President’s Message
Hopefully, sometime in 2023, our truly blight-tolerant (i.e. resistant) American chestnut trees will be approved for distribution (pending decisions by federal regulators). At that time, we will have permission to distribute seedlings, pollen, or scions for grafting.
Many of our members have “mother” trees, which are flowering and ready to produce blight-tolerant offspring. All that is needed is the blight-tolerant material to cross with their mother trees. Anyone who does not have a mother tree and is interested in receiving one can contact me. I will do my best to supply you with nuts for planting.
As soon as blight-tolerant trees or pollen have approval for distribution, we would like them to be crossed with a variety of wild-type trees. It will increase the genetic diversity of the trees we restore to the forest. Your mother trees will help us achieve this goal. We are also looking for wild American chestnut trees to incorporate into our New York breeding program. If you know of one, please contact us. Additionally, you can input data for the tree in an app called TreeSnap.
I would like to acknowledge and thank the families of former NY-TACF members who have passed on and did not get to see “a truly blight-resistant American chestnut”. Their loyalty and support have helped make this dream come true for both us and our descendants.
Finally, I would like to thank everyone who has helped get us to our current milestone: all the past and present staff at SUNY ESF, the New York State members of TACF who have planted trees and collected nuts, and everyone who has contributed to the SUNY ESF American Chestnut Research and Restoration Project. They are all to be commended.
The next several years will be a great adventure once we have government approval to distribute blight-tolerant material. People will be able to plant blight-tolerant seedlings in their mother tree orchards, which hopefully will cross-pollinate and produce blight-tolerant nuts. But we will also be able to distribute blight-tolerant pollen to people who already have flowering trees. By hand-pollinating, people may be able to produce blight-tolerant nuts by the fall of 2023; if we get government approval soon enough to hand pollinate.
There is still a great deal of work to be done but I have great confidence that we have the expertise and dedication to achieve our ultimate goal: The reintroduction of a blight-tolerant American chestnut tree back into the forest.
Allen Nichols
President NY-TACF
NYChapter@acf.org
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Join us on TODAY, April 19, 2024, from 11:30AM – 1:00PM (EDT), for the next LIVE Chestnut Chat, where we'll talk all about growing chestnuts!
In this episode, we will cover all the basics of planting, growing, and maintaining American chestnut trees. TACF staff and expert volunteers will talk about how to plant chestnuts from seed and from seedlings, including bareroot and containerized seedlings, as well as considerations for planting in the spring versus the fall. Bring your questions and don’t miss this Chestnut Chat that is sure to become an instant classic.
Visit the link to save your spot! tacf.org/event/chestnut-chat-growing-chestnuts/
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You can make a difference for people, for an ecosystem, and for a tree.
Join the movement to save the American chestnut by becoming a member of The American Chestnut Foundation today.
support.tacf.org/membership
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One year ago volunteers gathered at Pryor Orchard in Edneyville, NC and planted chestnuts seeds gathered on the Appalachian Trail by NC/SC Chapter member Jon Taylor, who also led a planting demonstration at the start of the event.
To see find out about volunteer and planting events in your neck of the woods, visit our events calendar at tacf.org/events/category/tacf/
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HAPPENING IN TWO DAYS!
The VA Department of Forestry and VATACF will be planting 300 bareroot seedlings at Lesesne State Forest on Monday, April 15th. Planting will begin at 10:00AM and last until we are finished (likely 4-6 hours depending on how many folks come out). Please come out and help us plant these trees in our effort to restore the American chestnut!
Please note that the terrain we are planting on has a lot of brush and debris, it is not easy to get around. If you have movement issues I recommend selecting another of our volunteer events. Bring water, lunch/snacks, bug spray or sunscreen if needed, and gardening gloves. We will have all the equipment required for planting.
Please visit the link for more information. tacf.org/event/planting-at-lesesne-state-forest/
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Guess no accountants will participate
TACF'S documentary CLEAR DAY THUNDER: Rescuing the American Chestnut has received another award, and isn't it cool looking?
TACF was honored to learn that the film was recently selected as the winner in the Best Environmental Film category at the Lookout Wild Film Festival in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
The Lookout Wild Film Festival has been bringing together outdoor adventure and conservation films from around the world for more than ten years. This annual event took place January 11-14, 2024 and showcased more than 60 films.
If you'd like to schedule your own showing of Clear Day Thunder, visit www.rescuingtheamericanchestnut.com/
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Shouldn’t TACF be concentrating on restoring the American chestnut not on making a movie. Is that really the best use of funds?