West Virginia News
Allegheny Chinquapin seeds sent to Arkansas
Allegheny chinquapin (Castanea pumila) seeds from the Clements Tree Nursery in Mason, WV were sent to the Prairie Grove Battlefield State Park in Prairie Grove Arkansas. There are about 200 chinquapin trees at the Mason County site, and a small bag-full of...
Germination Time
Members of the West Virginia chapter gather in mid-March to pot chestnuts. In readiness for potting, the bags of nuts that were stratified over the winter in a refrigerator were checked in mid-February to see how many had radicals. In the photo, there is a wide...
Arthurdale, WV
Arthurdale is a small, unincorporated community in northern West Virginia (Preston County). It was one of 98 planned communities that were part of President Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal. The town was built in 1933 at the height of the depression as a social...
Oak Hill High School Planting
A demonstration site, spearheaded by WV-TACF member, Dr. Lewis Cook, was located at Oak Hill High School beside the Vocational Technical Center. That site had been a previous chestnut planting that had not done well due to wet and shallow soil conditions. The Board of...
Harvesting Chestnuts at the Clements Tree Nursery in Mason County, WV
TACF's Mid-Atlantic regional science coordinator, Mark Double, WV-TACF president and Stephen Rist, OH-TACF president, harvested chestnuts from the WV state tree nursery in Mason County, not far from the Ohio River.
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...
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Love seeing what the Chapters are up to!
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I have two massive chestnut trees in my backyard and I’ve tried to get someone to look at them to see what kind they are. Who can I contact?
Thank you to our long time Partner, Army Corps of Engineers, Green River Lake. * * * You all do much to educate and serve the thousands of Visitors who enjoy Green River Lake in Central Kentucky. Ken Darnell, KY TACF Chapter President
Last week, the Clemson Facilities Landscape team planted nine Allegheny chinkapin trees (Castanea pumila) at Clemson University in honor of National Arbor Day. These trees came from Chestnut Returns Farm, operated by Joe James in Seneca, South Carolina.
Joe is a longtime member of The Foundation who has worked tirelessly on Phytophthora resistance in American chestnuts and has been working with chinkapins for several years.
#chinkapin #americanchestnut #explorepage #ArborDay #conservation
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Question: How often would you expect to find surviving American Chestnut trees in the wild?
Are the Allegheny chinkapin trees (Castanea pumila) part of a group of Chestnut Trees developed to prevent the Phytophthora disease that decimated the American Chestnut trees in America?
Interesting. I live seasonally in Seneca (up north in Pennsylvania the rest of the year). My farm in Pennsylvania had a VERY large American chestnut on it that I had to harvest when it died from the blight a few years ago. I do have a house full of furniture that was made from the lumber, which I'm very thankful for, but I'd rather have the tree back. There are still a few other living American chestnuts on the property near/around my farm, but none are as big as mine was (at least not documented, I've been told about a big one that I haven't been able to see yet). I'd like to talk to Mr. James at some point and see his operation.
Tissue sampling for recurrent genomic selection is no small task, but thanks to an incredible group of volunteers, we made it happen! Leaf samples were collected, placed in a small tube, and then a wraparound tag with a unique ID was placed on the tree; each unique ID corresponded with the tube the sample was put in. We had volunteers from the Washington County Master Gardeners, Washington County Master Naturalists, Emory and Henry University, and King University. Tissue collection is a key step towards advancing our breeding program, and we are incredibly grateful for everyone who showed up, worked hard, and supported the process. Science moves forward because of people like you! #americanchestnut #RestorationInProgress
#chestnutresearch #forestrestoration #meadowviewresearchfarms #conservationscience
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From far away, it looks okay. Up close, and inside, it’s clear these barns can no longer protect the work of restoration. This Earth Day and throughout our Spring Appeal, help us raise the barn that supports the return of the American chestnut.
Click the following link to donate: support.tacf.org/2026SpringAppeal
#earthday #donate #springappeal #americanchestnut #explorepage
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