Connecticut News
Germplasm Conservation Orchard Planting Schedule
Germplasm Conservation Orchard Planting Schedule Volunteers are needed to help plant American Chestnut seeds in our Germplasm Conservation Orchards this month. Given the tremendous harvest we had last fall, we will need help in getting those nuts planted in the...
CT-TACF Nominating Committee Report
The CT-TACF Nominating Committee of Jane Harris, Bill Adamsen and John Baker are recommending the following candidates for the Board of Directors and Chapter Officers for 2022: 1. Nominations for the Board of Directors with a term ending in 2023: Renee Allen...
Nancy Spofford Yerkes Foundation makes gift to support the American Chestnut Orchards in Connecticut
The American Chestnut Foundation announced today a gift by the Nancy Spofford Yerkes Foundation, Inc to support our chapter for continued planting and monitoring of the American Chestnuts in Connecticut. Given the tremendous American chestnut harvest we had last fall...
The 2022 edition of “The New Leaf” is out
The 2022 edition of "The New Leaf", CT-TACF Chapter annual newsletter, is now available online here! A printed version is currently making its way to the mailboxes of all the CT members. This Winter/Spring 2022 Newsletter focuses on our Chestnut show-and-tell all over...
Fall 2021 CT-TACF Harvest Schedule
American Chestnut Harvest Schedule All dates and times my be changed for inclement weather or other reasons outside of our control. Rough terrain and thick brush may need to be traversed to reach the chestnut trees, so good footwear and legwear is recommended. ...
The CT chapter now has a Facebook group!
To help all the members of the CT chapter keeping touch with our activities, we have created a Facebook group where members and anyone interested in our work can post and interact. The group is linked the the Facebook page of the Foundation....
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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.
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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: 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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We’re excited to share a new animated video explaining TACF’s RGS program!
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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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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!