November 1998
Vol. 2, Issue 7
Moshannon State Forest hosts chestnut project
After about fifty years of nearly chestnut-free forests throughout eastern North America, hope is building that scientific breeding will reintroduce the American chestnut to Pennsylvania.
Chestnut trees that were planted at a test site in Moshannon State Forest in April have been doing so well that some are outgrowing their protective tubing. Forester Wayne Wynick, coordinator of the chestnut tree project at the Clearfield County site, has been pleased with the growth of the chestnuts.
"The trees have done as well as any planting of chestnuts," Mr. Wynick said. "We're very optimistic, and happy with the way things are going."
The program at Moshannon State Forest was initiated by Wynick and The
American Chestnut Foundation (TACF), an organization devoted to bringing a
blight-resistant chestnut back into the woodlands of North America. Moshannon
was chosen for a variety of reasons, including the need to try the new chestnuts out
on that particular climate, the surprising resiliency of nearby remaining chestnuts,
and the cooperation of Mr. Wynick and the staff at Forest District 9.
It is estimated that nearly 25 percent of Pennsylvania's forests were decimated by the chestnut blight. Prized for their tasty nuts, particularly at Christmastime, and the remarkable straightness and hardness of the wood, American chestnuts were very valuable. In addition to economics, chestnuts provided wildlife with an important food source. After the accidental introduction of the blight in New York City around the turn of the last century, the fungus quickly spread throughout the eastern seaboard and into the midwest. By 1950, nearly all of the American chestnuts were gone. All that remains are small root sprouts, which quickly become infected.
Efforts to breed a blight-resistant Chinese chestnut with an American chestnut failed at first. Chinese chestnuts are smaller, shrub-like, and resistant to the blight. By the 1980s, however, new breeding techniques and renewed interest provided breakthroughs in the breeding process. Within the last ten years, the "Backcross Method" of breeding has been rather successful. Now, it is expected that an American chestnut tree, with only one Chinese chestnut characteristic, blight-resistance, will be reintroduced en masse to the forests of Pennsylvania within the next century.
TACF's interest in Moshannon State Forest was spurred by the existence of a former tree nursery at the site. Mr. Wynick offered the location as a "test study" for the latest phase of the chestnut project. TACF volunteers were also impressed with the relative abundance of healthy and mature chestnut trees in the area. The local genetics, they noted, were crucial to the success of the chestnuts in staving off the blight, as well as climate and topography.
In addition to the local and TACF volunteers who helped plant the trees in the spring, the Tyrone FFA club also helped out. Two forestry employees, Ed Richards and Terry Lawson, have also shown a particular interest in the project. The planting site currently holds about 280 trees, at various stages of growth, and are sprayed and fertilized regularly.
Mr. Wynick expects the chestnuts to continue to flourish. "We're expecting the next generation to be ready to breed again within 2-3 years," he said. "With a lot of tender loving care, and with the continued support of the partnership we have with our volunteers and The American Chestnut Foundation, I'm confident we'll see healthy chestnuts back in this forest again within 20-30 years."
Along with the nostalgia of roasting chestnuts again, the reintroduction of the American chestnut to Pennsylvania's woods promises to be an economic and ecological boon.
For more information about the chestnut tree project at Moshannon State Forest, call (814) 765-0821. Or visit The American Chestnut Foundation web site.
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