About Us
Hello from the Kentucky Chapter of The American Chestnut Foundation!
We are an active group of Volunteers who work together to help the national effort to restore the American Chestnut back into its native forests. With our Partners, we manage several orchards of hybrid American Chestnuts and full American Chestnuts that facilitate breeding options.
Wild American Chestnuts are still found across Kentucky in their native range forests. While an extremely small number of wild American Chestnut trees survive the blight to grow large enough to produce flowers and burrs, there are many sprouts that grow from the roots of the original trees. Take a look at the original American Chestnut Range Map. American chestnuts like well-drained, acidic sandstone soils. They do not like low acidic clay soils or soils and low areas that hold water.
We invite you to help search for wild Americans and to record them on the free ‘TreeSnap’ app. Or you can contact us via our Kentucky Chapter Facebook Page to let us know their location and if you need help to ID that your trees are full American or a Chinese or Japanese Chestnut, or a hybrid with mixed parentage. You can see general locations of wild American Chestnuts found and mapped to date on the TreeSnap website: https://treesnap.org/ Choose “MAP” from the menu to see general tree locations, with the knowledge that the app moves the exact tree locations by about five miles each to protect the individual trees and the landowners. With the “OBSERVATION CATEGORY” filter box, select “American Chestnut” to remove the visual clutter of other species that are also entered into TreeSnap.
JOIN US. Become a Member. Become a Volunteer. Click on the BECOME A MEMBER button to the right to simultaneously join the national TACF organization, plus the Kentucky Chapter. You will enjoy working beside and developing friendships with many other conservation minded people who are taking a variety of actions to do our part, along with our sister Appalachian state chestnut chapters, to restore this iconic American tree.
Kentucky Chapter Menu
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Planted 17 Full American Seedlings in Partnership Germplasm Conservation Orchard at Army Corps of Engineer's Green River Lake, Taylor County Wednesday April 30, 2025
Thank you to KY TACF's long time Partners, the Army Corps of Engineers for providing the land, and deer cages for this Orchard to preserve DNA of Kentucky full American Chestnuts. Thank you to Lead Ranger Larry Lemmon, Maint. Dept's Stephen Turner, for their hands on help today, plus their mowing crew who had the site well prepared.
Additionally, special thanks to long time Partner, Steve Hartman, Scottsville, KY for sustaining his full American Orchard with Warren County DNA. Steve provided 20 nuts last fall that the KY Chapter stratified in cold storage, potted on February 12th, cared for by EKU Biology Department for several weeks, then "hardened off" on Patti Darnell's partially shaded back deck. Chapter President Ken Darnell drove the seedlings and protective tree shelters to Green River Lake today. In other words, LOTS OF TEAMWORK TO MAKE IT HAPPEN * * * * *
The Green River leaders will be planting several of our "Better" hybrid seedlings at their Office / Visitor Center for educational purposes. TACF signage is in place to help the public learn about our many actions to help RESTORE THE AMERICAN CHESTNUT. * * * * * *
We invite you to JOIN the Kentucky Team: support.tacf.org/membership Choose the Kentucky Chapter
Hannah Leeper TACF #fullamericanchestnutskentucky
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Planting full American Chestnut Seedlings at Kentucky Division of Forestry's Morgan County Tree Nursery
April 29, 2025
Thank you KDF Partners for providing Orchard Space for 27 new full American seedlings and for Volunteering to mow, weed eat and plant this 2025 batch of seedlings. * * * * * Thank you Charlie Saunders, Suzy Knott, Terry Stamper, Derek Stamper and our newest Volunteer Arlinda Fannin for working with Ken Darnell, KY Chapter President. This orchard preserves a variety of wild American DNA sources to utilize in future breeding to support the national American Chestnut Foundation Restoration science and actions.
Join the Kentucky Chapter: support.tacf.org/membership Select the Kentucky Chapter
Kentucky Division of Forestry Hannah Leeper TACF
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Call for Volunteers to help plant 16 full American Seedlings and 6 hybrid American Seedlings at Green River Lake Army Corps of Engineers Office / Visitor Center area
Wednesday April 30, 2025 Beginning 10:00 ET
We will be adding to previous plantings, in Partnership with ACE Green River Lake, Larry Lemmon, Lead Ranger.
If you live in the area, and can join us, please email to: Ken Darnell, KY Chapter President moc.rennurdaor@llenradkd or TEXT: 859 585 9520
..... and enjoy the Visitor's Center and grounds * * * * * *
Photo: June 2024 Larry Lemmon, ACE Lead Ranger (left) Keith Chasteen, KY Chapter Board Member Emeritus (right)
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Latest News
Using Pollen from Land Between The Lakes
WE’RE SO HAPPY …….. RETURNED TO STEVE HARTMAN FULL AMERICAN ORCHARD, SCOTTSVILLE, KY near Tennessee Border to apply pollen from three LBL wild Americans, harvested, processed and stored last June by Lee Grace, UK Forestry Technician, from trees previously TreeSnapped...
KY TACF Partnership with USFS Daniel Boone National Forest
Thank you Scott Ray for inviting us to attend DBNF Annual Meeting held at Berea College Dr. Ellen Crocker, Scott Ray, and Ken Darnell, KY TACF Board Members, conducted a presentation on TreeSnap and the State University of New York's "Darling 58" transgenic American...
Many Miles Completed in Search for wild, full American Chestnuts Across Kentucky
Our Kentucky Volunteers have driven and hiked many miles across the state searching wild full American Chestnuts and “Snapped” them into our data base using the free TreeSnap app. We estimate that we have observed close to 4,000 wild Americans, “Snapping” 1,543...