Tall Timbers Research Station and Land Conservancy is a research and learning facility located in northern

Leon County, Florida Leon County () is a County (United States), county in the Florida Panhandle, Panhandle of the U.S. state of Florida. It was named after the Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population w ...

, just off County Road 12 on the north side of

Lake Iamonia Lake Iamonia is a large, subtropical prairie lake in northern Leon County, Florida, United States, created during the Pleistocene epoch. History Forming Iamonia Lake Iamonia's base was established during the Early Pleistocene through submergen ...

. Tall Timbers researches the areas of

fire ecology Fire ecology is a scientific discipline concerned with the effects of fire on natural ecosystems. Many ecosystems, particularly prairie, savanna, chaparral and coniferous forests, have evolved with fire as an essential contributor to habitat vit ...

resource management In organizational studies, resource management is the efficient and effective development of an organization's resources when they are needed. Such resources may include the financial resources, inventory, human skills, production resources, or ...

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests and woodlands for associated resources for human and Natural environment, environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and ...

, game bird management, and

vertebrate Vertebrates () are animals with a vertebral column (backbone or spine), and a cranium, or skull. The vertebral column surrounds and protects the spinal cord, while the cranium protects the brain. The vertebrates make up the subphylum Vertebra ...

ecology Ecology () is the natural science of the relationships among living organisms and their Natural environment, environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community (ecology), community, ecosystem, and biosphere lev ...

Origins

Edward Beadel was a wealthy Architect from

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

who went south each winter. He was also an avid hunter who lodged at the Piney Woods Hotel in

Thomasville, Georgia Thomasville is the county seat of Thomas County, Georgia, United States. The population was 18,881 in 2020. The city deems itself the "City of Roses" and holds an annual Rose Festival. The city features plantations open to the public, a histor ...

. The hotel was constructed circa 1885 but burned to the ground in 1906. "Beadel would often cross the Florida border to hunt on the property of Charlie Davis. Beadel was so impressed with Leon County that in 1895 he purchased 2,200-acres (890 ha) of land along the north shore of Lake Iamonia for $8000 (~$ in ). At that time he also designed and built a $3000

vernacular Vernacular is the ordinary, informal, spoken language, spoken form of language, particularly when perceptual dialectology, perceived as having lower social status or less Prestige (sociolinguistics), prestige than standard language, which is mor ...

colonial revival The Colonial Revival architectural style seeks to revive elements of American colonial architecture. The beginnings of the Colonial Revival style are often attributed to the Centennial Exhibition of 1876, which reawakened Americans to the arch ...

home where a plantation house had once stood. He renamed the property Tall Timbers Plantation. The home had its own water tower, boat house, and other outbuildings. Edward Beadel died in 1919 and the property passed to his nephew, Henry Ludlow Beadel. Henry was a philanthropist and naturalist who had been hunting in Leon County since 1894. An additional 600-acres was added to the plantation. Two years later, a single story, five-bay wing was constructed east of the main house, connected by an 86-foot porch. Additional bedroom space was created by adding three dormers to the front of the main house. Henry lived in the east wing from 1921 until his death in 1963 and the interior remains unchanged. Field hunting was accomplished via horse-drawn carriage. For duck hunting, Henry used a handmade tin boat of between 8 and 9 feet in length. Tall Timbers also had a number of

canoe A canoe is a lightweight, narrow watercraft, water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using paddles. In British English, the term ' ...

s. By this time, the house had a huge stone

fireplace A fireplace or hearth is a structure made of brick, stone or metal designed to contain a fire. Fireplaces are used for the relaxing ambiance they create and for heating a room. Modern fireplaces vary in heat efficiency, depending on the design. ...

and

rustic furniture Rustic furniture is furniture employing sticks, twigs or logs for a natural look. The term "rustic" is derived from Latin (peasant; as opposed to urban). The style is rooted in Romantic tradition. In the US it is almost synonymous with the Natio ...

fit for a lodge. The exterior had a sweeping porch facing the lake. Beadel was one of several plantation owners who sponsored a 1924 scientific inquiry into local quail population declines. This was the first study that grew into the research station. Henry Beadel's will left the plantation for use as a nature preserve for wildlife research. The Tall Timbers Inc was established in 1958 and incorporated May 24, 1960. The interior of the main house was modified for use as offices of the Research Station. In 2014 the Conservancy announced the donation of the 9,100-acre Dixie Plantation from the Geraldine C. M. Livingston Foundation. The Oak Hill Plantation placed a conservation easement on almost one thousand acres through the conservancy. As of 2018, the organization held in excess of 125,000 acres of

conservation easement In the United States, a conservation easement (also called conservation covenant, conservation restriction or conservation servitude) is a power invested in a qualified land conservation organization called a "land trust", or a governmental (muni ...

s in Georgia and Florida, the area's biggest private land trust. That total rose to 158,000 acres in 2020.

