Rescuing the

American Chestnut

Our mission is to return the iconic American chestnut to its native range.

Our vision is a robust eastern forest returned to its splendor.

Chestnut Chat Series

A Half-Century of Recovery Efforts for the Endangered Virginia Round-leaf Birch

Join us on Friday, February 21, 2025, from 11:30AM – 1:00PM (EPT), for the next LIVE Chestnut Chat.

Special guest Dr. Terry Sharik, Research Professor at the Michigan Tech School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science (bio), will provide an overview of efforts aimed at the recovery of the endangered Virginia round-leaf birch (Betula uber) over the past half century. He will address six major areas specified in the recovery plan, the first for a plant under the Endangered Species Act of 1973. These include: (1) maintenance and expansion of the natural population; (2) establishment of (self-sustaining) additional populations in the wild;  (3) continued searches for other natural populations; (4) determination of systematic relationships with other birch species; (5) retention of existing germplasm through cultivation; and (6) implementation of educational programs.

A typical round-leaf birch progeny population in Virginia. Photo by Terry Sharik
Wild-type American chestnut seeds

Annual Wild-Type Seed Sale

It’s almost here! TACF’s Annual Wild-Type American Chestnut Seed Sale is happening Tuesday, March 18, 2025, at 9AM.

The cost per package of 10 seeds is $50 including shipping. (One bundle per customer.)

This is an extremely popular annual sale exclusively for current TACF members. Seed quantities are limited and are for sale while supplies last. Seeds may sell out quickly.

Please note that your membership or renewal must be recieved by March 1 and remain current through March 18 to be eligible to participate in the seedling sale.

Now Streaming

CLEAR DAY THUNDER: Rescuing the American Chestnut is now available for public viewing! For just $10, you will receive unlimited views and the ability to watch on multiple devices and to download.

All proceeds support the film’s production costs and The American Chestnut Foundation’s mission to return the iconic American chestnut to its native range.

Clear Day Thunder movie poster

Science Strategies

Breeding, Biotechnology, and Biocontrol
United for Restoration

The American Chestnut Foundation takes a holistic approach toward chestnut restoration, utilizing a three-pronged research strategy known as 3BUR (Breeding, Biotechnology, and Biocontrol United for Restoration). These research tracks are meant to be integrated through collaborations that are mutually beneficial, so we can explore all avenues to reach the common goal of saving and restoring this species as quickly as possible.

Support Our Research

How to identify an American chestnut tree

Learn how to identify American chestnuts and send us a sample for identification.

Support The Restoration

How to receive American chestnut seeds

Learn how to get American chestnut seeds from TACF.

Latest News

Remembering President Jimmy Carter 1924-2024

Remembering President Jimmy Carter 1924-2024

Dear friends, The board of directors and staff of The American Chestnut Foundation (TACF) mourn the loss of President Jimmy Carter, who died yesterday at the age of 100 in his hometown of Plains, Georgia. An Honorary Director at TACF since the very early days of the...

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TACF Unveils New Brand

TACF Unveils New Brand

TACF Unveils New Brand to Celebrate 40+ Years of American Chestnut RestorationAsheville, NC 9/5/2024 The American Chestnut Foundation (TACF) is thrilled to announce the launch of its new brand, marking a significant milestone in its more than 40-year journey dedicated...

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Learn More About TACF’s Research Advisory Council

Learn More About TACF’s Research Advisory Council

Over the course of The American Chestnut Foundation’s 41 years, the organization has consistently sought external scientific expertise to ensure that its programming and progress are on track.To reach this goal, The American Chestnut Foundation (TACF) holds two bodies...

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It's time to get growing this week at Meadowview Research Farms! Alongside seeds harvested from Meadowview Research Farms, we’re also planting seeds sourced from partner pollination programs across the American chestnut range. The seeds have been stratified in coolers since being harvested last fall. The process of stratification in coolers mimic natural conditions of moisture and cool temperatures to prepare them for germination. Each seed is carefully placed into its designated pot based on its experiment, covered, and watered in—officially beginning the germination process! Come back and check out the progress soon!

#propagation #seeds #recurrentgenomicselection #americanchestnut #castaneadentata #americanchestnutfoundation #ChestnutResearch #prepping #smallstemassay #meadowviewresearchfarms
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For all you chestnut nerds out there, here's a great read!

From the abstract: Over a century after two introduced pathogens decimated American chestnut populations, breeding programs continue to incorporate resistance from Chinese chestnut to recover self-sustaining populations. Due to complex genetics of chestnut blight resistance, it is challenging to obtain trees with sufficient resistance and competitive growth. We developed high quality reference genomes for Chinese and American chestnut and leveraged large disease phenotype and genotype datasets to develop accurate genomic selection.

