Hope for the American Chestnut

[ibbob]

Found in the local paper today.
http://www.thepilotnews.com/

Potawatomi Wildlife Park to aid in comeback of American chestnut
By Tim Robertson Staff Writer

TIPPECANOE - Potawatomi Wildlife Park, in Tippecanoe, may soon be at the center of an effort to restore an almost extinct tree to its natural habitat.

The American chestnut tree was once one of the dominant features of the landscape in the eastern United States. The tall, stately trees grew densely along the ridges of the Appalachian Mountains and inhabited most of the area between Maine and southern Mississippi, including Indiana.

In 1904, chestnut blight was discovered. It was brought to the U.S. by tree growers hoping to cross Chinese chestnut trees with American chestnut trees to produce bigger chestnuts. The blight spread throughout most of the American chestnut population. By the 1920s, the blight destroyed nearly all of the 4 billion American chestnut trees in the United States.

"Almost all of the chestnut trees you see today are Chinese chestnuts," said Bruce Wakeland, a local forestry consultant and board member of the American Chestnut Foundation.

The ACF is an organization devoted to staging a comeback for the trees. The ACF has spent the past 30 years developing a breed of American chestnut trees that is immune to the blight.


This spring, Wakeland planted six American chestnut trees in Potawatomi Wildlife Park to test whether the soil is compatible with the trees. If all goes as planned, three acres at the free-admission nature park will be planted with nearly 15,000 trees. Mathematically, one of every 64 of the trees planted will be resistant to the blight and the foundation will collect the seeds from these trees at the park to create nursery stock in Indiana Department of Natural Resources nurseries.

Wakeland said he thinks Potawatomi has good soil for the trees. "I'm pretty optimistic this is an excellent site," he said.

The ACF is using the Chinese chestnut's genetic immunity to the blight to develop an American chestnut with the genes to survive the blight. Through a succession of breed and cross-breeding, the ACF has developed parent trees which are 15/16 American chestnut.

Wakeland said the idea is to develop a tree with only the genes which cause immunity to chestnut blight from the Chinese chestnut and all the rest of the genes from the American chestnut.

The foundation will hand-pollinate all remaining trees and bag individual blossoms.



"It's going to be a lot of work to come up with these nuts," Wakeland said. "The idea is that one out of 64 of them is going to be a winner."

Wakeland said he estimates it will be three years before the trees are planted at Potawatomi and maybe 15 years before American Chestnuts flourish in the wild again.

Though restoring the trees takes a great deal of time and effort, in the long run, Wakeland said, it will have benefits both for the environment and for people.

"The American chestnut is a very fast growing tree," said Wakeland, "one of the fastest growing we have. While the Chinese chestnut grows close to the ground and looks similar to an apple tree, the American chestnut grows to be very large, very tall and straight. It's been called the 'redwood of the east.' One measured near Seymour, Ind., was 9 feet, 2 inches in diameter. That's a huge tree, and they get even bigger than that."

Wakeland said the American chestnut's size and tendency to grow straight make it an ideal tree for lumber. Also, Wakeland said, chestnut wood is very rot-resistant. The trees also composed an important part of the eco-system.

"Acorns are the most important source of food for wildlife we have today," said Wakeland. "But, before that, it was chestnuts. It was the most valuable food source for wildlife we had in the eastern U.S. It was just like the perfect tree until the blight came along. At a time in history when everything is getting threatened by exotic insects and we're loosing tree species, wouldn't it be great if we could get one back?"

For more information visit www.Acf.org.

[Roxie]

My sister and brother-in-law bought his grandfather's home....a former one room school house named "Chestnut Grove."  It was so named for all the Chestnut trees surrounding it.  They tried to locate American Chestnut trees to plant, but were disappointed at the amount of Chinese Chestnut in them.  There is not one Chestnut tree on the property.
About a month ago, my brother-in-law found what he thought was a weed growing where he had installed a flag pole.  He went to yank it out, and it was a Chestnut seedling.  It still had the split chestnut attached to it's roots.  He replanted it and is carefully tending it.
Is it possible for that seed to have survived? 

[Cedarman]

In the appalacians, the chestnut was 1 out of 4 trees.  How will the chestnut be established in the Smoky Mountain National Park if openings are not created?  Private landowners will get the improved chestnut growing, but what will our government do?  It will be an interesting situation.

[TexasTimbers]

I didn't know anything about this until I read an article back around 1990 in one of my woodworking mags. I had been left with the impression that they were ALL gone. To a tree. Until your post I didn't know there were still some left (although not 100% pure American I take it) and that there was a reforestation effort.
I emailed ACF and asked about my chances of a potential successful planting in my area, as I'd hate to waste seedlings in a very low percentage effort. Thanks for the post. KJ.

