In The News

Gene Editing Could Revive a Nearly Lost Tree Featured Image

Gene Editing Could Revive a Nearly Lost Tree

In a recent article by The Washington Post, The American Chestnut Foundation (TACF) in partnership with the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY-ESF) continue the conversation around the transgenic breeding of the American chestnut. With direct quotes from Jared Westbrook, TACF Director of Science, and Bill Powell, SUNY-ESF Director of American Chestnut Research and Restoration Project, the article...
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TACF presents the Chestnut Conservation Champion Award to Dolly Parton on behalf of her late uncle, Bill Owens Featured Image

TACF presents the Chestnut Conservation Champion Award to Dolly Parton on behalf of her late uncle, Bill Owens

Foundation Sees Restoration of Functionally Extinct Chestnut Trees as a Path to Healthier Forests ASHEVILLE, N.C., July 11, 2022 – The American Chestnut Foundation (TACF) said today that...
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Volunteer efforts ensure a new American chestnut forest on Earth Day 2022 Featured Image

Volunteer efforts ensure a new American chestnut forest on Earth Day 2022

For as long as many of us can remember, the folks at Amica Insurance have volunteered their time to help their local community. Their slogan is “Amica in the Community– Deep Roots. Strong Bonds.” That slogan took on a new meaning as a group of nine volunteers from Amica’s office in Lincoln, Rhode Island partnered with members of the Burrillville Land Trust (BLT) –...
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Wormy Chestnut Wood Used for TACF National Office Orchard Sign Featured Image

Wormy Chestnut Wood Used for TACF National Office Orchard Sign

Carolinas Chapter President Doug Gillis crafted the frame and posts for an orchard sign installed outside TACF's Asheville office on April 19, 2022 (pictured above). The wood Doug used is wormy chestnut from the Harris Dairy Farm in Barnardsville, NC. When timber on 435 acres of this nearly 800-acre farm was...
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TACF’s 2022 American Chestnut Photo Contest Featured Image

TACF’s 2022 American Chestnut Photo Contest

Have you taken a photograph of an American chestnut or American chestnut hybrid that deserves to grace the cover of Chestnut magazine? Enter it in TACF’s 2022 American Chestnut Photo Contest! Send in your best photo(s) by September 1, 2022...
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Monitoring Demonstration Plantings in the Carolinas Featured Image

Monitoring Demonstration Plantings in the Carolinas

The success of B3F3 demonstration plantings varies at a number of sites in the Carolinas. Some trees survive after many years; others have died due to drought and unfavorable soil conditions. Despite amended soil to encourage better drainage and root growth, heavy clay soils often affect the growth of seedlings planted. Tim Horne volunteered last fall to help the chapter, inventorying and documenting the...
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KY-TACF Partners with Berea College for GCOs and In-Situ Orchards Featured Image

KY-TACF Partners with Berea College for GCOs and In-Situ Orchards

The KY Chapter is fortunate to partner with Berea College in restoring the American chestnut. The college owns a 9,000-acre forest in the “Knobs” (rugged, non-connected hills) south of the Bluegrass limestone region of Kentucky. The land was acquired beginning in 1897 after small farms exhausted the soil and the timber had been cut over. The higher sandstone ridges at 1,500 feet elevation support...
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Productive Collaboration Continues Between PA/NJ Chapter and PSU Featured Image

Productive Collaboration Continues Between PA/NJ Chapter and PSU

In late January, chapter volunteers met at Pennsylvania State University's Forest Resources Laboratory complex to sow the 2021 crop of seed, some of which were collected in the backcross orchards on the grounds of the Penn State Arboretum. Volunteers were directed by Orchard Manager Steve Hoy (Hoy) and assisted by TACF Director of Restoration Sara Fitzsimmons. Altogether 4,200 pots have been planted. The seed range includes wild-type Americans, advanced backcross,...
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Nature Finds: Ice Flowers Featured Image

Nature Finds: Ice Flowers

TACF chapter members are a crucial asset toward our mission to rescue the American chestnut tree. In addition to their invaluable volunteer work, we also appreciate their diverse interests and expertise. For example, Indiana Chapter President Glenn Kotnik is not only passionate about American chestnut restoration, he is also a skilled and knowledgeable nature photographer! Please enjoy the following educational piece by Glenn in...
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A Tribute to E.O. Wilson Featured Image

A Tribute to E.O. Wilson

“You teach me, I forget.  You show me, I remember.  You involve me, I understand” ~E.O. “Ed” Wilson, 1929-2021, The American Chestnut Foundation’s Honorary Director Since hearing of Ed’s passing, a day I knew would come but dreaded, there is little I can add to the many deserved accolades of this towering conservationist....
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Boy Scout-Led Restoration Project in Burke County, NC Featured in Morganton News Herald Featured Image

Boy Scout-Led Restoration Project in Burke County, NC Featured in Morganton News Herald

In partnership with TACF, the Foothills Conservancy of North Carolina (FCNC) joined the American chestnut rescue mission in December 2021 with two volunteer plantings in Burke County, NC. Volunteers succeeded in planting 500 American chestnut seedlings at Oak Hill Park and FCNC’s Possum Rock property. Boy Scout Aaron Grossman spearheaded the Possum Rock restoration planting in order to achieve his Eagle Scout rank, and...
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Holiday ice cream helps shed light on American chestnut restoration at UNE Featured Image

Holiday ice cream helps shed light on American chestnut restoration at UNE

ME-TACF Chapter's Tom Klak, professor in the School of Marine and Environmental Programs at the University of New England (UNE), has partnered with Sweet Cream Dairy in Biddeford, ME to release a chestnut ice cream for the third year in a row. This partnership between TACF, UNE, and local business Sweet Cream has been incredibly successful in previous years, with the chestnut ice cream...
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