West Virginia News

Rowlesburg Chestnut Festival

The 13th annual Rowlesburg Chestnut Festival was held on October 10, a bright, sunny fall day. Hot roasted chestnuts were sold along with hybrid chestnut trees. Jeff and Erica Kochenderfer were crowned Mr. and Mrs. Chestnut for 2021. Jeff and Erica reside in Petersburg, WV where Jeff works for the U.S. Forest Service and Erica teaches English. They have one daughter, Evelyn. In the photo below, Jeff, Erica and Evelyn are flanked by Rob Eckenrode and Amy Metheny, the 2020 Mr. and Mrs. Chestnut.

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Before January comes to a close, here are our 2026 Ins and Outs. Tell us yours in the comments!

#americanchestnut #explorepages #restoration #conservation #forestry
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Before January comes to a close, here are our 2026 Ins and Outs. Tell us yours in the comments! #americanchestnut #explorepages #restoration #conservation #forestryImage attachmentImage attachment+8Image attachment

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This is pretty funny!

Before January comes to a close, here are our 2026 Ins and Outs. Tell us yours in the comments!

#americanchestnut #insandouts2026 #chestnut #explorepage #restoration #conservation #forestry
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Before January comes to a close, here are our 2026 Ins and Outs. Tell us yours in the comments! #americanchestnut #insandouts2026 #chestnut #explorepage #restoration #conservation #forestryImage attachmentImage attachment+8Image attachment

Last week, all TACF staff rolled up their sleeves for a phenotyping faceoff at Meadowview! Team members were randomly assigned one of three different phenotyping protocols, all applied to the same set of trees, to help us evaluate which approach works best in the field. Phenotyping is a critical part of our breeding and restoration work, especially when it comes to evaluating blight severity. By carefully documenting traits like sporulation, canker severity, and overall tree health, we can better understand how each tree is responding to the disease. This information feeds directly into our Recurrent Genomic Selection (RGS) model, helping guide breeding decisions and accelerate progress toward a blight resistant American chestnut.

#americanchestnut #restorationinprogress #chestnutresearch #forestrestoration #meadowviewresearchfarms #castanetum #scienceinthefield
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Support us AND get some merch!? Sounds like a win-win to me. Some of our more popular items are limited in supply and size, so order soon!

Shop here: support.tacf.org/shop

#americanchestnut #restoration #conservation #shop #merch #nonprofit #support
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Some say the American chestnut is the only ‘Ten I see.' We say the Chapter Meeting is a close second—RSVP now via the listed website or QR code.

RSVP here: TINYURL.COM/YBVMP5TN

#americanchestnut #Tennessee #TN #cookeville #chestnuts #meeting #event #getinvolved #restoration #conservation #nature #forestry
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Some say the American chestnut is the only ‘Ten I see. We say the Chapter Meeting is a close second—RSVP now via the listed website or QR code. RSVP here: HTTPS://TINYURL.COM/YBVMP5TN #americanchestnut #Tennessee #TN #cookeville #chestnuts #meeting #event #getinvolved #restoration #conservation #nature #forestry
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