Chester Conservation Committee Hosts Restoration of the American Chestnut

On Jan. 14, 2014 at 7 p.m., The Chester Conservation Committee will host a talk by Grace Knight, a volunteer with the American Chestnut Foundation (TACF). Grace has worked with TACF since 2007 to locate rare, surviving mature American chestnut trees and pollinate them to breed a blight-resistant tree with locally adapted Vermont genes. She has worked with a half-dozen surviving American chestnut trees in Chester, and with many others throughout the state. Those who attend her talk should leave with an ability to identify a wild American chestnut tree and enthusiasm for the restoration effort.

Why is restoration needed? The American chestnut used to be as common as oaks are now in our eastern woodlands. Between 1904 and about 1945, an accidentally imported Asian blight fungus eliminated the American chestnut as a forest species. The blight reached the Windham/Windsor County areas of Vermont around 1928 and the species died out in this area in the following decade.

The goal of the American Chestnut Foundation is to restore the American chestnut tree to our woodlands to benefit our environment, our wildlife, and our society. In the process of restoring this species, it is creating a template for restoration of other tree and plant species.

Grace Knight's talk will take place at the First Universalist Parish (The Stone Church) in Chester, VT. There is no charge, though donations are accepted.

For more information about the talk, please contact Melissa Post at [email protected] or 802-875-4102. For more information about TACF, please consult www.acf.org.