Rivanna Chapter

Virginia Master Naturalists

 

Serving the
Central Piedmont of Virginia


Useful Websites for the Study of Trees


9. American Chestnut Recovery

A special section is devoted to American Chestnuts because of their immense historic, economic, and environmental importance, and because Virginia plays a central role in restoration efforts. As the American Chestnut Cooperators’ Foundation says on its website, “In the first 40 years of the 20th century, blight destroyed 3.5 billion American chestnuts. Chestnut trees made up a fourth of the entire forest in their range. What had been the most important tree in our Eastern forest was reduced to insignificance. No comparable devastation of a species exists in recorded history.”

  1. The American Chestnut Foundation
    The TACF site has its mission statement, a detailed history of the blight and the organization’s response, descriptions of their research farms, and profiles of the staff at the farms. They also describe their educational programs and their partnerships in the restoration effort. The organization’s four farms in Meadowview, Virginia, have almost 34,000 chestnut trees planted on more than 150 acres.
    Of special interest is the site’s field guide for locating, pollinating, and harvesting nuts from flowering American chestnut tree sprouts, which still exist in large numbers in the woods of Appalachia. TACF hopes to enlist volunteers in this effort in order to incorporate as much genetic diversity as possible into their breeding program.
    A full page is devoted to resources and links for people wishing more information on chestnuts.

  2. Virginia Chapter of The American Chestnut Foundation
    This site adopts a practical approach to efforts to restore the American Chestnut, and stresses the importance of education in its effort. Tabs on the left of the home page take the user to such topics as the chestnut story, chestnut science, student programs, news and events, and a “How Can I Help?” section. Click on “Student Program [sic]” and then on “Robert Strasser Slide Presentation” to see an excellent educational tool on chestnuts. The site also features links to the major organizations and some of the sites involved in chestnut recovery efforts.

  3. American Chestnut Cooperators’ Foundation
    Sponsored by the Virginia Tech Dept. of Plant Pathology, Physiology, and Weed Science, this site contains click-on links to such topics as “Impact of American Chestnut Blight on Forest Communities,” “When Money Grew on Trees,” “Integrated Management for Chestnut Blight Control,” and a “Webrary” of links to numerous other sites dedicated to chestnut growing, breeding, management, history, etc. The American Chestnut Cooperators’ Foundation works to restore American chestnuts from an entirely American chestnut plant base, whereas The American Chestnut Foundation uses backcrosses to Chinese chestnuts, which are blight resistant.