The Blight of the American Chestnut Tree
The American Chestnut once flourished from Maine to Florida and east to the Mississippi River. At the turn of the century a Chinese Chestnut was introduced into the United States. Unbeknown to the botanist of the times. The new introduced trees harbored an asian fungus, (Cryphonectria parasitica) which was deadly to the native American Chestnut trees.
The first signs of the disease were discovered in 1904. The fungus spread quickly and was soon to be known as the American Chestnut blight. The native chestnut trees had little to no resistance to the blight and billions of trees feel victim to the disease.By the 1950’s all but a flew stands remained.
The remaining trees may have natural resistances to the blight and possibly holds the key to the future survival of this species as a whole. Also, through genetic engineering and selective cross breeding, perhaps we may one day see the American Chestnut, along with other native plant species restored to the northeast and other parts of the United States. Ten years ago the Northeast Ecological Recovery Society planted some 20 American Chestnut trees on private land in the Adirondacks of New York. All of these trees were derived from seedlings from Minnesota, and have shown
some resistance to the blight. We hope that these trees will help in the restoration of this native tree for future generations to come.
What NERS is doing to help restore the American Chestnut Tree?
SUNY ESF of New York State has been working on the American Chestnut Blight for many years. The American Chestnut Research & Restoration Project at ESF, has developed a tree resistant to the fungus, through genetic engineering, using only two genes, one from a grass the other from the Chinese chestnut. The tree shows real promise for the survival of this most majestic tree, the American Chestnut tree. SUNY ESF is waiting for permits from the EPA and the Department of Agriculture before they can provide public access to its seedlings.
The Northeast Ecological Recovery Society is a not-for-profit, 501 (c) 3 conservation organization dedicated to the restoration and protection of native species in New York and the Northeastern States, working in the field of conservation since 1994. NERS would provide New York City Parks, Nature & environmental centers throughout New York State with the needed seedlings at no cost to any of these instructions.
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