Indiana News

Indiana Chapter in the December Sprout

The meeting was hosted by Carroll Ritter, the Sycamore Land Trust Environmental Education Coordinator, and the Southern Hills Restoration Branch. Members discussed the important of restoring the American chestnut while enjoying a tasty lunch and scenic views. They also had the opportunity to see Indiana chapter member and USFS firefighter Ron Doyle’s restored 1936 Chevy Apache with a custom, American chestnut dashboard. Doyle’s family had chestnut trees on their nearby farm, and remnants of fallen trees can still be found on the forest floor nearly 70 years later.

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Indiana chapter members eating chestnut right off of a tree in the Indiana Department of Natural Resource’s Vallonia Nursery. Photo by Ben Finegan.

The group then toured the nearby Indiana Department of Natural Resource’s Vallonia Nursery. One of the best nurseries east of the Mississippi, the sandy soils of Vallonia grow tens of thousands of TACF Restoration Chestnuts 1.0. Indiana chapter member Jim McKenna led the tour, and discussed the recent pruning improvements to “tame” the rampant growth of the seedlings into more manageable sizes.

Participants from the Indiana chapter fall meeting visiting the breeding orchard in Jackson-Washington State Forest. Photo by Stephanie Eft.

Participants from the Indiana chapter fall meeting visiting the breeding orchard in Jackson-Washington State Forest. Photo by Stephanie Eft.

After the nursery, the tour went back up into a portion of the Jackson-Washington State Forest to visit one of Indiana’s breeding orchards and a BC3F3 progeny test. The breeding orchard holds promising specimens with good form that maintain blight resistance several years after inoculation. While eating raw chestnuts off the trees, the group was treated to a rare find: a large Imperial Moth caterpillar nestled among the chestnut leaves!

Jim McKenna explains the height that Restoration 1.0 Chestnut trees would grow to without the twice a year pruning. Photo by Ben Finegan.

Jim McKenna explains the height that Restoration 1.0 Chestnut trees would grow to without the twice a year pruning. Photo by Ben Finegan.

While examining the leftovers of eight-foot tall Johnson grass and vines, the group commiserated over war stories of the recent progeny tests. The first half of the summer saw 20 inches of rain in a little more than a month, while the second half saw a near drought. All-in-all, the trees were well cared for and are in a great place to start the 2016 growing season.

The day concluded with a drive just down the road to Salem High School. Greg McCurdy and two science club students gave our group a tour of their 60-acre outdoor science lab which includes planting of nearly 100 American and hybrid chestnut trees.

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What an incredible tree the American chestnut was! As The American Chestnut Foundations continues its decades-long work to restore this species, we welcome you to join the cause!

Become a member, volunteer with your local chapter, or simply spread the word about this incredible tree. Visit support.tacf.org/membership to get started.
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12 CommentsComment on Facebook

They can bring back a dead wolf from hundreds of years ago but they won’t bring back something useful like the American chestnut

Thank NYC, destroyed not only the tree, but a way of life 😢

If it's extinct it not possible to bring back

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Isnt nature amazing?

Join us on Friday, May 16, 2025, from 11:30AM – 1:00PM (EPT), for the next LIVE Chestnut Chat.

Special guests Duane McKenna and Michael Charles will discuss beetle evolution and the rediscovery of a lost species, the greater chestnut weevil.

Visit tacf.org/event/chestnut-chat-beetle-evolution-greater-chestnut-weevil/ to learn more and register.
... See MoreSee Less

Join us on Friday, May 16, 2025, from 11:30AM – 1:00PM (EPT), for the next LIVE Chestnut Chat.Special guests Duane McKenna and Michael Charles will discuss beetle evolution and the rediscovery of a lost species, the greater chestnut weevil.Visit https://tacf.org/event/chestnut-chat-beetle-evolution-greater-chestnut-weevil/ to learn more and register.

Huge thanks to our amazing Bonner Scholars, Maddy, our dedicated Farm Assistant, and Gabbie, our creative Social Media Intern for all their hard work this semester! We’re so grateful for their contributions and can’t wait to welcome them back in August for another season of collaboration.

#americanchestnut #castaneadentata #americanchestnutfoundation #meadowviewresearchfarms #emoryhenry #bonnerscholars
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Huge thanks to our amazing Bonner Scholars, Maddy, our dedicated Farm Assistant, and Gabbie, our creative Social Media Intern for all their hard work this semester! We’re so grateful for their contributions and can’t wait to welcome them back in August for another season of collaboration.#americanchestnut #castaneadentata #americanchestnutfoundation #meadowviewresearchfarms #emoryhenry #bonnerscholars

Join us on Friday, May 16, 2025, from 11:30AM – 1:00PM (EPT), for the next LIVE Chestnut Chat.

Special guests Duane McKenna and Michael Charles will discuss beetle evolution and the rediscovery of a lost species, the greater chestnut weevil.

Visit tacf.org/event/chestnut-chat-beetle-evolution-greater-chestnut-weevil/ to learn more and register.
... See MoreSee Less

Join us on Friday, May 16, 2025, from 11:30AM – 1:00PM (EPT), for the next LIVE Chestnut Chat.Special guests Duane McKenna and Michael Charles will discuss beetle evolution and the rediscovery of a lost species, the greater chestnut weevil.Visit https://tacf.org/event/chestnut-chat-beetle-evolution-greater-chestnut-weevil/ to learn more and register.

1 CommentComment on Facebook

Why don't they make a weevil that can't have babies? And put them in the wild? So it'll past it to overs so they'll die out!!!

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