Connecticut News
Chestnut Research Orchard for Middletown
The Honorable Sebastian N. Giuliano, Mayor of Middletown, today signed land-use and germ-plasm agreements with the Connecticut Chapter of The American Chestnut Foundation. With these agreements in place, CT-TACF will collaborate with the Middletown Urban Forestry...
Visit to Aton Forest
By Sara Fitzsimmons Regional Science Coordinator The American Chestnut Foundation On Saturday, April 25, several representatives from The American Chestnut Foundations (TACF) met at Aton Forest to discuss details of a summer project that is to be taken on by the...
Appalachia Series on PBS
PBS has put out a series, Appalachia: A History of Mountains and People, which features American chestnut in the final segment. This segment, Power and Place, is airing this weekend, though from what I found, at some inopportune times. Thought members might be...
The Prospect of Loss
by Bill Adamsen Against the new fungus enemy, scientists at the Botanical Gardens, and at the Laboratory of Forest Pathology at Washington, will muster their forces in the interest of the lovers of chestnut parks and woodlands. the New York Times - May 1908 As we age,...
Observations While Hiking in the Woods
Illustrations by Dr. Fred Paillet about American chestnut Some of you may be aware that Dr. Paillet has been a major contributor to the training for the Appalachian Mountain Club Mega Transect project. Anyone who has read Dr. Paiilet's papers is aware that he is...
Weed Protection and Your Feedback!
By Sara Fitzsimmons Soil and weeds will significantly and negatively affect the growth of young trees; grasses in old fields are especially tough competitors. Growers with most success keep a weed-free area of at least 2-3 feet in diameter around their trees. The...
Connecticut Chapter Menu
National Facebook
Lucinda’s got a tree to introduce you to 🌳👋
Meet even more trees at tacf.org/meet-the-trees/
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!
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.
0 CommentsComment on Facebook
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.
0 CommentsComment on Facebook
We’re excited to share a new animated video explaining TACF’s RGS program!
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)
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!