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Restoration of the American Chestnut in New Jersey

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U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Restoration of the American Chestnut in New Jersey The American chestnut (Castanea dentata) is a tree native to New Jersey that once grew from Maine to Mississippi and as far west as Indiana and Tennessee. This tree with wide-spreading branches and a deep broad-rounded crown can live 500-800 years and reach a height of 100 feet and a diameter of more than 10 feet. Once estimated at 4 billion trees, the American chestnut Harvested chestnuts, early 1900's. has almost been extirpated in the last 100 years. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, New Jersey Field Value Office (Service) and its partners, including American Chestnut The American chestnut is valued Cooperators’ Foundation, American for its fruit and lumber. Chestnuts Chestnut Foundation, Monmouth are referred to as the “bread County Parks, Bayside State tree” because their nuts are Prison, Natural Lands Trust, and so high in starch that they can several volunteers, are working to American chestnut leaf (4"-8"). be milled into flour. Chestnuts recover the American chestnut in can be roasted, boiled, dried, or New Jersey. History candied. The nuts that fell to the ground were an important cash Chestnuts have a long history of crop for families in the northeast cultivation and use. The European U.S. and southern Appalachians chestnut (Castanea sativa) formed up until the twentieth century. the basis of a vital economy in Chestnuts were taken into towns the Mediterranean Basin during by wagonload and then shipped Roman times. More recently, by train to major markets in New areas in Southern Europe (such as York, Boston, and Philadelphia. the Italian and Swiss Alps) were The fruit of the American chestnut called the “Chestnut Civilization” is also a valuable food source for for several hundred years. Native wildlife, providing remarkable Americans relied on the American nutritional value to deer, black chestnut as a dietary staple. The bear, raccoon, rabbit, squirrel, chestnut was also used extensively chipmunk, turkey, grouse, and during the colonization of America quail. Wood from chestnuts as a premier tree, providing wood is valuable for posts, poles, for railroad ties, house framing, pilings, railroad ties, shingles, barns, fences, and fuel. Chestnuts paneling, fine furniture, musical were once so numerous along the instruments, and fences. The wood eastern forests of the U.S. that it is also rich in tannic acid. More is said a squirrel could jump from than half of the tannin used by the chestnut tree to chestnut tree all American leather industry at the Old growth chestnuts. the way from Georgia to New York turn of the century came from the without ever touching the ground. American chestnut. Restoration Efforts Currently, many chestnut trees that are dead above ground maintain living roots from which sprouts grow. Healthy chestnut sprouts will eventually be killed by the blight, which continues to persist in eastern forests. However, the sprouts do contain American chestnut fruit. genetic information necessary to finding and breeding resistant County Parks to cross-breed trees. Only by growing and local trees (at Huber Woods and observing offspring and back- Hartshorne Woods Parks) isolated crossing and interbreeding trees from other American chestnuts by that have shown resistance will transporting pollinating catkins Historical Distribution of strains be developed that retain (male flowers) to the local trees. American Chestnut. the hardiness and other desirable In this manner, the Service and qualities of the American chestnut. its partners hope to produce Chestnut Blight The Service through the Partners viable fruit and grow seedlings for for Fish and Wildlife Program dispersal in other areas of The decline of the American has participated in this effort by New Jersey. chestnut began in 1904 with planting resistant seedlings on the discovery of chestnut blight lands owned by our partners. The Service and its partners are [Endothia parasitica (synonym: Specifically, the Service has active in trying to restore American Cryphonectria parasitica)]. obtained chestnuts from trees that chestnuts to New Jersey. However, Chestnut blight was first found have demonstrated resistance to assistance from federal, State, in chestnut trees on the grounds blight and has these seeds grown county, and municipal agencies of the New York Zoological to seedlings at Bayside State as well as growers, collaborators, Gardens by Herman W. Merkel, Prison through a cooperative volunteers, and landowners is a forester at the Bronx Zoo. It is program. The seedlings are critical to the success of this believed that Asian chestnut trees then provided to landowners restoration effort. If you would like (Castanea mollissima) imported with appropriate planting more information or would like to as nursery stock were the source areas to promote restoration participate in this restoration effort of this new invasive fungus. The of the American chestnut. In please contact the Partners for Fish fungus enters the tree through addition, the Service has worked and Wildlife Program at the U.S. cracks in the bark then “eats” cooperatively with Monmouth Fish and Wildlife Service’s New away the inner layers (vascular Jersey Field Office at 609/646 9310. cambium and phloem) that transports nutrients to and from the leaves and roots. Within two to ten years the entire tree is dead. The threat was recognized, and in 1911 – 1913 special funds were U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service appropriated to study and combat Ecological Services New Jersey Field Office chestnut blight. However, by 927 North Main Street World War I, war appropriations Heritage Square, Building D Pleasantville, New Jersey and the evident futility of control 08232 efforts caused cuts in funds for P: 609/646 9310 chestnut blight research. Most F: 609/646 0352 of the American chestnut trees in E: [email protected] the eastern U.S. were completely W: http://www.fws.gov/ northeast/njfieldoffice destroyed within 40 years. This represented 50 percent of the Federal Relay Service for the deaf and hard-of-hearing overall value of eastern hardwood 800/877 8339 timber stands. Chestnut tree in Monmouth County. May 2006.
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