Connecticut news

2010 CT Annual Meeting

Annual Meeting Poster
[click for larger image]
Saturday March 6th we'll be hosting the annual meeting of the CT Chapter of The American Chestnut Foundation at Trinity College in Hartford, CT. We have interesting presenters and a fantastic venue – and hope you'll mark you calendar and join us. Should you decide to join, you MUST RSVP by calling Kendra Gurney at 802.951.6771 x1350 or sending her an e-mail at gro.fca@ardnek.

We have been approved to offer qualified attendees two CEU hours of credit in the following licensing categories: Forest Pest Management (category 2), Arborist (category 3D) and Demonstration and Research (category 10). Submission forms and sign-up will be available at the meeting. For further information please contact gro.fca@ardnek.

Simply looking for directions? See the directions on the Trinity web-site. See the brochure with campus map [142kb] in easily printable format with venue annotations for directions on how to get to each venue.

Topic: Accelerating the Restoration of American Chestnut Through Genomics

Dr. Tom Kubisiak spends a lot of his time in a world that's invisible to most of us — the double-stranded, DNA world of genes and chromosomes. A geneticist based at the SRS Southern Institute of Forest Genetics in Saucier, MS, Kubisiak is a master at using small snippets of DNA called genetic markers to tease out variations among individuals — whether they're trees or the pathogens that infect them. He has worked with The American Chestnut Foundation (TACF) on just about every aspect of their restoration program, from charting the genetic diversity of the American chestnut trees still living to helping map the genome of the chestnut blight fungus. Most of his research for TACF has had immediate practical application — a rarity in the world of genetic research.

Dr. Kubisiak is a member of the Fagaceae Genome Project (Funded by the National Science Foundation) and a member of the “Forest Health Initiative” (funded by The U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities, U.S. Forest Service, and Duke Energy), and has been an active long-term participant in the USDA CREES Regional Research Project NE-1033 “Biological Improvement of Chestnut Through Technologies that Address Management of the Species, its Pathogens, and Pests.” Tom earned a Ph.D. in Forestry (Forest Genetics) at Louisiana State University in 1994.

For more information about our speaker, visit this article about Dr. Kubisiak at the Southern Research Station

Dr. Tom Kubisiak
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Dr. Tom Kusisiak
Photo: John Butnor, USFS

The presentations will be followed by operational meetings attended by those of you with an interest or business in attending. You are welcome to attend just those sections of the meeting that interest you as outlined in the agenda below.

Agenda

9:30am Opening Reception

10:00am Introduction and speakers

12:00pm CT-TACF Annual Meeting followed by Lunch

1:30pm Visit to Trinity's Watkinson Library Special Collection

2:00pm CT-TACF Board Meeting – Open to All!

4:00pm Expected close of Chapter business

The program is free to both members and non-members, as is lunch for those who advance register. To advance register e-mail to indicate your interest in attending. Details on logistics, parking and presentation venues, will be provided well in advance of the meeting.

We thank Trinity College, and especially Dr. Scott Smedley, for their partnership in planning this meeting and providing the venue for the presentations.

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Lucinda’s got a tree to introduce you to 🌳👋
Meet even more trees at tacf.org/meet-the-trees/
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8 CommentsComment on Facebook

This is D2-19-136 if you'd like to view it on our webpage!

Great video, keep them coming.

Great job guys!

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Reminder! TACF's 2025 American Chestnut Photo Contest is going on now, with a new, extended deadline!

The first-place winner will have their photo featured on the cover of a future issue of Chestnut magazine and receive a one-year TACF membership, along with a T-shirt and hat. The second-place winner will receive a T-shirt and sticker, and the third-place winner will receive a sticker. All winners will be recognized in a future issue of Chestnut.

Visit tacf.org/2025-photo-contest/ for all the details.
... See MoreSee Less

Reminder! TACFs 2025 American Chestnut Photo Contest is going on now, with a new, extended deadline! The first-place winner will have their photo featured on the cover of a future issue of Chestnut magazine and receive a one-year TACF membership, along with a T-shirt and hat. The second-place winner will receive a T-shirt and sticker, and the third-place winner will receive a sticker. All winners will be recognized in a future issue of Chestnut.Visit https://tacf.org/2025-photo-contest/ for all the details.

Celebrate the legacy of Rex Mann—forester, storyteller, and passionate champion for the American chestnut—with this limited edition Leave Tracks t-shirt.

Rex devoted his life to restoring forests and inspiring others to care for the land. Now, you can honor his memory and help carry his mission forward.

🌳 100% of the proceeds from every shirt go to The American Chestnut Foundation (THANK YOU!), supporting the work Rex believed in so deeply.

👉 Pre-order now through August 2: scottmann.com/store/Leave-Tracks-In-Honor-of-Rex-Mann-PREORDER-p768130686

Let’s keep walking the trail Rex helped blaze.
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Celebrate the legacy of Rex Mann—forester, storyteller, and passionate champion for the American chestnut—with this limited edition Leave Tracks t-shirt.Rex devoted his life to restoring forests and inspiring others to care for the land. Now, you can honor his memory and help carry his mission forward.🌳 100% of the proceeds from every shirt go to The American Chestnut Foundation (THANK YOU!), supporting the work Rex believed in so deeply.👉 Pre-order now through August 2: https://scottmann.com/store/Leave-Tracks-In-Honor-of-Rex-Mann-PREORDER-p768130686Let’s keep walking the trail Rex helped blaze.

We’re excited to share a new animated video explaining TACF’s RGS program! ... See MoreSee Less

Video image

1 CommentComment on Facebook

Transgenic American Chestnuts are still a much better option. The product of this method will always be a hybrid and that should not be the goal.

One of the greatest ecological disasters the US has ever seen. Chestnut blight wiped out the American chestnut tree in less than 50 years.⁠
A tree that once made up nearly 25% of the eastern forests was reduced to a functionally extinct species.⁠

The Asian fungus Cryphonectria parasitica was accidentally introduced into the United States in the late 1800s. While a few diseased chestnuts were noted in the 1880s and 90s, it wasn't until 1904 that the pathogen was identified in New York City. From that point, the blight spread rapidly. By 1950 the entire range had been consumed.⁠

The fungus causes cankers that spread around the trunk of the tree, girdling it and killing everything above ground. Many root systems still survive today and continue to send up shoots, but these also eventually succumb to blight. Because American chestnuts rarely survive long enough to reproduce, the species is considered functionally extinct.⁠

The American Chestnut Foundation is working to develop blight-resistant American chestnuts that can be used to restore this iconic tree to its native range. Learn more at tacf.org/about-us (link in bio)
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145 CommentsComment on Facebook

I think I may have found an American Chestnut tucked away in a backyard

Incredibly important work…it was such a travesty for our forests!

The trees seem to still be intact outside their range in isolated areas. Theres a few large ones here in central Michigan on a peninsula and again on the Leelenau peninsula in the nw lower peninsula. I keep seeing people chime in about adult trees here and there. Seems like there's hope!

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