Alonzo and Eliza Register Family Partnership, LTD from Florida
What Makes Them Outstanding?
This is a unique situation in which the property was placed into a family farm partnership by Mr. and Mrs. Alonzo Register. The Register family lands have remained in the family for more than 120 years. The family initially joined the Tree Farm Program in 1960-61. The partnership is made up of 35 family members and is managed by three general partners: Julie Hannon, Frank Douglas and Mary Grace Crosby, grandchildren of Alonzo and Eliza Register. The general partners own and manage the property collectively and serve as an example to other forestland owners on how to keep a tree farm together as a family. The family has worked closely with Dave Lewis, (ACF member and SAF Certified Forester) their forestry consultant (Southern Forestry Consultants, Inc.) since the early 1990s. The general partners and Dave meet twice annually to review their management plan and make adjustments as needed.
Tree Farmer Story
The Alonzo and Eliza Family Partnership was formed in 1997 by Alonzo and Eliza Register so their land and timber would continue to be enjoyed by the family for generations to come. Alonzo was born and raised on the land. He worked the longleaf pine stands for turpentine from 1928 to the 1980s and continued to enjoy the land and timber until his death in 1998. When they were children, Julie Hannon and her cousins Frank Douglas and Mary Grace Crosby spent a lot of time on their grandfather Alonzo Register’s tree farm in Woodville, Florida. “We rode through the woods with him, hatched out baby quail, played with the goats and milked the cows,” Hannon recalled. They grew close to the family patriarch and learned what was important to him. The partnership is committed to practicing sustainability, harvesting timber in a way that they always have trees on their property and growing wood fiber. The Register family is active in managing their land, allowing for recreation, wildlife management, water and soil conservation and preserving archaeological and special sites. The family partners have managed to keep the entire tree farm property within the family rather than divide it into parcels. This has led to family cooperation in decision making and every family member enjoys visiting and working on the property.
Wood
Today, the 1,139-acre certified tree farm is in timber production with natural longleaf pine and planted pine stands. Approximately 60% of the property is in natural longleaf stands, most of which has a healthy mix of mature trees (80+ years old) and various stages of younger trees that have been naturally regenerated. The rest of the timberland is planted in slash, loblolly, and longleaf pine of various age classes. The timberland is managed with periodic selection harvesting, mechanical treatments, and prescribed burning. The selection harvests utilize individual trees via selective marking by foresters to remove defective and declining trees. Tree selection emphasizes improving stand quality and protecting existing natural regeneration, as well as promoting future regeneration. Past harvests have selectively removed low quality and overcrowded timber and today much of the timber that is harvested is high value sawtimber and utility poles. Prescribed fire is an integral tool used in managing the Register Family Partnership timberlands. The pine stands are prescribed burned on a 3-year rotation. Besides timber harvesting, revenues are generated through hunting leases and pine straw sales. They promote natural regeneration in two ways - through frequent selective harvesting every 10 years or so, and by frequent use of prescribed fire. The property has been under a written forest management plan since the early 1990s and it is reviewed annually and updated every five years.
Water
The Register Farm is generally flat to gently rolling sandy land that is not highly erodible. The soils are dominated by Alpin, Blanton, Lutterloh, and Ortega sandy loams that were formed by marine deposits. They range from excessively drained upland sands (Alpin) to somewhat poorly drained flatwoods soils (Lutterloh). Although the soils on the Register Farm are generally sandy, they have proven to be quite productive for growing pine timber. There are a few wetlands on this property and all silvicultural activities are carried out in concert with Florida’s Silviculture Best Management Practices. There are several sinkholes on the property, although they generally do not hold water, they may be directly connected to the aquifer and therefore they can be a conduit for pollutants to contaminate groundwater. Following BMPs and using uneven aged silviculture greatly reduces the potential for pollutant sentering sinkholes on the Register lands.
Wildlife Including Threatened and Endangered Species
The diversity of the Register forests is important with respect to wildlife, since diversity is the single most important characteristic that affects wildlife populations. Having different stands, ages, species, burning rotations, as well as using different management practices creates variety in ground cover and food sources which will greatly enhance wildlife populations. The transitional zones or edges between these different stands provide even more variety. The transitional zones are where most wildlife activity occurs. Brush piles have been established near transitional zones to provide shelter for wildlife. Wide firelines have been established between and within stands and maintained on an annual basis by discing in the fall or winter. The silvicultural activities that are being carried out on a regular basis on the Register Farm are generally beneficial to wildlife. The regular use of prescribed fire, uneven-aged management, and using toward longer rotations in pine stands are very beneficial to wildlife. In Florida, regular fire is natural and critical to maintaining quality wildlife habitat. There are no known threatened or endangered species present on the Register Property. There is a small fishing pond that also provides a valuable water source for wildlife since there isn't a significant water source for them in this area. Most of the property is currently under hunt club leases to two different parties. These two clubs are primarily interested in deer and turkey hunting, and they do some wildlife planting, primarily winter green plots to feed and attract deer. There is an excellent population of deer on this property and the surrounding area.
Recreation and Aesthetics Including Special Sites
Two hunting leases are active on different parts of the farm. Family members also hunt areas not covered by the active hunting leases. Regular family visits to the farm include activities such as the annual management tour, hunting, hiking, fishing, and property maintenance. The Register property has a few sites that qualify as special sites. These include a couple of protected old home sites. There is a major sinkhole that is protected by a hardwood buffer and an old turpentine still/loading area. These areas have been left relatively untouched and there are no plans for active forest management in these areas at this time. There are two old home sites on the property with remnants of "huts" in the woods that theturpentine workers would retreat to if a storm threatened their safety. Small piles of old clay turpentine cups can also be found on the property. The Register family management plan and activities seeks to protect and maintain these special sites.
