Maine News

Chestnut Science Update

A Year of Change

By Mark McCollough, Maine Chapter President

“Learn to expect the unexpected.” As a wildlife biologist, I learned this tenet of ecology early in my career. Nature is full of surprises from the elegant workings of the DNA molecule to the intricate cogs and wheels of a forest ecosystem. Rapid advancements in genetic science gave us both disappointment and hope for restoring the American chestnut in 2023. This issue of Maine’s Tree Urchin newsletter explains some unexpected discoveries in the world of chestnut science, how it affects chestnut restoration in Maine, and provides a peek at the year ahead.

Maine volunteers with pollination bags on chestnut tree

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Have a great photo of an American chestnut tree, bloom, bur, leaf, restoration planting, volunteer event, or wildlife interaction? We'd love to see it! (Photo pictured taken by 2025 2rd place winner Eric Sizemore)

First Place receives:
- Their photo featured on the cover of a future issue of Chestnut magazine
- A one-year TACF Seed Level Membership (a $300 value!)
- TACF merchandise

Second and Third Place winners will receive:
- TACF swag
- Recognition alongside the first-place winner in the 2027 Spring/Summer issue of Chestnut.

Submit your entries by December 31, 2026.

Visit the following link for more information and complete submission details: tacf.org/2026-photo-contest/

#AmericanChestnut #PhotoContest #TACF #ChestnutMagazine #ConservationPhotography #ForestRestoration #NaturePhotography
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Have a great photo of an American chestnut tree, bloom, bur, leaf, restoration planting, volunteer event, or wildlife interaction? Wed love to see it! (Photo pictured taken by 2025 2rd place winner Eric Sizemore)First Place receives: - Their photo featured on the cover of a future issue of Chestnut magazine- A one-year TACF Seed Level Membership (a $300 value!) - TACF merchandiseSecond and Third Place winners will receive: - TACF swag - Recognition alongside the first-place winner in the 2027 Spring/Summer issue of Chestnut.Submit your entries by December 31, 2026.Visit the following link for more information and complete submission details: https://tacf.org/2026-photo-contest/ #AmericanChestnut #PhotoContest #TACF #ChestnutMagazine #ConservationPhotography #ForestRestoration #NaturePhotography

A bee enjoying a well deserved break after the chestnut pollination period. The tree it rests on is a hybrid castanea pumila x alabamensis (dwarf chestnut x Alabama chinquapin). ... See MoreSee Less

A bee enjoying a well deserved break after the chestnut pollination period. The tree it rests on is a hybrid castanea pumila x alabamensis (dwarf chestnut x Alabama chinquapin).Image attachmentImage attachment

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Voles got my chestnut, planted spring 2025

August Events! Double check with your states Chapter about events in your area.

Visit the following link for more information on the events: tacf.org/events/category/tacf/

#americanchestnut #Connecticut #NorthCarolina #SouthCarolina #getinvolved
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August Events! Double check with your states Chapter about events in your area. Visit the following link for more information on the events: https://tacf.org/events/category/tacf/ #americanchestnut #Connecticut #NorthCarolina #SouthCarolina #getinvolvedImage attachmentImage attachment

In a recent article for The Conversation, Dr. Steve Strauss discusses how advances in genomics and biotechnology are creating new opportunities to support chestnut restoration.

We're pleased to see perspectives from a longtime TACF collaborator. Steve served on our Science Advisory Review Committee in 2018 and currently has a pending proposal with TACF to improve genetic transformation methods for chestnut.

Give the article a read and let us know what part of chestnut restoration you're most excited about: theconversation.com/new-genetic-approaches-raise-hopes-for-restoring-the-american-chestnut-to-its...
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In a recent article for The Conversation, Dr. Steve Strauss discusses how advances in genomics and biotechnology are creating new opportunities to support chestnut restoration.Were pleased to see perspectives from a longtime TACF collaborator. Steve served on our Science Advisory Review Committee in 2018 and currently has a pending proposal with TACF to improve genetic transformation methods for chestnut.Give the article a read and let us know what part of chestnut restoration youre most excited about: https://theconversation.com/new-genetic-approaches-raise-hopes-for-restoring-the-american-chestnut-to-its-former-glory-282125

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Somewhere, waiting discovery deep inside the remote part of a forest towers a thriving blight resistant nut filled American Chestnut (surrounded by dead ones just so we know it was exposed and surviving). We can hope. Taking inspiration from the Dogwood saga.

Professors at S.U.N.Y E.S.F put a wheat gene in to Chestnuts years ago and have growing them

I thought the blight only killed the tree above the ground and not the root system that's why the chestnut resprouts and grows until it gets a scar on it and the blight kills the sprouted tree back down to the ground leaving more viable root system to sprout again in the future.

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Unlike most forest trees that rely mostly on wind, American chestnuts recruit insects too.

#americanchestnut #environmentaleducation #pollinator #nativetrees #dronefootage
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Okay, who was in our Monocacy Orchard. MDTACF.

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