[twoodward15]

There are many pure american chesnuts left in isolated pockets not affected by the blight.  I remember my father and I talking about it about 8 or 10 years ago.  I'm from western newyork and I remember him saying that my uncles property has quite a few of them left on it and the amish in that area have quite a few pockets of them left.  I'll call him this weekend to confirm it.  I think he or my uncle bought a load of it from an amish sawyer within the past few years.  It was green and I think he said something about paying less than 75 cents a bdft, probably closer to 65 cents or less!!  I'll see what I can find and report back asap!

[Phorester]

I'd have to say...."No Hope for The American Chestnut".

One blighted chestnut will produce millions of spores every spring.  They can travel for very long distances especially during cool wet springs.  It only takes one spore to infect another tree.  The infection enters through an opening in the bark. An opening as tiny as one at the junction of a small twig bent and cracked at the juncture with it's parent branch from a wind is all an opening that is needed for a spore to infect the tree.

As far as creating a resistant tree, it will not be an American chestnut.  It may have a lot of the characteristics of the original chestnut, but it will be a genetic cross.

ROXIE, American chestnuts don't get infected with the fungus until they are seed bearing age, so it's possible for seeds to be produced. I've seen dozens of them underneath trees in my area. But they are usually sterile or decimated with seed insects before they can germinate.  But in my forestry career I've found that there are exceptions to  "truths" about trees and forests.  So if your brother-in-law found one.....

It's not hard to find American chestnuts in the woods aroung here.  They are always stump sprouts.  Remember this blight only kills the top of the tree.  The roots system still lives, and produces other sprouts until it's reserves are exhausted over decades and it can no longer resrpout.

There are isolated American chestnuts in Virginia that are huge trees.  They are lone trees in farm fields in the piedmont and coastal plain regions of the state in heavily farmed regions.  The theory is that these trees are out in wide open spaces, hundreds of acres of surrounding farm fields, and are so far removed from any surrounding woodland with other chestnut trees, that no chestnut blight spores have reached them.

All this may sound like I don't like American chestnut, and that's not true.  I certainly do hope a close replacement can be found.  That one species was probably the most versatile tree species in the eastern USA, used for a tremendous number of things and could grow in just about any soil.  Just that I don't hold out much hope for re-introducing a bone fide American chestnut back into the environment.  (Hope I'm wrong!)

[twoodward15]

Ya gotta be positive man!!! ;D

[Ron Wenrich]

What they're getting is a tree that is about 90% American.  What they are hoping for is the Chinese chestnut blight resistance and the American characteristics.  They are just finishing up on the 5th generation of the cross breeding and back breeding process and these should be blight resistant.  They aren't sure which genes give blight resistance, but think they have it narrowed down to 3.

I've seen chestnut up to 16" and saw a recent stump that was of a 20" tree.  The ACF are looking for trees like that.  They have some built in resistance.  But, in all likelihood, they are also a cross breed.  Chestnut pollen travels long distances and there were quite a few chestnut groves of Chinese and European chestnuts planted for the acrorn crop back around the turn of the 19th century.  Those big field trees you see may not be American.

Penn State is finishing up their breeding system and hope to have nuts for next year.  Each area has to have their generations of native trees.  Established trees in Virginia probably won't work in Maine.  The planting referred to in the article sounds more like a orchard where they grow lots of trees, infect them with blght, and the survivors get polinated.  It depends where they are at in the cycle.   They've been working at this thing since the '30s.

As for pure stands in NY, I don't believe it.  Maybe pure stands of chestnut oak, but not chestnut.  They've been long gone.  The last pure stand is in Wisconsin, and there is some evidence of blight there.  I also heard of stands in the UP of Michigan, but haven't seen it in print.

There may be some old snags still standing that guys are cutting.  The blight hit Tennessee in the '50s.  Chestnut lumber was still actively sold well into the '70s while the dead stuff was salvaged.  Or, they could be cutting chestnut beams from old barns. 

[thedeeredude]

Maybe I'll get to saw a chestnut in my lifetime 8)

[twoodward15]

Ok, I talked to my father and he said that in Zoar Valley in western new york there is actually an old growth forest and it is chestnut.  My uncle and one of his friends wen thiking there and next time I go up he said he would try to get all of us together to go up and see it.  Now, I know you're saying there is no way there is old growth there, but he said it's there because ther just isn't an easy way to get the logs out so they must have been left behind.  I'll take pics to prove it when I get there!

[timberjack240]

ibbob
where was all that info when i did my report on chesnuts in school... i couldve used almost all of that  ;D  :D

[bitternut]

Here is a link to the chestnuts in Zoar Valley. Herb Darling owns some property there that had a large chestnut and got him interested in the American Chestnut. He is a champion for their restoration and heads up the NY chapter. He was a speaker on them at a couple of our forest owners workshops.

