Kentucky News
Using Pollen from Land Between The Lakes
WE’RE SO HAPPY …….. RETURNED TO STEVE HARTMAN FULL AMERICAN ORCHARD, SCOTTSVILLE, KY near Tennessee Border to apply pollen from three LBL wild Americans, harvested, processed and stored last June by Lee Grace, UK Forestry Technician, from trees previously TreeSnapped...
KY TACF Partnership with USFS Daniel Boone National Forest
Thank you Scott Ray for inviting us to attend DBNF Annual Meeting held at Berea College Dr. Ellen Crocker, Scott Ray, and Ken Darnell, KY TACF Board Members, conducted a presentation on TreeSnap and the State University of New York's "Darling 58" transgenic American...
Many Miles Completed in Search for wild, full American Chestnuts Across Kentucky
Our Kentucky Volunteers have driven and hiked many miles across the state searching wild full American Chestnuts and “Snapped” them into our data base using the free TreeSnap app. We estimate that we have observed close to 4,000 wild Americans, “Snapping” 1,543...
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Join us for KY-TACF's 2025 Chapter Meeting in Artemus, KY (Outside of Barbourville, KY)
Date: Saturday September 6th 2025
Time: 8:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. EST
Location: KY National Guard Training Room, 537 TVA Road, Artemus, KY 40903
(3rd building on the left, cream colored metal building)
The Kentucky Chapter is excited to host our next annual meeting at the Kentucky National Guard Training Center! This meeting includes opportunities to hear from TACF staff, KY Board Members, and researchers about all things American Chestnut including the latest and greatest in Chestnut Science.
You can also explore nearby Pine Mountain State Resort Park.
Come see chestnut breeding in action! All are Welcome / KY Members and Non Members * * * * * *
We invite you to bring a "Plus One" ..... 🙂
TO RSVP: Email KY Chapter President Ken Darnell: moc.rennurdaor@llenradkd
No Entrance Fee **** Lunch provided by KY Chapter ****
We will hold Silent Auction to help defer costs 🙂
Schedule of events:
8:00-8:30AM - Social time, snacks and coffee
8:30-8:45AM - KY President Ken Darnell introduces attendees + silent auction items
8:45-9:30AM - KY Board Member and Meeting Host, Lt. Col. Dave Jackson (ret.) provides an overview of the KY National Guard Harold Disney Base and his work as KY N.G. Environmental Coordinator (We will discuss details of the TACF / KY N.G. hybrid orchard during the tour)
9:30-9:50 - Break, social time
9:50-10:50 - TACF Regional Science Coordinator Cassie Stark presents science update + Q&A
10:50-11:30 - KY Board Member Lynn Garrison presents about American chestnuts on Pine Mountain
11:30-12:00 - Annual board/officer elections
12:00-12:45 - Lunch (provided by Patti Darnell) and social time
12:45-2:00 - Hybrid Chestnut Orchard Tour lead by Dave Jackson and Cassie Stark, including an overview of orchard history, recent actions by KY-TACF, and next steps (orchard is within sight of the meeting room)
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Partnership Action by Kentucky Division of Forestry at KDF Morgan County Tree Nursery
Ongoing care of the 43 full American seedlings, of various parentages, planted May 2, 2024 and a few replacement plantings completed April 29, 2025. Thank you KY Division of Forestry * * * * *
Top photo shows Charlie Saunders who has many years of service with KDF, and has been an active Board Member of the KY Chapter of The American Chestnut Foundation for the last five years. Charlie is side dressing the seedlings with slow release DAP ( Diammonium Phosphate) 18-46-0 fertilizer which works well for KDF's thousands of tree seedlings that they plant in their main tree seedling orchard each Spring for sale to Kentucky customers in the Fall. KDF also waters these seedlings when rain does not provide enough natural watering.
The bottom two photos show KDF partners coordinating with KY Chapter President Ken Darnell, May 2, 2024, to plant 43 seedlings to enlarge the older full American Chestnut Orchard that is maintained and utilized in Partnership with the KY TACF Chapter.
This full American Chestnut Orchard preserves DNA from a variety of sources across Eastern Kentucky, to be utilized in future breeding, as our TACF Scientists guide us. * * * * * * *
Kentucky Division of Forestry
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Thank you Kentucky Division of Forestry Partner at the KDF Morgan County Tree Nursery .... in the full American Germplasm Conservation Orchard (GCO) * * * * * * June 25, 2025
We appreciate KDF's Terry Stamper for organizing this event 😊
We cut out a good number of multi flora rose briars and unwanted tree species. Unfortunately, with the heat and humidity, we had to stop work at 11:00, and completed photos and final Q & A by 11:30. Ken Darnell continued until 1:30, applying 41 gallons of rain water hauled to Morgan County in gallon milk jugs, and checking all of our full American seedlings. All full American seedlings that we have planted these last two years, or their replacements, were inventoried as "alive" today.
Also checked the 10 flowering full Americans this year *** and took photos to update KY Chapter's PRIME TRACKING REPORT.
Thank you KDF: L to R: Derek Stamper, Shiane Blundell, Riley Brown, Jim McDonald, Arlinda Fannin, Terry Stamper
...and.... Ken Darnell, KY Chapter of The American Chestnut Foundation
...and.... KDF's Orchard Manager Suzy Knott, KDF's Charlie Saunders at the Morgan County Team for all their good work and maximum support ****
...and.... Thank you KDF Orchard Team for bringing out two buckets of gravel, right after lunch to fill the deep ruts in a low, wet section of the farm road out to the American Chestnut Orchard 😊
Ken Darnell, KY TACF, Mt Sterling, KY Chapter President
Kentucky Division of Forestry Lori Bell Riley Brown Shiane L'shae Blundell Kenny Pyles
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Teena Dunn has been held back so much from her job. When Letcher County opened up she applied to be transferred. She was denied because of the buddy system. 2 years earlier she mentored an individual who pulled a "Blue Falcon" on her. She trained him to do what she does. A leadership position opened up in westerner Kentucky and was promised the job. But a blockade was put in her path. They filled it with someone else. Then the person she trained got a unique opportunity to be put in a temporary supervisor spot. They had by passed all the senior leaders to a Rookie. He is barely a Forest Ranger Tech 2 while Teena and numerous others are Forest Ranger Tech 3. 2 of the Rangers is retiring because of the Hazard lack of Leadership. This is what the Supervisor had to say while on vacation on the 4th of July. He has opened a lawsuit suit for "age and disability" discrimination. How does a person who served her Country and deployed to Iraq, 2 College degrees, and 9 plus years of Forest/Fire Warden get beat by a person with 2 years on the job experience. The morale of all the Rangers of the Hazard Branch was crushed by what he said about them on the 4th of July.