Tall Timbers Research Station and Land Conservancy
 

Tall Timbers Celebrates 50 Years
as Stewards of Wildlife & Wildlands

Established on February 7, 1958, the upcoming year marks Tall Timbers’ 50th Anniversary and features yearlong activities to commemorate this historic milestone.

For a Calendar of dates, events and locations of activities we have planned during the year, click here. Information about these activities will be posted on this Web site. Please visit the site regularly for updates as some dates may change or be determined.

Commemorating 50 Years

Our Mission

For 50 years Tall Timbers’ mission has been to foster exemplary land stewardship through research, conservation and education.

Our History

We are the birthplace of modern fire ecology, the home of the nation’s pre-eminent game bird management research program and one of the premier land trusts in the nation.

  • Incorporated in 1958 through a gift from Henry Beadel of his 2,800 acre plantation;
  • Established as a fire-type nature preserve to look at the long-term effects of fire on plants, animals and game birds in particular;
  • Focused on the management of land for the benefit of bobwhite quail and other wildlife;
  • Acquired an additional 1,200 acres through gifts, bequests and purchases for a total of 4,000 acres now under Tall Timbers’ management.
Tall Timbers founders, l-r, Herbert Stoddard, E.V. Komarek, Henry Beadel (far right) with Cowboy Stevens at Birdsong plantation, November 1958.
Tall Timbers founders, l-r, Herbert Stoddard, E.V. Komarek, Henry Beadel (far right) with Cowboy Stevens at Birdsong plantation, November 1958.		 Historic Beadel House at Tall Timbers Plantation as it appeared in the 1920s.
Historic Beadel House at Tall Timbers Plantation as it appeared in the 1920s.

Fifty Years of Accomplishments

  • Outdoor advertisement promoting prescribed fire.
    Outdoor advertisement promoting prescribed fire.

    View of the Ocklockonee River from a
    View of the Ocklockonee River from a
    conservation easement property in Thomas County, GA.
    Provided the research and scientific evidence for promoting and supporting the right to burn;
  • Saved more than 100,000 acres through conservation easements; • Helped shape public policy regarding wildlife and land management and the use of prescribed fire;
  • Exercised advocacy and planning efforts to promote smart growth and discourage urban sprawl in the greater Red Hills region to protect traditional rural land issues important to this community;
  • Produced the science-based land management research that has brought bobwhite quail populations to historically high levels in the Red Hills region;
  • Enhanced the nation’s largest population of Red-cockaded Woodpeckers on private lands;
  • Served as a resource for scientists from around the world to advance their knowledge of wildlife and wildlands stewardship including the use of fire;
  • Became a model for application to public and private lands of best land management practices.

Our Vision for the Next 50 Years

  • To be the leading center of excellence in science-based best practices for wildlife and wildlands management;
  • To protect and preserve the greater Red Hills region and its community values;
  • To ensure that hunting and traditional rural land uses remain strong and viable;
  • To serve as a model for other communities in successful conservation programming and planning.

Our Challenges

  • The right to burn is being threatened by policy makers;
  • Quail populations in the greater southeast continue to decline in alarming numbers;
  • Urban sprawl in the Tallahassee area has grown 1500% over 50 years;
  • Environmental threats to clean air, clean water and traditional land uses continue to change and increase.