About Us
Our Mission
Our mission is to bring about the restoration of the American chestnut tree as a prominent part of Georgia forests.
The Georgia Chapter was founded to bring about the restoration of the American chestnut tree as a prominent part of Georgia forests by assisting the national foundation in its propagation efforts, by promoting public awareness through education and by supporting the scientific research efforts of TACF directed at restoring American chestnuts.
Board of Directors
Executive Committee
President
Jack Rogers
Vice President
Kathy Patrick
Secretary
Zach Felix
Treasurer
Vince Payne
Tree Breeding/Preservation (Science Coordinator)
Dr. Caitlin Conn
Honorary Director
Mary Belle Price (posthumously)
Board Members
Tim Chesnut
Dr. Zach Felix
Dr. Scott Merkle
Ana Metaxas
Dr. Caitlin Conn
Taryn Heidel
David Keehn
David Green
Partnerships
The American Chestnut Foundation (TACF) and the Georgia Chapter (GaTACF) seek out partners that will not only help further its chestnut restoration program but also bring attention to the importance of the chestnut in American history. These partners include major universities, private foundations and businesses, as well as state and federal government agencies. With plantings at high-profile sites such as the Carter Center, Callaway Gardens Preserve, and the Atlanta Beltline Arboretum Project, GaTACF has been able to attract significant support from many partners throughout Georgia.
Each of our partners offers a unique perspective on chestnut restoration and gives GaTACF the best possible opportunity to be successful in its efforts to bring the American chestnut back to the forests of Georgia.
Georgia TACF Partner Organizations
- Atlanta History Center
- Berry College
- Bittersweet Gardens
- Bottletree Bees
- Byron Herbert Reece Farm & Heritage Center
- Carter Center
- Charlane Plantation
- Cloudland Vineyards
- Dalton State College
- Douglas County
- Elachee Nature Science Center
- Friends of Smithgall Woods State Park
- Georgia Department of Natural Resources
- Georgia State Parks
- Georgia Forestry Commission
- Georgia Governor’s Mansion
- Georgia Piedmont Land Trust
- Georgia State Botanical Garden
- Kennesaw State University (Research Farm)
- Kistner Center
- North Georgia Canopy Tours
- Pettit Environmental Center
- Rabun Gap Nacoochee School
- Reinhardt University
- Rising Fawn Gardens
- Runnin’ Wild Farms
- Smith-Gilbert Gardens
- The Blueberry Farm
- The Callaway Gardens Preserve
- The Carter Center
- Cherokee County Recreation & Parks
- Sandy Creek Nature Center
- The University of Georgia (UGA) Horticultural Farm
- The UGA Mountain Research & Education Center (GMREC)
- The UGA Warnell School of Forestry
- The Southern Company (Georgia Power)
- Toccoa Falls College
- Trees Atlanta and the Atlanta Beltline Arboretum
- University of North Georgia
- U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
- U.S.D.A. Forest Service
- Vogel State Park
- Young Harris College
FOR OUTSTANDING FINANCIAL SUPPORT WE WISH TO THANK
- Ailene Phillips Trust
- Dr. Austin Flint
- Berry College
- Eleanor & Tom Ratchford
- Georgia Appalachian Regional Commission
- Georgia State Specialty Crops Grant
- Lumpkin Coalition/Hemlockfest
- Dr. Martin Cipollini & Kathryn Patrick
- Mary Belle Price
- Rome Rotary Clubs
- Temple-Inland Foundation
- Urban & Community Forestry Commission
Georgia Chapter Menu
Georgia Facebook
Dear Georgia Chestnut enthusiasts,
As many of you are aware, we have been expecting a favorable announcement from the federal regulatory agencies this summer regarding deregulation the Darling 58 (D58) transgenic chestnut research. Unfortunately, it looks like the federal approval is not happening as quickly as we had hoped. The D58 research, being conducted primarily at State University of New York (SUNY ESF), involves inserting a gene from wheat into chestnuts, resulting in a chestnut with the heritable ability to survive blight infection. This effort is in addition to our ongoing backcross breeding program which seeks to develop blight-resistant chestnuts by crossing American and Chinese species.
Last week, TACF National provided a comprehensive update on D58 research and deregulation during their monthly Chestnut Chat series. A recording of the podcast is now available on YouTube. The event runs about 90 minutes, and provides an outstanding update on all the issues regarding D58. Here's the link to the recording: tacf.org/chestnut-chat-archives/#darling-58-update-sept-15-2023
TACF has also released a web page with additional D58 updates: tacf.org/darling-58/
For those who are pressed for time, I've briefly summarized the information from the chat below:
1) The D58 federal deregulation process is ongoing. We've made good progress, and we now have most of what we need for USDA APHIS and FDA, but the EPA piece has been delayed further. We continue to expect eventual deregulation (in some form), perhaps in the next 3 years. In the near term, we will continue ongoing research on D58 and other transgenics. We don't have a firm date for when the EPA guidance will be released. We believe that the delays are not caused by concerns about safety, etc.
2) Hopes that D58 was going be a "silver bullet" were probably never realistic. Recent communications may have unintentionally overstated the importance of D58 to the overall restoration efforts, and we will work to be more realistic in the future. Other transgenic trees are in development, such as the DarWin tree. These may turn out to be more important than D58 and some of this work in on-going in Georgia (UGA).
