategic planning exercise facilitated by L-A-D Foundation Manager Roger Still to craft a vision for the center as a northern gateway to the Ozarks. Out of it came the idea for a mural on the natural and cultural heritage of the Ozarks on the exterior of the building that would compel people driving through town on Main Street/Highway 19 to stop and visit.
To see the full story on the mural, visit https://www.thesalemnewsonline.com/news/article_43e4530a-0477-11ee-9ab4-63e5b7accdfb.html#tncms-source=login.
Below is a summary of L-A-D Foundation’s many steps outlined within its 2023 annual report. To see the full report, please visit https://ladfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/L-A-D-Foundation-2023-Annual-Report-FINAL-1.pdf.
The L-A-D Foundation is a Missouri private operating foundation dedicated to exemplary stewardship of Pioneer Forest and other natural and cultural areas and to scientific research, education, public recreation, and encouragement for projects and policies that have a positive influence on the Missouri Ozarks region and beyond.
Leo Drey, the founder of the foundation, established the L-A-D Foundation in 1962—primarily to hold and protect areas of outstanding natural or cultural resource value in the Missouri Ozarks, most of which have become designated natural areas or state parks. In 2004, Leo and his wife Kay donated Pioneer Forest to the L-A-D Foundation to be managed in perpetuity as an exemplary demonstration of conservative uneven-aged single-tree selection forestry and ecological stewardship.
2022 Continuous Forest Inventory
Data reflected a decline in reproduction of white and red oak and shortleaf pine. Staff will address this through various management efforts to allow more light to reach the forest floor. Through salvage operations necessitated by heavy red oak mortality and a large wildfire that burned nearly a thousand acres, more timber was harvested in 2023 than ever before.
Pioneer staff wrapped up the 2022 CFI in early 2023, which marked the 15th measurement of Pioneer’s permanent inventory plots, providing 70 years of data. Data collected was analyzed and results inform timber management and scientific research—40,100 trees, from seedlings to sawlogs, were counted and measured.
Species composition by volume changed slightly in 2022. The red oak group remains the dominant species by volume, even while decreasing from 40% in 2017 to 37% in 2022. White oak increased by 3% from 21% to 24%, and short leaf pine remained the same at 29%.
Sawlog growth was 219 board feet per acre per year, which is down slightly from the 2017 CFI of 228 board feet per acre per year. On the current 143,880 acres of Pioneer Forest, that’s over 31.5 million board feet of growth annually.
While sawlog volume increased, the regeneration data collected during the 2022 CFI show further decline in the establishment of new oak seedlings and saplings. Data indicates regeneration of both white oak and red oak has decreased, while more shade-tolerant species such as maple, black gum, serviceberry, and dogwood have increased.
Red oak mortality
In 2023, Pioneer staff completed pre-harvest timber cruises and noticed red oak mortality had increased significantly beyond mortality levels found during the 2022 CFI. Staff were alarmed by the total acreage and quantity of standing dead timber in certain sections of the forest. Unable to detect a pattern of mortality on the landscape, staff contacted Robbie Doerhoff, forest entomologist with Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC).
Doerhoff was not concerned regarding the rate of mortality of red oaks on the ownership, citing the age of the dead and dying trees being close to 70 years. The average lifespan for red oaks, when they become vulnerable to various forms of stress, is about 70 years.
Not only that, large shifts in climatic patterns have played a significant role in tree stress and mortality. Severe climactic events in the region have led to severe droughts in the Missouri Ozarks—in 2012, 2022, and 2023. In the spring of 2017, the Ozarks suffered the most intense flooding on record.
For 2023, Pioneer salvaged some 3.6 million board feet of dead timber, primarily red oak.
Pioneer has not seen this level of mortality since the Rapid White Oak Mortality in 2012. Staff will continue to monitor for new areas of severe mortality and manage salvage operations. They will also be removing more of the mid-story through timber stand improvement and monitoring to track patterns of regeneration in such areas.
Pioneer Forest Certification through SFI
After two years of preparation, Pioneer Forest received its Forest Management Certificate through the Sustainable Forestry Initiative®. Foresters Clay Jensen and Matt Skaggs led the process for certification. Pioneer now joins MDC in SFI® Certification. Together, they have more than 840,000 acres of certified forest lands in Missouri, and Pioneer will be able to partner with MDC to encourage other private landowners to become certified.
The Forest Management Standard promotes forestry practices based on 13 principles, 17 objectives, 41 performance measures, and 141 indicators. SFI requires participants to produce a working manual containing policy and procedures for the forest that meet all these standards. The manual also requires specific training for staff and contractors working in the forest. The forest and the documentation of its practices were then audited over a two day period by a third party accredited certification body.
