Situated in Nacogdoches County in the heart of the "Piney Woods" of East Texas, Fritz Lewis' 11-acre CRP contract was planted to Longleaf Pines in 1999 to reduce sediment loss due to soil erosion.

Previously, the land was planted to fruits and vegetables. The slope of the terrain is approximately six percent, making the soil highly susceptible to sediment loss. Soil loss prior to establishment of the CRP Tree Planting practice was estimated at 15 tons per acre per year. Afterward, estimated soil loss became only one ton per year.

The reduction in soil loss greatly improves water quality in the surrounding area because less sediment is carried away by surface runoff. The highly erodible land status of the field made it a perfect candidate for CRP.

Today, along with preserving water quality, the young Longleaf Pine forest provides native wildlife habitat through forest cover and browse production. Located in CRP's Longleaf National Priority area, which extends from Georgia to East Texas, Fritz's field of Longleaf Pine trees will help to restore an ecosystem once widespread throughout much of the southeastern U.S.

The longleaf pine ecosystem once covered 90 million acres in the Southeastern U.S.

Young longleaf pines planted on CRP acreage provide forest cover and browse production for native wildlife.