Hunting for American Chestnut 

Im in! Ill look into getting the app. When im hiking or anything im learning how to look for these trees and i would be able to use the app.

Fellow Chestnut-lover: Thanks for that.

Interesting information, i too am in the northeast. (Vermont/mass/ny. I have seen other videos on youtube where large trees have been found by water/lake. I wonder why that is.

I reckon it could be differences in soil microbes. Especially interesting hypothesis to ponder given the use of moist soils as part of orchard “mud packing” technique

My dad is on Ridge Ridge, across the MD line. There are a few, but they grow for about ten years, and die.

So good to hear that. 🙏

Let the American Chestnut Foundation know? tacf.org. Northwestern Illinois is outside of the natural range of American chestnut but great that you are having success growing them there!

if true its a major find

Yep, that's the sentiment amongst a lot of experts now.

The American Chestnut Foundation and partners are doing a lot of research to try to identify resistance in our native American chestnut (as well as other approaches). While they have done some great work, there seems to be less resistance out there than we would hope for (meaning that supplementing with other approaches is especially important). You can read more at their site here: acf.org/science-strategies/3bur/

PA was where they tried to make a fire break for the tree. It lasted about 2 years.

@@kyforesthealthhave you all been made aware of the genetically modified American chestnut named “prop 58” it’s completely stable and has resistance to blight in all tests. It seems like we’ll be seeing the return of these great trees en masse if the USDA will stop being in constant state bureaucratic hell lmfao

Is there another American Chestnut nearby I hope so!

Wow! Report it in the app but also reach out to your local TACF chapter acf.org/ga/

@@thomasjcorson4758 I haven't done much exploring in the near woods but there are some spouts around it.

@@kyforesthealth Thank You

What a great thing to hear. I hope there are saplings around . We have and in Tennessee and it is definitely ready to get in the program to help the species.

What town? I am from mass! I hope to start looking when im out hunting/hiking. How big was it? So cool.

@@Camo-Dan it was in upton, i found the nut didn't realize it was a AC till i got home. still need to go back and locate the tree they came from.

That's exciting! You should reach out to the Maryland chapter of the American Chestnut Foundation if you are interested? acf.org/md/about-us/

Yes, I think there are plans to try something like that with this tree!

It looks more like an umbrella magnolia to me but it certainly could be! They both grow in this area.

Currently, the only American chestnuts that are available are susceptible to the blight and will eventually be killed by it. You may be able to find some hybrid American x Chinese chestnuts with more resistance to the blight (and a form more like Chinese chestnut). I'd recommend reaching out to your local TACF chapter if you are interested in planting trees on your farm

It's either an American or a hybrid American x Chinese. However, mostly American and highly susceptible to the blight. It's growing in an open field setting so grows vigorously but once shoots get to about 1 inch in diameter they die...

How do they propagate? I don't think burying the nuts will grow a tree from a previous video I watched

The problem with using the American chestnut tree to "make more" is that they have found that a chestnut tree grown from the propagation of chestnut trees found in the wild, will grow up to just before it starts to reproduce itself (around age 5-6 years) and it will be struck down by the blight before the tree has a chance to ever make a crop of nuts.

Good question! Unfortunately, while this fungus only kills American chestnut, it can infect and live in a broad range of other tree species without causing this same level of damage. Oaks, hickories, even sumac have all been found to be infected. So while there are no large chestnut to spread it, it will persist in the environment in these other hosts and is not going anywhere long-term. You can read more here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chestnut_blight. In addition, there's a lot more small chestnut trees out and about than most people realize. While these never become large trees due to the blight killing them when they grow large enough, check out the TreeSnap app data and you can see lot of small bushy chestnuts: treesnap.org

Not that can control this widespread in a forest setting :( The American Chestnut Foundation and partners are doing a lot of research, you can read more at their site here: acf.org/science-strategies/3bur/

There are some options for protecting individual trees but they must be repeated are are not effective long-term. However, if you have a tree in your yard that you want to protect you can look into both mud packing/ soil compress method and fungicide injections. Not an option to protect forest trees but certainly worth exploring in some contexts and here is a factsheet with more information: ecosystems.psu.edu/research/chestnut/breeding/blight/control-blight

@@kyforesthealth Thank you! I’m buying chestnut trees and seeds to sprout to plant a bunch of trees. Some are Chinese, some are Dunstun hybrid & some I’m told we’re sprouted from Dunstun hybrids. I’m 58 and have never seen a chestnut growing. I ate some roast chestnuts in Turkey though. When I heard about the blight I decided I’m going to grow some. I likely will never see them fully grown but I’ve started with ten seedlings now. My children and other people will enjoy them again, God willing.

Chinese Chestnuts are immune to the blight. There is a group, I forget the name, that is cross pollinating it. They think in 10 years they will have an American Chestnut immune to blight.

KY Forest Health 1 second ago The American Chestnut Foundation and partners are doing a lot of research to try bring back our native American chestnut. You can read more at their site here: acf.org/science-strategies/3bur/