About Us
Our Mission
The Ohio Chapter was founded primarily to bring about the restoration of the American chestnut throughout the hardwood forests of Ohio, where it once flourished. We work with the National Foundation to advance research, education, and public awareness of this important tree species. The Ohio Chapter implements this mission by education and research. Education would include projects such as establish demonstration plantings to acquaint people with the American chestnut and the blight that has almost eliminated by the blight, providing material for education, provide grants to support demonstration plantings and presenting information at appropriate forums. Research would include mine restoration plantings with American chestnuts, reforestation projects including American chestnut, test plantings of hybrid American chestnuts, finding and document surviving American chestnuts in Ohio, and supporting chestnut research in Ohio with grants.
American Chestnut in Ohio
The range of the American Chestnut was mostly restricted to the glaciated and unglaciated Appalachian Plateau region In Ohio. This is roughly the eastern half of the state. The chestnut grew mostly as part of the oak hickory forests and constituted 10-20% of the forests in eastern Ohio. They reached3-4’ DBH. Since Ohio is in the western part of the range the of the tree the blight did not completely decimate the chestnut in Ohio until the early 1940’s. Some large snags persisted for awhile but now almost the only thing left are root sprouts in the understory of the forest and ODNR now lists the American Chestnut as extirpated in Ohio.
Ohio Chapter of The American Chestnut Foundation
The Ohio Chapter of the American Chestnut foundation was established in 2005. The mission of the Ohio Chapter is to support the goals of the TACF through research and education to restore the American Chestnut to its former glory. Education includes demonstration projects to increase awareness, presentations, and publications on the American Chestnut. Research efforts include restoration projects, finding surviving trees in Ohio, and sponsoring research supporting the restoration of the American Chestnut in Ohio and throughout its range.
Board of Directors
PRESIDENT
Stephen Rist
Ohio DNR Division of Forestry
Email: ro.fcat@retpahcho
VICE PRESIDENT
Bruce Willis
TREASURER
Greg Chopko
SECRETARY
Ryan Homsher
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Dale Angerman
John Caruso
Dr. Bob Clark
Dr. Carolyn Howes Keiffer
Kirsten Lehtoma
Brian McCarthy
Dr. Greg Miller
Tom Mills
Chestnut Links
Chestnut Specific Resources
Ohio Woodland Journal Summer 2021 Page 12
USDA PLANTS Profile for Castanea dentata
Breeding and Growing Chestnut
TACF’s 3BUR: Breeding, Biotechnology, and Biocontrol United for Restoration
More General Topics Related to Hardwoods
Appalachian Regional Reforestation Initiative
USDA Forest Service Publications (and Treesearch)
Silvics of North America
Documents
Annual Meeting Minutes
Ohio Board Mtg F-2016
Ohio Business Mtg F-2016
In The News
Restoring Giants (March 2017) Ohio Cooperative Living. Pages 32-33.
Membership
Membership Form (National and Ohio Chapter)
Ohio Chestnut Inventory
Ohio Small Grant Application
Ohio Chapter Menu
National Facebook
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).
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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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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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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.
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.
Did you know some plants actually benefit from fire? Recently burned areas often provide the sunlight and reduced competition that species like blueberries and American chestnuts need to flourish.
#americanchestnut #nativeplants #ForestEcology #conservation #NatureEducation
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Yes! Across the Eastern US, almost all of our most important keystone , overstory trees are fire adapted (pyrophytic 🔥). (Except in bottomlands/riparian/wetland zones, for the most part). This includes Hickories, the upland Oaks, certain pines, especially Longleaf, and Chestnuts. Many Oaks in particular are struggling with recruitment now due to fire suppression, among many other issues. This process is called mesophycation btw. Mesophytic natives like Maples 're-engineer' forests through their dense, moist leaf litter to retard-fires. Invasives make it worse. This is important because Oaks are THE top keystone plants here, hosting more species of Lepidoptera (Moths and Butterflies) than any other plant genus in the US: 500-900 species. Most of these caterpillars will become inconspicuous "little brown moths" , but they form an important massive bottom-tier of the food pyramid. After all, even though birds can source berries from a variety of plants , it takes 6-9000 caterpillars to raise a single clutch of songbirds.
I really appreciate what you are doing.
Thank you!
Latest News
Ohio Chapter Meeting September 11, 2021
September 11, 2021 Annual Meeting of the Ohio Chapter of the American Chestnut Foundation The annual meeting was held virtually via ZOOM. President Carolyn Keiffer told the membership she is retiring from Miami University at the end of the year and the presidency of...
Ohio Chestnut Grant Applications
Ohio Chapter Grant Applications due October 30, 2021!! Grants are available for up to $1000 for any project or plan furthering the American Chestnut by planting, education, or another manner. These grants are available to any people or organizations who would be...
OH Chapter Grants Applications
Posted September 23, 2021 Ohio Chapter Grant Applications due October 30, 2021 Grants are available for up to $1000 for any project or plan furthering the American Chestnut by planting, education, or another manner. These grants are available to any people or...