Chestnut Trees Are Returning to Forests

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[ssm]

in 1967 my father planted American chestnuts provided by the University of Wisconsin. Fifity years later we have 5 mature chestnuts that have served as backcross stock for the breeding program

[martinmaddox]

55 years ago while deer hunting in high knob Virginia, my dad and a friend of mine, when hunting in an unfamiliar area, found a chestnut tree stump about 10 feet tall with an opening inside that the three of us sat inside of the tree and shot at a deer, . It was at least 10 feet in diameter. Dad, born in 1923, said that they were much larger than the one that we sat in. He said there were large stands of the huge trees. He also said the woods had large open areas in that the overhead leave canopy of the chestnut trees prohibited other trees from growing underneath. He said that could easily kill a dozen squirrels sitting at one place in a morning’s hunt. He said they gathered tubs of chestnuts. Thank you for what you are doing!!!

[sherylarnold]

I’m so glad that the American Chestnut trees coming back to our mountains. Thank you for the work on bringing those trees back.

[Aikidoman]

As a kid in the 60-70s my grandfather had several chestnut trees on his farm. There’s no more trees, but I didn’t know why they had died. Today the farm belongs to me. I want to plant chestnut trees before I give the farm to my kids

[thedrivechannel]

I live in a 300 year old home in CT. Chestnut beam Chestnut floors. What an amazing building material.. And very rot resistant like the man said. I would love to see the return of these great trees.

[wsshambaugh]

I think I am most impressed by the length of the efforts behind this. An organization 50 years old dedicated to a single noble mission stands in stark contrast to the profit-driven organizations in the business world. A big thank you to the people who have quietly and earnestly dedicated their lives to this important work, the results of which they may never see finished.

[thestrangegreenman]

Hearing that there's a breeding program to combat Emerald Ash Borer is very encouraging. I wasn't aware that anyone cared, and all the ash trees in my home of Upstate NY are dying off from EAB now.

[villagecarpenter]

The "American Chestnut Tree" produced some of most beautiful wood in the world. IMHO, and I say this as a carpenter with 40 years experience having had the honor to work with reclaimed chestnut from long ago. Welcome back!

[irelandashbourne]

As a wee Ladd. My grandfather worked the coal mines in Tioga County New York. We lived on Chestnut street in a town called Owego. Was famous for the hundreds of chestnut trees that lined the street for blocks. My grandfather took me as a youngster with him to collect chestnuts. He had a pedal cart. We would take them downtown and roast them in the cart. We sold them for 5 cents a bag to the workers. I miss him a lot.

[kelliesharpe]

I’m from East Tennessee…born and raised and never lived anywhere else.
The chestnut trees dying didn’t effect me when I was younger but now it breaks my heart…and here’s why.
The Cherokee people actually called the Smokies…The Great White Mountains. They called them that because of the chestnut blooms in spring. The trees were so gigantic that the ridges looked like they were covered in snow but it was actually the white blooms of the chestnut that made them appear that way. That story breaks my heart because I didn’t get to see it. I can’t even talk about it without feeling like I’m just gonna cry.
It’s just such a horrible shame it happened. Same for the hemlocks…breaks my heart to see their ghosts on the hillsides.

[life_with_bernie]

I'm in Fredericksburg and one of the first things I did when we bought our house 15 years ago was to plant an American Chestnut in our yard, along with several other trees. It took awhile to get established but it eventually did and stands about 30' tall today. Between it and our Eastern White Walnut, we have some very happy squirrels here.

[wfr]

These men are heroes for what they're doing

[truthseeker]

My Dad would be so happy to have heard this news. He was SO in awe of the American Chestnut tree. It was a whole different life back in the day of the A. Chestnut. Livestock rambled the land freely and the impact on animal and plant life was huge. The "mast" was so abundant that wildlife flourished. My parents said that the pork was wonderfully tasty. He loved to work with the harvested chestnut lumber.

[jccc]

My father was born in WV in 1927 and would occasionally speak of his boyhood and these wonderful trees. We lost him in 2019 but I'm sure he'd be delighted with this news.

[arliehartiii]

I'm the son and grandson of loggers - my Pap and dad. Pap was born in the '30's, and he would tell stories about the American Chestnuts, and cutting the lumber and working with it as well, since he ran the family sawmill in PA as well. He loved the wood, thought it was beautiful, and it broke Pap's heart when the blight ravaged through central PA forests. My Dad remembers the last of the chestnuts in the area as well. Dad and I talk a lot about the forests, even though Dad finally got out of the woods working a few years ago, and he's been worried for a long time about the state of the Ash, Hemlock, Oak, and others, and remembers when the Elm blight went through as well. I still remember great swath's of mountain near where I grew up that had huge gaps and skeletal trees in them, with tons of scrubby undergrowth and pines filling in what used to be Elm groves - this was the 80's, when the Dutch Elm blight was at its peak. Recently, I've been saddened watching a couple of my own favorite trees, the Ash and the Hemlock, struggle and die in huge numbers, leaving their skeletons in huge groves around the forests. It's very encouraging to see the hard work by both the American Chestnut Foundation and the American Chestnut Research & Restoration Project at SUNY ESF start to bear fruit, literally. The replanting of the Chestnut has started in PA already, there are test stands of these new crosses started in several sections in central PA. I'm encouraged that the forests I remember growing up in will be better than I remember them as a boy.

[francinamanning]

It is so heartwarming to know that there are people out there trying to bring back the American Chestnut tree! I myself have tried to grow them in my backyard, but they failed 😔.
Thank you all for your hard work!!
I wish I could physically join you!!

[kanealoha]

This is so exciting. I live in a well maintained log cabin here in New Jersey that was built with chestnut logs (they were harvested from the mountain right behind my house). The house was built in the 1920s. I’ve heard tell of how eventually all the chestnut trees died due to the blight and the mountain was bare of trees until other species had the chance to grow in the empty spaces. I’ve always dreamed of a time when we could bring the American Chestnut back to the mountains here. How exciting that it may soon become a reality. Thanks for all of your hard work. I would be very happy to join your organization and support the process.

[reneebarger]

How wonderful! I wish Elm trees could have been saved. I remember we had two huge Elms on either side of our front walkway. My father cried when they had to be “condemned” and cut down back in the 1950’s.

[fqo]

During my long career as a furniture maker, I've worked with many woods from around the world. Chestnut (my local variety that is free from the blight where I live) is one of my favorites, a wonderful strong hardwood that is very valuable in the way it is workable and stable when dried, and also in it's beautiful appearance, both when freshly worked and in the way that the appearance quietly ages over time. Hopefully one day the tree will be in such abundance that woodworkers can again utilize the fine material.

[johnmcadam]

I'm 1 year late to see this on my feed. All I can say is that this is absolutely amazing ! The amount of wildlife that these trees supported at one time is staggering.