Volume XXVII No.1 Jan-Feb 2013
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JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2013 I ISSUE 1 VOL. 27 TACF EBRAT EL ES 30C 1 YEARS 9 3 83 -201 OFOF THE THE AMERICAN AMERICAN CHESTNUT CHESTNUT FOUNDAFOUNDATIONTION Planting American Chestnut Seedlings Practical Advice on Grafting Chestnuts Notes from Meadowview Research Farms Mighty Giants: An American Chestnut Anthology A great gift for nature enthusiasts everywhere! Mighty Giants tells the inspiring story of the once mighty monarch of the eastern forests and the struggle to save it from the brink of extinction. This full-color anthology features writings and artwork by Jefferson, Lincoln, Carter, Thoreau, Frost, Winslow Homer, Andrew Wyeth, and many more. Read about the chestnut’s importance to early settlers in the eastern wilderness and its value to wildlife and the ecosystem. Learn about the fearless plant explorer who tracked down the blight in war-torn China, and the plant pathologists and geneticists who labored long and valiantly to understand the blight and find a way to thwart it. It is a story of hope, of small but vital triumphs, as the secrets of the American chestnut and its deadly nemesis are gradually revealed. Notable contributors include former President Jimmy Carter, author Barbara Kingsolver, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Norman Borlaug, and Bill McKibben, author of The End of Nature. Full Color, 296 pages. Hardback $58.75 Paperback $31.75 Hardback Signed by President Jimmy Carter - $84.75 prices include shipping Order today at www.acf.org or call 828-281-0047. For the Hat Lover on Your TACF Travel Tumbler List: Our most popular The ultimate chestnut- Chestnut gift of all time - lovers stocking stuffer! TACF Ball Caps Our stylish, all-purpose thermal travel tumbler The baseball hat is tan and keeps hot drinks hot made with 100% cotton. and cold drinks cold. The Mossy Oak camouflage Made of high-impact hat is made with 60% cotton plastic and stainless and 40% poly twill. steel and emblazoned with the TACF Logo, Both have embroidered this cup with its skid- TACF logos on the front and resistant rubber bottom adjustable closures in back. is perfect for taking TACF Camo Cap $22.75 your favorite beverage TACF Ball Cap $19.75 on the road. prices include shipping TACF Travel Tumbler $17.75 price includes shipping 2 THE JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN CHESTNUT FOUNDATION | JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013 tHE JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN CHESTNUT FOUNDATION TACF National Office 160 Zillicoa Street, Suite D • Asheville, NC 28801 (828) 281-0047 Bryan Burhans, President and CEO Betsy Gamber, V.P. of Operations Ginny Blossom Kruntorad, V.P. of Development Dennis Kimball, Staff Accountant Lisa Sousa, Director of Grants and Agreements Paul Franklin, Director of Communications Tom Saielli, Southern Regional Science Coordinator Mila Kirkland, Communications Specialist Judy Antaramian, Membership Coordinator Tina Wayne, Gift Entry and Donor Records Specialist Marshal Case, President Emeritus Production Staff Editor Science Advisory Panel Paul Franklin Dr. Fred Hebard The Mission of The American Chestnut Foundation Associate Editor Dr. Paul Sisco Mila Kirkland Sara Fitzsimmons Design & Layout Kendra Gurney Restore the American chestnut tree to our Leslie Shaw Katy McCune eastern woodlands to benefit our environment, Board of Directors Chairman Secretary our wildlife, and our society. Dr. Kim Steiner, PA Catherine Mayes, VA Vice Chair Treasurer We harvested our first potentially blight-resistant nuts in 2005, and the Science Cabinet Steve Barilovits III, NC Foundation is beginning reforestation trials with potentially blight- Dr. Brian C. McCarthy, OH Legal Counsel Vice Chair Donald C. Willeke, Esq., MN resistant American-type trees. The return of the American chestnut to Development Cabinet Science Director its former range in the Appalachian hardwood forest ecosystem is a Michael D. Doochin, TN Dr. Albert Ellingboe, WI major restoration project that requires a multi-faceted effort involving President and CEO 6,000 members and volunteers, research, sustained funding, and most Bryan Burhans important, a sense of the past and a hope for the future. Dr. Gary Carver, MD Kathleen Marmet, VA Dr. Hill Craddock, TN Bryant Marsh, IN Herbert F. Darling Jr., NY James Mills, TN Timothy C. Eck, PA David Morris, AL Yvonne Federowicz, RI Joe Nicholson, GA Sean Fisher, TN Glen Rea, ME Lynn Garrison, KY Tim Phelps, TN Doug Gillis, NC Mac Phillippi, AL Hugh Irwin, NC Dr. John Scrivani, VA Dr. Joe James, SC Tom Scriviner, MD Jimmy Jenkins, WV Dr. Paul H. Sisco, NC Carolyn Keiffer, OH Bradford G. Stanback, NC Grace Knight, VT George Thompson, VA Dr. William G. Lord, PA Rufin Van Bossuyt, MA Dr. Bill MacDonald, WV Bruce Wakeland, IN Rex Mann, KY Richard Will, TX Honorary Directors Former President Dr. Peter H. Raven Jimmy Carter Philip A. Rutter Dr. Richard A. Jaynes Mrs. Mary Belle Price TACF Locations & Staff Meadowview Mid-Atlantic Regional Office Research Farms Matthew Brinckman, Dr. Fred Hebard, Chief Scientist Mid-Atlantic Regional Science Jeff Donahue, Director of Operations Coordinator