Restoring the King of the Forest

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Restoring the King of the Forest
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The American chestnut was once one of the most
important trees in the Eastern forest.In the
heart of its range a count of trees would have
turned up one chestnut for every four oaks,
birches, maples and other hardwoods. Many of the
dry ridge tops of the central Appalachians were
so thoroughly crowded with chestnut that, in
early summer, when their canopies were filled
with creamy-white flowers, the mountains appeared
snow-capped.
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And the trees could be giants. In virgin forests
throughout their range, mature chestnuts averaged
up to five feet in diameter and up to one hundred
feet tall. Many specimens of eight to ten feet in
diameter were recorded, and there were rumors of
trees bigger still.
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American chestnut was an important wildlife food
source, forming a staple for such animals as
turkey, ruffed grouse, bear, and many other wild
and domestic animals.
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The range of greatest dominance in the United
States stretched from Maine to Georgia. The tree
is now native to southern Ontario, and some
researchers believe that until the late 1800s it
may also have been present in northern Florida.
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The tree was one of the best for timber. It grew
straight and often branch-free for 50 feet.
Loggers tell of loading entire railroad cars
with boards cut from just one tree.
Straight-grained, lighter in weight than oak and
more easily worked, chestnut was as rot resistant
as redwood.
Photo courtesy of United States Forest Service-
Asheville.
Courtesy of The Great Smokey Mountains National
Park Library
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• Chestnut was an extremely important commodity
  for early settlers of the Appalachians.
• The nuts were used for food, mast (wildlife
  food), and as a cash crop. The wood was used for
  virtually everything - telegraph poles, railroad
  ties, shingles, paneling, fine furniture, musical
  instruments, even pulp and plywood. In the
  South, the bark and wood were also used for
  tannin extraction.

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Then the chestnut blight struck
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First discovered in 1904 in New York City, the
blight - an Asian fungus to which our native
chestnuts had very little resistance - spread
quickly. In its wake it left only dead and dying
stems. By 1950, except for the shrubby root
sprouts the species continually produces (and
which also quickly become infected), the keystone
species on some nine million acres of eastern
forests had disappeared.
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The blight is caused by a fungus, Cryphonectria
parasitica, introduced from Asia.
Blight enters the tree though the cracks typical
of chestnut bark and through wounds. It forms a
canker and quickly girdles the tree.
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THE AMERICAN CHESTNUT FOUNDATION TACF has been
working for 26 years to breed a blight-resistant
American chestnut tree.
The goal to restore the American chestnut to the
eastern forests through a scientific program of
breeding and cooperative research. Recent
developments in genetics and plant pathology
promise new hope that this magnificent tree will
again become part of our natural heritage.
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To make this promise a reality, a group of
prominent scientists established The American
Chestnut Foundation (TACF) in 1983 as a
non-profit organization. The mission is simple
to restore the American chestnut as an integral
part of the eastern forest ecosystem. Original
organizers and supporters included Nobel
Prize-winning plant breeder Dr. Norman Borlaug,
Dr. Peter Raven, Director of the Missouri
Botanical Garden, independent chestnut researcher
Philip Rutter, and the late Dr. Charles Burnham,
the eminent Minnesota corn geneticist.
Dr. Charles Burnham
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It is expected that, in order to avoid
inbreeding, the entire breeding project will take
30-50 years. We do have the first line of highly
blight-resistant trees which are
fifteen-sixteenths American chestnut and
one-sixteenth Chinese chestnut, on average.
However, the 30-50 years will be needed because
there are a minimum of six generations through
which we need to breed, and each generation of
breeding takes a minimum of five years and in
some cases eight-ten years. We then need to do
that within as many different Chinese chestnut
sources as possibleand that will take a lot of
time!
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The Foundation's primary approach is to use the
backcross method of plant breeding to transfer
the blight resistance of the Chinese chestnut to
the American chestnut.
Backcrossing is the standard method for
transferring a single trait into an otherwise
acceptable plant. For chestnut, it entails
crossing the Chinese and American trees to obtain
a hybrid which is one-half American and one-half
Chinese.
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TACFs Backcross Breeding Program

