114-foot-tall surviving American chestnut in Hebron, Maine. Photo by Anna Gouveia, Sun Journal.
This article in the Sun Journal revisits the 114-foot tall American chestnut tree in Hebron, Maine. The tree is considered to be the largest surviving American chestnut in the state of Maine, and one of the largest in the country. The reason for its blight-resistance is unknown, as is the case for the handful of mature, surviving American chestnuts across the US. In this article, author Sacha Feldman speaks with the landowners whose property this beautiful tree sits upon.
Excerpt from the article: “It’s pretty nice to have this very special tree that’s very old, all by itself on your property,” Siekman said. “(There are) no other trees like it on our property. It’s the only one. It rises above all the trees around it, and when it is in bloom, people can see it from different locations. We care for it in that we hope that nothing happens to it,” she said. “It’s part of a forest, and we take care of the forest on our land as well as the tree. We protect it as much as a person can.”