View the full abstract and download a PDF of the study here: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.01.30.635736v1.article-info
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For all you chestnut nerds out there, heres a great read! From the abstract: Over a century after two introduced pathogens decimated American chestnut populations, breeding programs continue to incorporate resistance from Chinese chestnut to recover self-sustaining populations. Due to complex genetics of chestnut blight resistance, it is challenging to obtain trees with sufficient resistance and competitive growth. We developed high quality reference genomes for Chinese and American chestnut and leveraged large disease phenotype and genotype datasets to develop accurate genomic selection. View the full abstract and download a PDF of the study here: https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.01.30.635736v1.article-info

3 CommentsComment on Facebook

I hope there is a real breakthrough in my lifetime

Is there any ai programs that you can feed the dna of each tree and ai will tell you which crosses will do best to increase resistance on each cross ?

Is it true that the American Truffle mycelium help the trees fend off blight?

Over the past few days, the Meadowview Research Farms team has been hard at work preparing pots to sow seeds for this year's experiments! These seeds play a vital role in Recurrent Genomic Selection, Small Stem Assays, and other trials. With a greenhouse capacity of over 5,000 trees, we’re ready for another year of innovative research. The pot-filling process begins with adding fertilizer to the growing media and filling each pot to the top, ensuring they are ready for sowing. Once all the pots are filled, the tagging process begins. Each pot receives a label indicating its tree ID, genotype, and corresponding experiment. The tagging process is critical as it helps differentiate each pot's journey and helps maintain organization in the greenhouse. Stay tuned for the next post on sowing!

#americanchestnut #castaneadentata #americanchestnutfoundation #ChestnutResearch #prepping #smallstemassay
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Join Lauren as she demonstrates the process of the Generational Passthrough experiment. It starts with the initial inoculation and placement of cryphonectria plugs into young seedlings. She then observes the cankers' development over a two-week period. Next, Lauren extracts the cryphonectria from these cankers, trims and sections the stem into agar for culture and subculture, repeating these steps across ten generations. Finally, she examines the initial and final cultures, where the genome sequence provides crucial insights into the changes of the cryphonectria. Lauren's analysis aims to detect any genotype alterations in the chestnut trees and observe potential evolution in the cryphonectria.

Come back and check out our next post on “Follow the Roots”!

#americanchestnut #castaneadentata #americanchestnutfoundation #ChestnutResearch #ConservationScience #dayinthelife
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Join Lauren as she demonstrates the process of the Generational Passthrough experiment. It starts with the initial inoculation and placement of cryphonectria plugs into young seedlings. She then observes the cankers development over a two-week period. Next, Lauren extracts the cryphonectria from these cankers, trims and sections the stem into agar for culture and subculture, repeating these steps across ten generations. Finally, she examines the initial and final cultures, where the genome sequence provides crucial insights into the changes of the cryphonectria. Laurens analysis aims to detect any genotype alterations in the chestnut trees and observe potential evolution in the cryphonectria.Come back and check out our next post on “Follow the Roots”!#americanchestnut #castaneadentata #americanchestnutfoundation #ChestnutResearch #ConservationScience #dayinthelifeImage attachment

At Meadowview Research Farms the chestnut orchards go dormant in the winter, but any seedlings that haven't been planted are allowed to go dormant as well! Potted seedlings are "overwintered" to protect their roots from freezing, ensuring they survive to the next growing season. Trees in the field are insulated from the frigid temperatures by the thermal mass of the soil surrounding their roots, but seedlings do not have the same protection being in small pots. MRF places trees closely together inside of thick vinyl tents to protect potted seedling roots from the low temperatures outside and adds heaters for particularly cold weather. Seedlings for certain research projects also remain dormant indoors in garages that are kept at 40 degrees Fahrenheit throughout the winter. The temperatures have remained consistently low for the past few weeks, but the seedlings are happily waiting out the winter for the next growing season to arrive.

#americanchestnut #castaneadentata #americanchestnutfoundation #ChestnutResearch
... See MoreSee Less

At Meadowview Research Farms the chestnut orchards go dormant in the winter, but any seedlings that havent been planted are allowed to go dormant as well! Potted seedlings are overwintered to protect their roots from freezing, ensuring they survive to the next growing season. Trees in the field are insulated from the frigid temperatures by the thermal mass of the soil surrounding their roots, but seedlings do not have the same protection being in small pots. MRF places trees closely together inside of thick vinyl tents to protect potted seedling roots from the low temperatures outside and adds heaters for particularly cold weather. Seedlings for certain research projects also remain dormant indoors in garages that are kept at 40 degrees Fahrenheit throughout the winter. The temperatures have remained consistently low for the past few weeks, but the seedlings are happily waiting out the winter for the next growing season to arrive.  #americanchestnut #castaneadentata #americanchestnutfoundation #ChestnutResearch

3 CommentsComment on Facebook

Fascinating info!

I messaged the Carolinas chapters. The last activity was Dec 2023 though . I’d like to plant some chestnut trees around my property but can’t afford the 300 dollar fee/ donation. Could I just get a few ?

I like to say that they've gone to winter quarters.

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Upcoming Events

- Feb 23
10:00AM - 5:30PM

This year again, the CT Chapter will be at the CT Flower and Garden Show. Stop by our table in the CT Federated Garden exhibit to see the work of […]

11:30AM - 1:00PM

Join us on Friday, February 21, 2025, from 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM (Eastern), for the next LIVE Chestnut Chat.Special guest Dr. Terry Sharik, Research Professor at the Michigan Tech […]