"The Great American Chestnut Comeback"

In walking in some nearby woods, I realized this little sapling (below) was one of the woodland ghosts, evidenced by it's tell-tale leaf design. It's fairly common to see young-ish American Chestnut trees here and there, though the overwhelming majority succumb to the fungus blight that was accidentally introduced in the U.S. in 1904...and soon enough the landscape was never to be the same as the once 200-million acres dominated by the tree disappeared.

One of the classic biological travesties...Castanea dentata used to be the literal king and queen of the forests, especially in Appalachia, where it once dominated one-fourth of the timber acreage, supposedly. Stately giants. Hearty long-lasting wood. White flowers that would make mountaintops look snow-capped due to the chestnut's density in some areas. An economic staple with no equal. Shortly after WW II, they were gone, for all practical purposes, save for such shrubby sprouts that continually arise from roots and stumps, only to fall prey to the blight in short order.

Ah, but for the glimmers of hope. For decades scientists have battled to understand the interaction of the biota, the cause and effect relationships therein, and have put forth yeoman's efforts in genetic experimentation to breed a healthier if not blight-resistant chestnut so that it's return to the North American Forest can begin in earnest. One of the leaders of the leaders is The American Chestnut Foundation based in Bennington, Vermont. Founded in 1983, the foundation's goal is to restore the American chestnut tree to its native range, which they are in the process of doing through their time-intensive and extensive scientific research and breeding programs.

One thing you may not be aware of is that over the years scientists have found living, burring, fully grown American Chestnuts that were not affected by the blight, in isolated pockets here there and yon. Could it be they are simply resistant to the blight? Were they living in a moisture-starved area the blight couldn't live in? Long story short, great progress is being made, and the first experimental plantings of healthy resistant chestnuts is already underway.

It's a great story. I have a couple of old, old wormy Chestnut boards (reclaimed) that one day I will make flutes out of...they have lots of worm holes to fill in, of course, but the Spirit of that wood would be worth the extra effort to make it play beautiful music.

Before long, the Great American Chestnuts will be making their own music as their classic massive branches reach for the sky...and in time, maybe we'll get back to roasting the real McCoy on an open fire. AHO!