Fire Ecology Program

The Fire Ecology Program is designed to provide the public with applicable, science-based information on

prescribed fire A controlled burn or prescribed burn (Rx burn) is the practice of intentionally setting a fire to change the assemblage of vegetation and decaying material in a landscape. The purpose could be for forest management, ecological restoration, ...

and vegetation dynamics in the southern pine

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) is a system formed by Organism, organisms in interaction with their Biophysical environment, environment. The Biotic material, biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and en ...

, specifically in the

Red Hills Region The Red Hills or Tallahassee Hills is a region of gently rolling hills in the southeastern United States. It is a geomorphic region and an ecoregion. Location The Red Hills physiographic region of northern Florida was defined in 1914 as most o ...

National training

The National Advanced Fire & Resource Institute created the National Interagency Prescribed Fire Training Center (PFTC) in 1998 and Tall Timbers was involved with the program from its beginning. According to their website, the purpose of the PFTC is to "Provide maximum opportunities for federal, state, local, and tribal government agencies and other organizations to build skills and knowledge of prescribed fire, with an emphasis on field experience". The courses have drawn attendees from 18 countries and every state except Rhode Island. Hands-on training for fire professionals lasts 20 days, and administrative workshops are completed in 6 days. The PFTC National offices and equipment relocated to the Tall Timbers Research Station in the spring of 2021.

Resource Management Program

The Resource Management Program's responsibility is to manage the land so that the upland forests are maintained in an open, park-like condition using prescribed fire, mechanical tools, and chemical techniques to accomplish land management goals. The Forestry Program is designed to meet the ecological forestry research needs of the

between

Tallahassee, Florida Tallahassee ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of and the only incorporated municipality in Leon County, Florida, Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Fl ...

and

Game Bird Program

The Game Bird Program is studying the northern bobwhite quail (''Colinus virginianus'') and its habitats.

Bird Dog Competition

The Continental Field Trial is a regional competition of

pointing dog Pointing dogs, sometimes called bird dogs, are a type of gundog typically used in finding game. Gundogs are traditionally divided into three classes: retrievers, flushing dogs, and pointing breeds. The name ''pointer'' comes from the dog's inst ...

s that had been traditionally held at the Dixie Plantation since 1937. The availability of quail in the wild provides a true test for 146 "derby" and "open" dogs and their owners who travel from across the United States.

Vertebrate Ecology Lab

The Vertebrate Ecology Lab was renamed as the Stoddard Lab of Ornithology in 2018 to commemorate the many contributions that Herbert Stoddard made to wildlife conservation and research. Current research projects range from assessing the effects that prescribed fires have on

black rail The black rail (''Laterallus jamaicensis'') is a mouse-sized member of the rail family Rallidae that occurs in both North and South America. Taxonomy The black rail was Species description, formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist J ...

red-cockaded woodpecker The red-cockaded woodpecker (''Leuconotopicus borealis'') is a woodpecker endemic to the southeastern United States. It is a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973. Description The red-cockaded woodpecker is small- to mi ...

s, and

Bachman's sparrow Bachman's sparrow (''Peucaea aestivalis''), also known as the pinewoods sparrow or oakwoods sparrow, is a small American sparrow that is endemic to the southeastern United States. This species was named in honor of Reverend John Bachman. Adults ...

s to factors promoting

cooperative breeding Cooperative breeding is a social system characterized by alloparental care: offspring receive care not only from their parents, but also from additional group members, often called helpers. Cooperative breeding encompasses a wide variety of group s ...

in the

brown-headed nuthatch The brown-headed nuthatch (''Sitta pusilla'') is a small songbird endemic to pine Temperate coniferous forest, forests throughout the Southeastern United States. Genetic analyses indicated low differentiation between northern and southern populat ...

. The Stoddard Bird Lab also works to expand the regional population of red-cockaded woodpeckers using translocation and the construction of artificial cavities. Red-cockaded woodpeckers were extirpated from Tall Timbers in the 1970s, but
reintroduction effort
initiated in 2008 using translocation and artificial cavities has led to a population of 12-14 breeding groups. Similar efforts on other properties in the Red Hills region have increased the regional woodpecker population by 30% (from 170 to 220 breeding groups). The lab also conducts translocation and fire management research with the frosted elfin, a rare butterfly.

References

External links

Tall Timbers Research Center and Land ConservancyThe Nature ConservancyQuail Unlimited

a
National Register of Historic Places
{{authority control Protected areas of Leon County, Florida Environmental science Environmental organizations based in Florida Forestry in the United States Forest research institutes Plantations in Leon County, Florida National Register of Historic Places in Leon County, Florida Organizations established in 1958 Forest conservation organizations