Contact us at gro.fcat@retpahCVW
About Us
The West Virginia Chapter of The American Chestnut Foundation (WV-TACF) was established in 2009, the last of TACF’s 16 state chapters to be incorporated. Hybrid chestnut trees have been planted at 68 sites in 26 WV counties. We have initiated germplasm conservation orchards (pure American chestnut plantings) at seven sites in the state. Chapter members help support the mission of the national organization by planting hybrid chestnuts, conducting education, research, and outreach.
If you would like to participate in this group please join us. We include people from all areas that have an interest in restoring this magnificent tree to our forests. When you join The American Chestnut Foundation, a portion of your dues will be shared with the WV-TACF Chapter.
To learn more about who we are and what we do, read our monthly newsletter!
2025 West Virginia Grant Program
We invite members of the West Virginia chapter of The American Chestnut Foundation and other interested parties to apply for grants up to a maximum of $2,000 to support education, outreach and scholarly activities related to American chestnut in the State of West Virginia. Grants are available to assist individuals with active restoration projects in the State, outreach activities, as well as with their scholarly activities. For more information please download the application form. Submissions are due January 31, 2025.
American Chestnut: The Once and Future Tree
Click play below or watch on YouTube.
In the spring of 2023, a group of film students from the George A. Romero Filmmaking Program traveled throughout West Virginia and Maryland to record oral histories from a group of individuals with a passion for the American Chestnut, in an effort to preserve pieces of the tree’s past, present and future.
Chestnut Identification
Distinguishing American from Chinese and European Chestnut
Sometimes, individuals who come across a tall chestnut tree in a forest setting, assume it must be an American chestnut. This is not always the case. In forest settings, Chinese chestnut, like its American cousin, also can grown straight and tall. Leaf shape, leaf hairs and twig color are good characteristics to distinguish American from Chinese chestnut. American chestnut leaves are generally long and slender with a “V” at the leaf base. Chinese chestnuts have a wider leaf and they are often shiny. Chinese chestnut leaves have a “U” shape at the leaf base. Most striking are the hairs on the under-surface of Chinese chestnut leaves. American chestnut leaves have no hairs. Chinese twigs, generally brown in color, also have hairs. American twigs, generally exhibit a reddish color, and like the leaves, the twigs have no hairs. Buds are another characteristic–American buds are pointed compared to rounded Chinese buds.
In some areas of the eastern U.S., European chestnut trees can be found. In comparison, European twigs are much stouter than either American or Chinese chestnut. Buds on a European are often large and green in early spring, turning darker by mid-summer. Buds are green in the spring, turning dark in summer.
Click here for more chestnut leaf and tree identification information.
WV Chapter Board of Directors
President
Mark Double, Morgantown
Vice President
Jerry Legg, Elkview
Secretary
Jeff Kochenderfer, Petersburg
Treasurer
Sam Muncy, Philippi
Board Members
Dr. Lewis Cook, Fayetteville
Linda Coyle, Keyser
Dr. Joe Golden, Beckley
Jimmy Jenkins, Flatwoods
Carla Kesling, Bridgeport
Dr. Don Kines, Davis
Dr. Brian Perkins, Elkins
Charles Sypolt, Glenville
Dr. Melissa Thomas-Van Gundy, Elkins
West Virginia Chapter Menu
National Facebook
Learn more about this remarkable standing American chestnut in the article “We The People: How Iowa Is Part of the Effort to Save the Rare American Chestnut Tree.” Courtesy of Grace Vance and KCRG.
Visit: www.ktiv.com/2026/01/12/we-people-how-iowa-is-part-effort-save-rare-american-chestnut-tree/
#americanchestnut #chestnuts #restoration #conservation #explorepage
22 CommentsComment on Facebook
Georgia has a stand of chestnut trees in a secret location. Can they borrow some pollen from this tree to add to their breeding collection? They need a varied gene pool for the future.
Inoculate it with the blight fungus to see if it is actually resistant or if it is too far from other infected trees to catch the disease.
Looks like a European (C. sativa).
A month ago, our President and CEO, Michael Goergen, got to visit the New York Botanical Garden and see the original documentation of chestnut blight taken from a tree in the Bronx Zoo. Feeling a sense of inspiration from the experience, Michael wrote, "Holding that bark brings both grief and resolve. Grief for what was lost. Resolve for the work ahead.
Because for the first time since 1905, we are no longer documenting decline.
We are documenting return.
The American chestnut is not a memory. It is a restoration mission and The American Chestnut Foundation is building the tools and partnerships to finish what Merkel, Murrill, and others could not.
Seeing the original blight records didn’t make the work feel more challenging. It made it feel inevitable.
Restoration is the next chapter. We get to write it."
#explorepage #americanchestnut #history #chestnuts #learn #nature #forestry #trees #blight #restoration #conservation
2 CommentsComment on Facebook
Whoo hoo! Sorry, you were not the first to know this. The Chestnut Lady.
Our New England Regional Science Coordinator, Deni Ranguelova, made an appearance on the podcast "Across the Fence" to discuss the American chestnut tree and why we are working to restore them.
Check out the podcast on Youtube at youtu.be/c9EeOc5WIaE?si=80CQtoY4-qeQhjtI
#americanchestnut #chestnuts #podcast #history #restoration #conservation #nature #forestry #explorepage
4 CommentsComment on Facebook
So like Covid?
I have 70+ new Dunstan hybrids going in this spring, sprouted in my fridge in peat moss right now. They're going out into a 1 acre area on my 18 acres of wooded land in the Poconos. I'm planning to add Italian and Chinese chestnuts next year and let the natural pollination process produce its own hybrids and resistance over time.
This was all because someone in upstate Delaware thought it would be a good idea to grow a Chinese chestnut in their yard so they could show it off to their friends.
New year, new opportunities! Now’s the perfect time to get involved with the American chestnut. 🌱
Check out our January & February events and join the movement!
Visit out events calendar for more info on each event
#americanchestnut #events #volunteer #pennsylvania #castaneapa #Maine #rhodeisland #pennstate #chestnuts #explorepage
0 CommentsComment on Facebook
TACF is hiring both a Mid-Atlantic and Southern Regional Science Coordinator! Support volunteer-led science programs, work hands-on with chestnut restoration, and connect regional chapters with national research efforts. If you have experience with tree breeding and selection programs, leading volunteer events, orchard management, or are passionate about the return of American chestnut to its native range, we encourage you to apply.
The link to apply and more details can be found here: tacf.org/employment/
0 CommentsComment on Facebook
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