| America's once-plentiful chestnut tree, its
population nearly wiped out by 1950 by a blight, will make a strong
comeback to the eastern landscape, if The American Chestnut
Foundation (TACF) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forrest
Service (USFS) have their wish. The two groups recently signed an
agreement to work together to re-introduce a blight-resistant
Chestnut tree to Eastern woods. Producing nuts that were once a
holiday favorite, the chestnut tree's wood was also popular among
builders. But by 1952, however, a blight brought in from Asia
had killed 4 billion trees, nearly the entire chestnut tree
population.
Through conserving the surviving American chestnuts and developing
blight-resistant lines through cross-breeding, the TACF and USFS hope
to begin the tree's road back to glory.
Learn more about chestnut reforestation by calling the Georgia
TACF Chapter member Jerry Smith at 706-259-9010. You can also
call The American Chestnut Foundation at 802-447-0110 or go to
www.gatacf.org. |