I see small chestnuts in the woods most everywhere I go. Most are small and die at an early age. I have some on my property also. I also have planted quite a few of the chineese variety, even have a couple in my yard.

Here is the link.............http://www.acf.org/Chapters_ny.htm

[twoodward15]

now we know it's true!!!! One of the last pure stands IS in western new york.  Where are you in WNY bitternut???

[ibbob]

timberjack 240
You don't want my help with your homework.  Back in my skewl daze I only got one A+... and that was on my blood test.  :D

[bitternut]

Twoodward15 I am located on the shore of Lake Ontario in Niagara County. My woods is in Allegany County near the PA border.

[twoodward15]

I come through there all the time (on 17, I refuse to use the new number) and get off at salamance to head to the Forestville Silver Creek area where I'm from.

[bitternut]

Well I guess it is a small world. When you go by route 305 you are only about 8 miles from my woods. I looked up your town  ( Turnersville ) with map quest and I go right by there on my way to my daughters home in Ocean City, NJ.

[twoodward15]

Wow, small world.  Yep, I guess she calls you a shoebie when you come down doesn't she!!  I live right past the atlantic city expressway/42 split.  You come within 2 miles of my house when you are down here.
   Now, where is 305?  I usually get off 17 at salamanca and take 353 to 62 to 39.  i'll have to look on a map now.

[crtreedude]

You want to know small world? We lived in Hemlock (on Canadice Lake Road) for 8 years. I am sitting here in Costa Rica reading about all these places you are talking about and remembering them.

I also lived in NJ for 4.5 years and know about Turnersville.

Western NY is a beautiful area - just too cold for me anymore. I think my blood has thinned.  :D

[twoodward15]

Crikeys.  anyone else wanna add to the western newyork jersey connection???

[Thehardway]

Sure, I'll jump in.  Was born in Batavia, NY lived in Hamlin, NY  Moms family from Attica.  We own property at Sugar Grove, PA. Grandfather worked the oil feilds of Western NY and PA.    My wifes Grandmother is from NJ.

I remember as a kid in the 70's my dad used to get bags full of chestnuts from somewhere and we would throw them in the campfire and wait for them to explode.  They were pretty close to a firecracker.  Maybe they came from the Zoar stand?  He used to work as a school teacher in Great Valley.

I now reside in VA where there is an effort to bring back the chestnut as well.  It is led by the American Chestnut Cooperators Foundation (ACCF) and Virginia Tech.

I would love to see the chestnut come back.

[Ironwood]

Root stock sprouting here as well, Near Pittsburgh, east near the Chestnut Ridge.                                      Reid

[SwampDonkey]

I've read through the articles from the NY chapter and unless I missed it someplace, they said they were selecting individual trees found in the forest (not from pure stands of chestnut) and that most chestnut are found as stump sprouts that grow in the understory and mostly die before seed is produced.

I also visited several dozen natural chestnut trees within New York State. These trees are rare enough to have escaped destruction by the blight or have matured enough to produce seed

From:
Chestnut link

[RSteiner]

I live in the southwest corner of New Hampshire just 7 miles down the road is the state line with Mass.  Along about 15 years ago I became friends with a man I did some custom sawing for several times.  On his property back in the woods he found a chestnut tree about 16" to 18" DBH.

He contacted someone at the University of Mass. to look at the tree and verify it was an American Chestnut which it was.  They did a detailed study of the surrounding trees and the soil to determine why this one was not blighted.  They hoped to find a way to replicate this environment so that other trees could survive.  Unfortunatley my friend passed away suddenly before I could find out the results of all the tests.

Along the dirt road I live on every once in a while you will find some young chestnut trees growing but they never seem to get much past a couple inches in diameter.  There was one fall about 10 years ago when I did find two chestnut hulls open on the side of the road.  I looked around but could not find a tree near by they might have come from.  I had always hoped that one day these beautiful trees would once again find a way to survive in New England.

Randy

[SwampDonkey]

In Ashdale, Nova Scotia stands the largest wild American Chestnut in Canada and believed to be 6th largest in it's natural range according to the Canadian Chestnut Council.

Here is a "not so great" photo of it from the council's website. The council website says there are a few scattered and isolated chestnut trees on woodlots in Ontario that have escaped the blight and seems their occurrence of non infection is more common in Ontario than elsewhere in the chestnut's native range. These trees have been a source of seed for new seedlings adapted to Ontario climate conditions.

There will be an article on the chestnut in the next issue of Atlantic Forestry Magazine - August 2009. There is a photo in this month's issue, but no details on size. Les Corkum, who is in his 80's has been providing chestnut seedlings, similar to our passing member Ivan Bo.

Here is an old newsletter I dug up to see what your cousins to the north are doing, PDF file. ;D