• Each generation select for
• Blight resistance
• American characteristics

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The hybrid is backcrossedto another American
chestnut to obtain a tree which is three-fourths
American and one-fourth Chinese, on average. Each
further cycle of backcrossing reduces the Chinese
fraction by a factor of one-half. The idea is to
dilute out all of the Chinese characteristics
except for blight resistance we select for
blight resistance at each backcross step.
A hybrid American chestnut in New Yorks Central
Park
Our goal is to produce trees that will be
indistinguishable by experts from pure American
chestnut trees.
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Meadowview Research Farms In 1989 TACF
established a research farm in Meadowview,
Virginia. A second farm was donated in 1995 with
initial planting in 1996, and a third farm
purchased and planting begun in 2002. Today at
Meadowview, more than 30,000 trees are in the
ground at various stages of breeding, maintained
by six full-time staff two scientists, a
research technician, a field technician, a
mechanic, and a farmer.
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State Chapter Network The Key to Success

• Alabama
• Carolinas
• Connecticut
• Georgia
• Indiana
• Kentucky
• Maine
• Maryland
• Massachusetts
• New York
• Ohio
• Pennsylvania
• Tennessee
• Virginia
• Vermont/New Hampshire

TACFs chapter network extends throughout the
natural range of the American chestnut.
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• Chapter volunteers find and pollinate
  mother trees, and establish and care for chestnut
  orchards. Assistance from utility companies
  often provides bucket trucks for pollinations.

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A win-win situation land reclamation projects
Its rapid growth, high quality wood, and
exceptional wildlife properties makes the
American chestnut the most viable choice for
reforestation projects.
A former mine in Kentucky slated for
reforestationCourtesy of Mike French
A reclaimed hillside orchard
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The American Chestnut Foundation depends
primarily upon its members to support research to
develop a blight-resistant American chestnut
tree. Currently, over 5,000 members are helping
to bring this important tree back from the brink
of extinction.
In 2009, Charity Navigator, a non-profit watchdog
group in Mahwah, N.J., rated The American
Chestnut Foundation four stars, its highest
evaluation of not-for-profit corporations
accepting financial contributions from supporters
for the third year in a row. Charity Navigator
determined that TACF spends most of its revenues
on program expenses.
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PARTNERSHIPS In addition to that of our members,
TACF has earned the support of and partnerships
with groups such as

• The USDA Forest Service
• The National Forest Foundation
• The National Science Foundation
• The PEW Charitable Trusts
• The Norcross Foundation
• The Department of Natural Resources
• The National Wild Turkey Federation

US Department of Agriculture Service Chief Dale
Bosworth (left) signs a Memorandum of
Understanding (MOU) with Marshal Case. The MOU
establishes a partnership with TACF to utilize
National Forest lands and resources in its
breeding program. Courtesy of the USDA FS
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A Bipartisan Commitment
The American Chestnut Foundation is proud to
count former President Jimmy Carter among its
long-time members.
In September 2005, President Carter met with
representatives of TACF at the dedication of a
chestnut exhibit at the Carter Center in
Atlanta, Georgia.
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President George W. Bush, Agriculture Secretary
Mike Johanns, and TACF's Marshal Case plant a
tree on the North Lawn of the White House in
celebration of Arbor Day 2005
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Become a Member!With you help, we will return
the American chestnut to its native woodlands.

• As a member of The American Chestnut Foundation
  you will receive...
• The Journal of The American Chestnut Foundation,
  our semi-annual scientific and cultural magazine.
• The Bark, our quarterly newsletter
• Membership in one of our state chapters
• Access to expert advice on growing and caring for
  American chestnut trees.
• Opportunities to participate in local breeding
  and research activities.
• The opportunity to purchase American chestnut
  seed and seedling kits.

Please visit www.acf.org or call 802-447-0110 for
a membership application.
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Meadowview Research FarmsMeadowview,
Virginia Northern Appalachian Regional
OfficePenn State University New England Regional
OfficeUSFS Northern Research Station,
Burlington, VT ARRI Partnership OfficeMountain
State UniversityBeckley, WV Vermont
OfficeBennington, VT
Headquarters Office160 Zillicoa Street, Suite
DAsheville, NC 28801828-281-0047chestnut_at_acf.or
g www.acf.org