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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I started thinking about this book while conducting background reading for another project, an oral history with Herbert Stoddard’s protégé and friend Leon Neel. I began with Stoddard’s memoir, a wonderful reflection on a life well lived but not, I thought, quite the stuff of a dissertation. I then turned to Stoddard’s The Bobwhite Quail, a staggering piece of work that located the South as a major center for modern American conservation—a perspective I was beginning to think simply did not exist. The cultural landscapes of the Red Hills leaped off the pages in such a way that immediately set me to thinking about how this place might complicate and, in many ways clarify, the history of American conservation. I still wasn’t convinced, however, until I, along with my graduate advisor Paul Sutter, visited Leon Neel. Leon led us through some of the most outstanding longleaf woodlands in the Southeast, and that sealed the deal. That first visit with Leon has led to several fulfilling years, both professionally and personally. Leon, Paul, and I converted Leon’s oral histories into a memoir and published it in 2010 as The Art of Managing Longleaf: A Personal History of the Stoddard-Neel Approach. And now this book is finally seeing print as well. More important, though, I’ve had the chance to become friends with Leon and his wife, Julie. They have welcomed me into their home, fed me, and given me a place to lay my head; they have been remarkable guides in the field; and they have shared stories with me about Herbert Stoddard, as well as their own lives. They have also read drafts of this book and offered words of both encouragement and correction. This book is much better because of their involvement with the project. Paul Sutter has been with this project from the beginning, and his guidance as mentor, editor, and friend has been exceptional. He read numerous drafts and always delivered lengthy feedback that tightened up my prose and analysis and usually led me to see things in a different light. I’ve been fortunate to have him on my side. xviii acknowledgments The history department at the University of Georgia was an outstanding intellectual home for seven years. Jim Cobb, John Inscoe, Allan Kulikoff, Shane Hamilton, and many other faculty members offered wise counsel time and again on not only this manuscript but also my career. Others at uga who influenced my thinking, and my drinking, include Judkin Browning, Amy Crowson, Frank Forts, Ed Hatfield, John Hayes, Chris Huff, Christopher Lawton, Robby Luckett, Alex Macaulay, Jason Manthorne, Ichiro Miyata, Steve Nash, Justin Nystrom, Tom Okie, Lesley-Anne Reed, Levi Van Sant, Hayden Smith, Bruce Stewart, and Keira Williams. Special thanks to Jim Giesen and Chris Manganiello for reading much of this work and for the many serious discussions we’ve had over the years about southern environmental history. The Institute for Southern Studies at the University of South Carolina was an ideal place to revise this manuscript for publication. Walter Egdar, Bob Ellis, Bob Brinkmeyer, Thorne Compton, Tara Powell, Mindi Spencer, and Walter Liniger were wonderful hallmates for two years. I am grateful too to the Watson-Brown Foundation for funding such a unique postdoctoral fellowship. In the history department at usc, Emily Brock, Don Doyle, and Ann Johnson were welcoming, and Tom Lekan’s generosity of time and spirit always left me overcome with appreciation. The Joseph W. Jones Center for Ecological Research at Ichauway has been a sort of part-time institutional home for me over the past several years. More than that, it is a spectacular place to find inspiration. Lindsay Boring offered unwavering support from beginning to end and has been generous enough to lend me the title of “Visiting Scientist” from time to time, a line on my cv that has raised some interesting questions during job interviews. Kevin McIntyre was my guide to all things southwest Georgia. He set me up for a six-month residency at Ichauway during the early stages of this project and gave first-rate advice at key moments along the way. Steve Jack, Bob Mitchell, Kay Kirkman, Lora Smith, Steve Golladay, Mike Smith, Woody Hicks, Jimmy Atkinson, and Mark Melvin were always patient with my lay questions about science and land management in the longleaf pine region. Thanks also to Sue Hilliard and Denise McWhorter for their skills of organization . One of...

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