A project to raise blight-resistant American chestnut trees in Canton’s Rough Creek Watershed may help bring back what was once the dominant tree in Eastern forests.

Twenty-five cross-bred seedlings will be grown in the watershed. The trees will be 84 percent American chestnut and were developed by the American Chestnut Foundation. By crossing the Chinese and American chestnuts, scientists have developed a tree they hope will be resistant to the blight that changed the face of Eastern American forests in the first half of this century.

A blight from Asia was first noticed in New York City in 1904. The fungus began spreading southward at the rate of about 50 miles per year, and by the 1940s the American chestnut had been decimated. The trees had provided a main wood supply for settlers and chestnuts were a staple and stable source of food for many animals. Chestnuts comprised about 40 percent of the trees from Maine to Georgia.

In the years since, scientists have tried to cross-pollinate trees that would be resistant to the fungus. Demonstration projects and experimental plantings have taken place throughout the region in recent years. These projects are not the result of laboratory induced genetic engineering. It’s been old-fashioned cross pollinating, a method that’s long been a tool for botanists.

One of the scientists involved in the project is Canton native Garrett Smathers, a man who has been an advocate for the environment of this region for years.

“Old people remember the nuts and wormy chestnut boards, while young people are excited about planting new trees,” Smathers told The Enterprise Mountaineer. “Hunters realize the chestnuts provide food for wildlife. Environmentalists are enthusiastic about restoring the gentle giant to forests.”

The blight did not kill every chestnut. There are isolated trees, and hikers and hunters in this region know that sprouts often shoot up from the massive chestnut stumps and roots still in the forests. Unfortunately, those sprouts die within a few years. But geneticists are trying to keep the original characteristics of the American chestnut alive by using pollen and seeds from these survivors in the restoration project.

If the projects succeed, American chestnut seeds may be available to the public within four to five years. If the public does get a chance to begin replanting these majestic trees, then there’s little doubt that these forest giants will once again become a dominant tree in the Southern Appalachians.

(For more information: The American Chestnut Foundation can be reached at 802.447.0110, email chestnut@afc.org; the Carolina Chapter of the foundation is at 828.281.0047, email asheville@acf.org)

 

Back to Top
The Smoky Mountain News