Prescribed fires
L-A-D began working with partners to explore the use of fire to restore some of its natural areas in the 90s. An experienced ecologist and burn boss, Neal Humke, conducted Pioneer’s first prescribed fire in shortleaf pine stands south of Round Spring in 2009. Since then, Humke has worked with a seasonal fire crew, Pioneer staff, and various partners on prescribed burns in designated areas on Pioneer Forest—including a number of cross-boundary fires in order to secure regeneration and restore natural communities.
Meanwhile, most of Pioneer Forest and many other forests in the Ozarks have continued to accumulate ever-greater volumes of timber during many more decades of fire suppression. This has had its benefits, including continued growth of valuable timber and protection of human infrastructure. The resulting high fuel loads in an era of warming climate, severe droughts, and disease resulting from extreme weather events, however, can result in catastrophic wildfire, especially if ignited at the wrong time. These two types of fire can be thought of as “Good Fire” and “Bad Fire.”
Pioneer Forest suffered a damaging wildfire in April 2023 at a time of severe drought and high winds, resulting in nearly a thousand acres burned, considerably larger than the average wildfire in our part of the country.
MDC fire-fighting crews led suppression efforts with Timber Volunteer Fire Department and Pioneer staff assisting. The fire caused extensive tree mortality and scarring that may lead to even more mortality from insects and disease. Pioneer staff followed immediately with a salvage timber harvest, and plan to monitor the impact on regeneration.
Given the scale and remoteness of Pioneer Forest, staff are especially grateful to community members and agency partners who play a key role in early detection, reporting and quick suppression of wildfires to help reduce “Bad Fire” on the landscape.
L-A-D and Ozark National Scenic Riverways (ONSR) staff coordinated on cross-boundary management of the 909-acre Devil’s Well unit, including a prescribed fire in a recent expansion of the unit. Both organizations have a strong interest in monitoring plant community response to their prescribed fire efforts. In 2022, two moist woodland survey plots were installed. When staff returned to monitor the plots after the 2023 burn, they noted a 44.1% mean increase in the number of species per sampling quadrant and a 50.7% mean increase in species abundance. This outpaced other ONSR moist woodland plots by 14.1% and 34.8% respectively.
Ecological Management Plan
The board approved the first Ecological Management Plan for Pioneer Forest in 2023.
The comprehensive plan, developed under the leadership of chief ecologist Rebecca Landewe, focuses on defining ecological goals, objectives, and management procedures to maintain and promote healthy and resilient natural communities in the forest.
The plan establishes a Natural Features Inventory to systematically survey the forest for natural communities and other features—which will support identification and designation of new priority resource areas. The new plan will expand acreage under ecological management by designation of new priority resource areas. It will identify areas to study for future expansion.
The plan will support our future outreach and education initiatives, with Priority Resource Areas providing a variety of opportunities to educate audiences about natural communities in the Ozarks and share the story of Pioneer Forest.
Natural Features Inventory (NFI)
With leadership from Mike Currier, retired ecologist with Missouri State Parks and former Missouri State Natural Areas Coordinator, the first iteration of the Natural Features Inventory (NFI) was conducted in 2023 on the 6,150-acre Egyptian Tract in Reynolds County.
The NFI on the Egyptian Tract was extensive. The inventory identified 437 plant species, of which 71 are considered “conservative species” and have a Coefficient of Conservatism value (C Value) from 7-10 (top of the range). Nine plant species—six vascular and three mosses—were identified and are considered species of conservation concern. The Cerulean Warbler was also identified on the site.
This first NFI provides a model for future inventories. The next iteration of the NFI will focus on areas within the Roger Pryor Backcountry, which at over 62,000 acres is the largest contiguous acreage in Missouri. The area includes a wide variety of known natural features. An increased knowledge of the natural features there will enhance the ecological resource stewardship of Pioneer Forest.
By the numbers
• 7,918 forest acres harvested
• 19,462,194 total board feet harvested
• 284 feral hogs removed from Pioneer Forest
• 1,296 acres of L-A-D land burned by L-A-D fire program, by partners and volunteers
• 8,316 acres of partner lands burned with L-A-D assistance
• 1,014 acres of wildfire on L-A-D/Pioneer Forest Lands
• 27 caves monitored on L-A-D Foundation property in 2023, adding 113 faunal records
• 470 volunteer hours on trails in the Roger Pryor Pioneer Backcountry by Sierra Club
• 30 miles of trail maintained in partnership with the Sierra Club and MO State Parks
