Maine News

Calling Volunteers to Chestnuts Across Maine

Chestnuts Across Maine (CAM) is an exciting, new initiative of the Maine chapter of TACF.  Our chapter is partnering with land trusts, state parks, schools, and town squares in Maine to establish small plantings of American chestnuts on lands open to the public.  This is a long-term, multi-generational commitment that achieves many of the goals of TACF.  Moreover, CAM gives you a way to activate and to engage others in your community to return the American chestnut to a field or forest near you.

Maine has more wild living chestnuts than any other state, making it our chapter’s duty to conserve their genes for future breeding.  As you probably know, the only way to keep Maine’s wild chestnut genetics alive is to grow them.  While our large Gene Conservation Orchards are useful, blight can establish and rip through one in a few years.  CAM aims to disperse Maine genetics across the state in small groupings as a form of insurance.  Not only will the miles between them serve as a layer of protection but this initiative brings chestnuts closer to our members and their communities.

We are starting small but thinking big!  In 2024 we launched CAM and planted 9 groves of trees with help from 9 partner organizations and land trusts. Their enthusiastic embrace of this vision and commitment of time and resources reassures us that we are on the right path.  Within 5 years we’d like to have chestnuts growing within a one-hour drive of all of our members. Within 10 years we plan to reduce that to one half hour.

Think of each grove as a nearby spot where you can help grow chestnuts and engage others in the restoration of the American chestnut to Maine. If you’re game to get involved in a small but valuable role, you might just be a candidate to lead or join a local Chestnut Restoration Team.  Explore the Chestnuts Across Maine webpages for more details and contact our Volunteer Coordinator, Eva Butler at moc.liamg@fcaeniam.reetnulov to figure out the best fit for your time and talents.

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Join us on tomorrow, October 10, 2025, from 11:30AM – 1:00PM (EPT), for the next LIVE Chestnut Chat.

Our special guest, Dr. Trevor Walker, Assistant Professor of Forest Genetics and Co-Director of the Cooperative Tree Improvement Program at NC State University, will share insights from 70 years of breeding loblolly pine for disease resistance, growth, and stem form. He will also consider which practices are likely to succeed for American chestnut, which are not, and why.

Visit tacf.org/event/chestnut-chat-breeding-disease-resistance-in-loblolly-pine/ to learn more or register.
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Join us on tomorrow, October 10, 2025, from 11:30AM – 1:00PM (EPT), for the next LIVE Chestnut Chat.Our special guest, Dr. Trevor Walker, Assistant Professor of Forest Genetics and Co-Director of the Cooperative Tree Improvement Program at NC State University, will share insights from 70 years of breeding loblolly pine for disease resistance, growth, and stem form. He will also consider which practices are likely to succeed for American chestnut, which are not, and why.Visit https://tacf.org/event/chestnut-chat-breeding-disease-resistance-in-loblolly-pine/ to learn more or register.

Do you love pulling on your work gloves and cracking open freshly fallen burs to reveal the chestnuts inside? If you do, but don’t have any of your own yet, become a member and get access to our wild-type seed sale in 2026. In just a few years, your hands could be full of spiky burs and American chestnuts of your own. support.tacf.org/membership/new-regular ... See MoreSee Less

36 CommentsComment on Facebook

I use my boots to open them!

Porcupine eggs!!😂🤣

I have a bag full.

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We’re proud to share this segment from the PBS show Human Footprint, featuring former TACF staff member Sara Fitzsimmons. The American chestnut sequence was selected to be adapted into a standalone YouTube video, which launched in late September and has already garnered more than half a million views. Sara’s dedication and expertise have shaped much of the progress in restoring the American chestnut. Give it a watch to learn more about this important work. ... See MoreSee Less

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2 CommentsComment on Facebook

Great presentation!

🌰 Harvest season at TACF’s Meadowview Research Farms brings both beauty and breakthrough science. Many of the chestnut crosses we gather are generated through recurrent genomic selection—cutting-edge research driving restoration forward. Each bur holds not only the wonder of new life, but also the promise of a future where the majestic American chestnut returns to our forests. 🌳

#americanchestnut #castaneadentata #americanchestnutfoundation #ChestnutResearch #meadowviewresearchfarms
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1 CommentComment on Facebook

Are there places we can purchases a Chestnut tree that is disease resistant? Thanks!

We'll be co-hosting American Chestnut Day at the NC Arboretum this Saturday! If you're local, we hope you'll join us for a fun day of speakers, activities, and even a wild-type chestnut seedling sale! ... See MoreSee Less

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