The land mass early European explorers discovered when stepping off ships some five hundred years ago would be frankly, unrecognizable to many Americans living today— perhaps no part of our nation experienced as much ecological loss as the South. The great longleaf pine forests have all but disappeared, lost to logging and development.
![Bald Cypress (Cypress family) – September](https://s33944.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/Taxo_Taxodium-distichum_MSBG-J19-3.jpg)