Stick around for 20 years or so and you might get to see the first cones from the thousands of longleaf pines that were planted in late December. Be here in 80 to 100 years and you’ll see them matured and, we trust, having grown in even higher numbers.

Not sure you’ll be around that long? No need to worry. Dedicated and steady cultivation over the decades to come should ensure the species will again thrive.

Oh, the longleaf pines might not ever again cover a million acres as they did in this country 400-plus years ago. But at least they’ll be considerably noticeable and much farther removed from the edge of extinction.

This replenishment is an excellent example of people and agencies working cooperatively for the sake of the environment and people in generations to come.

Much gratitude is due to the Virginia Department of Forestry, the state Department of Conservation and Recreation and its subdivisions, the people who did the actual site preparation and plantings. Also meriting recognition is the Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indians, on whose land the trees have been planted.

We’re confident that the descendants will join in the guardianship of this essential element in nature, and do all they can to help the longleaf pines thrive for centuries.