3) Individual (public) access to D58 pollen, seeds or trees is not expected anytime soon.
4) We continue to work with both transgenic and traditional backcross approaches and expect that both will be important going forward.
5) There is a lot of important science yet to be done. Results from nursery and orchard experimentation are necessary, but we also need to continue and expand research to see how these trees do in actual forest environments. This will take many years. As TACF's Vasiliy Lakoba at Meadowview Research Farms puts it, "science can accelerate, but trees work on tree time."
6) Work to develop trees with Prr (black root rot) resistance also continues.
7) Almost every decision we make in this process is informed by the need to capture genetic diversity,
8) We need to maintain our enthusiasm for the process, despite things taking longer than we had hoped.
Thanks, Jack Rogers, Georgia Chapter President
The American Chestnut Foundation
P.S. Look forward to future announcements about outreach events in the Atlanta and surrounding areas this fall. These will be fun opportunities to learn and to have questions answered.
Darling 58 | The American Chestnut Foundation
tacf.org
Darling 58 Rescue and Restoration of the American Chestnut The American chestnut was an ecologically, economically, and culturally significant tree species in the Eastern United States. In the late 18...2 CommentsComment on Facebook
Thank you and best of luck in the future with research and regulations.
Thanks for your careful summary of the "Chestnut Chat" discussion.
A good number of trees at this EKU site in KY originated in the GA-TACF breeding program! So, they are "our" trees, too!
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That's awesome!
Got to love the reversed picture T-shirt.
Nice looking orchard
The American Chestnut Foundation is seeking scion wood from wild American chestnut trees from the southern population. Population studies have determined that trees found in western TN and KY, GA, AL, and MS represent the southern population and are the most genetically diverse. The objectives of this collection are to:
🌱Conserve genetic diversity of unique and underrepresented populations of American chestnut through grafting
🌱Grow these grafted plants in favorable conditions (including growth chambers) to promote flowering and ease of pollen collection
🌱Future utilization of pollen and flowers to outcross transgenic chestnut
Goals for 2023: Gather around 100 sources from the South
•Coordinate with Jamie Van Clief at jamie.vanclief@acf.org for the collection of this scion wood.
•Scion wood collection should be done during winter dormancy only, which is commonly marked by the loss of leaves or brown leaves dangling (flagged) on their branches. Ideally, collected between December 2022–January 2023.
•It may be necessary to visit sites twice: once, before winter dormancy to ensure species can be identified to the American chestnut, particularly in areas where they co-occur with chinquapin. Second, when trees have gone dormant to collect scion wood.
•Scion wood should be at least 3 inches long and contain 1 or more unopened buds. With nut grafting, the diameter of the scion is not a concern, but larger buds with space in between buds are preferred.
•Collect ten pieces of scion wood per tree, when possible. At a minimum, we are looking for about fifteen buds. However, use judgment when collecting from small trees to not jeopardize the tree's survival by over-collecting.
•Take GPS coordinates from each tree using the TreeSnap application for smartphones (treesnap.org/) or with a GPS unit or smartphone. Ideally, trees have already been identified and entered into TACF’s dentataBase.
•Place scion wood from a single tree in a one-gallon sealable bag.
•For each tree, place a note card in the bag containing: data collected, county, state, latitude and longitude.
Previously used for breeding or not: Yes, No or Unknown
TreeSnap ID or wild tree code from Regional Science Coordinator (if applicable)
Public or private land (Do Not Trespass!)
•Before sealing, place the card in the bag, then roll the bag from the bottom to the top to remove excess air.
•Do not write on the bag as even permanent markers will fade or be scratched off during handling and storage. Temporary writing on bags is fine, but do not rely on them for storage.
• Do not place a damp paper towel in the bag. Moisture from the towel commonly causes mold during storage.
•If desired place them in damp (NOT WET!) peat moss in the bag. The peat moss should be damp enough that you can squeeze it into a ball but not so damp you can squeeze water out of it.
•While in the field, store scion wood in a cooler with cold packs and place it in the refrigerator's crisper drawer until shipping. Do not place it in the freezer.
•Please ship scion wood no later than 2-3 weeks after collection.
Shipping:
Ship on Sunday through Wednesday via 2-day shipping to the attention of Chance Parker. Do not ship on Thursday or Friday. Coordinate with Chance and Jamie Van Clief so everyone knows what has been shipped. Ship samples on cold packs and in small foam cooler, if possible.
Supplies:
Sealable gallon freezer bags
GPS unit or smartphone with TreeSnap (treesnap.org/)
Permanent marker for making notes on cards
Notecards or paper
Pruning shears and/or pole, depending on tree size
Cooler and cold packs
About Scion Wood
While trees are grafted just as the rootstock buds start to grow, the buds on the scion wood must be dormant at the time of grafting. Thus, February is an ideal time to collect scion wood for spring grafting.
After cutting scion wood, it can be sealed in polyethylene bags to prevent moisture loss and stored for three months at 32°F until grafting. Storage at lower temperatures in home freezers can damage the buds. Temperatures warmer than 32°F will shorten the storage life of the scion wood. Using scion buds that have begun to grow while in cold storage will result in grafting failure.
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