Dr. Laura Georgi, Research Scientist Virginia Dept. of Forestry David Bevins, Farm Coordinator Central Office Eric Coalson, Technical Coordinator 900 Natural Resources Dr. About Our Cover Image George Sykes, Research Technician Charlottesville, VA 22903 29010 Hawthorne Dr (434) 906-9312 While counting surviving American Chestnuts along the Appalachian Meadowview, VA 24361-3349 (276) 944-4631 North Central Regional Office Trail for the Mega-transect Project, Debbie Griffith encountered an Sara Fitzsimmons, Northern early season snowstorm near Hot Springs, NC. The snow coated New England Regional Office Appalachian Regional Kendra Gurney, New England Science Coordinator fall colors making for a beautiful -- if cold -- hike. Coming across Regional Science Coordinator Mark Banker, Director of USFS Northern Development this chestnut with its snow-covered golden leaves, Debbie could Research Station School of Forest Resources 705 Spear Street 206 Forest Resources Lab not resist taking a few pictures. South Burlington, VT 05403 University Park, PA 16802 (802) 999-8706 (814) 863-7192 WWW.ACF.ORG | THE JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN CHESTNUT FOUNDATION 1 THE INSIDE THIS ISSUE JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013 I ISSUE 1 VOL. 27 OF THE AMERICAN CHESTNUT FOUNDATION 3 LETTER FROM THE CHAIRMAN AND THE CEO Why Bring Back the American Chestnut? by Dr. Kim Steiner and Bryan Burhans 4 NEWS FROM TACF 4 TACF Plants 3,500 Chestnuts, 75’ Tree Found in Maine, Nashville Arboretum Plantings 7 TACF HONORS ITS VOLUNTEERS Bruce Wakeland of Indiana and Barbara Knapp of Maryland 9 2012: THE YEAR IN REVIEW From a Presidential Party to a Sumptuous Summit, 2012 Was a Remarkable Year 9 12 HOW TO PLANT A CHESTNUT SEEDLING A Step-by-Step Pictorial Guide to Successfully Planting Your Seedlings by Paul Franklin and Tom Saielle 15 15 VEGETATIVE PROPAGATION OF CHESTNUTS A Maine Member Offers Insights on Grafting Chestnuts by Alan Markert 19 MEADOWVIEW NOTES The Annual Report From Meadowview Research Farms By Dr. Fred Hebard 26 ONE MAN’S TRASH Reclaiming Old Chestnut Lumber From an Abandoned Piano 19 By Jon Taylor 28 RECIPE Sweet Chestnut and Cranberry Pancakes 28 29 CHESTNUT MOMENTS Background photo: Chestnut leaf fringed with ice crystals Photo by Debbie Griffith 2 THE JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN CHESTNUT FOUNDATION | JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013 MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIRMAN AND THE CEO Why bring back the American chestnut? Dr. Kim Steiner and Bryan Burhans Most readers do not need an answer to this question. all of nature, but Heaven help us if we cannot They know the American chestnut is sometimes called even save the “best” of nature. American chestnut the “redwood of the East” because of its rapid growth, is in that class. Saving the American chestnut is as the remarkable sizes that some trees attained, and the compelling a conservation goal as saving the utility of their wood. Moreover, because chestnut trees whooping crane, California condor, or giant panda. were so much more productive of nuts than oaks, the For many of us there is no further explanation chestnut was a critical source of mast for deer, bears, turkeys, grouse, and many other species of wildlife. required. It is simply something that must be done. Chestnut was understood to be a valuable, “keystone” The goal of TACF is to save a forest tree species species in the forests of Appalachia and adjacent regions. To many people, restoring the American chestnut will through novel and ambitious methods and restore amount to restoring some of the natural wealth that it to importance in our forests. This has never been has been lost from our forests. done. TACF is charting new territory, and it is all the more inspiring because our successes are an This is a good reason for restoring this magnificent affirmation of the power of the private, non-profit species, but not the only reason and perhaps not the sector in America. Pioneering efforts like ours best or most compelling. As the great conservationist, always are accompanied by doubters and naysayers, Aldo Leopold, wrote in Sand County Almanac, and the way forward is never crystal clear. Our “One basic weakness in a conservation successful efforts will be a milestone achievement system based wholly on economic motives for conservation because we will have created a is that most members of the land path for others to follow, a model for success in community have no economic value. other endeavors. Wild flowers and songbirds are examples. Diseases and pests will always threaten our forests, Of the 22,000 higher plants and animals and new problems will arise as commerce and native to Wisconsin, it is doubtful whether travel continue to spread insects and diseases to more than 5 percent can be sold, fed, new places. In the last century, Dutch elm disease eaten, or otherwise put to economic use. and white pine blister rust devastated populations Yet these creatures are members of the of their new hosts in North America, though biotic community, and if (as I believe) fortunately our species were found to possess its stability depends on its integrity, they some genetic resistance.