After Years of Blight, American Chestnut Tree is on the Comeback Trail To Reclaim Its Position as King of the Forests

(November 17, 2009) – Recognizing the importance of preserving an environmental legacy, the Maryland Department of Transportation’s State Highway Administration (SHA) is restoring a lost member of Maryland’s native forests—the mighty American chestnut tree.  Today, SHA and the American Chestnut Foundation (TACF) Maryland Chapter signed a partnership agreement to plant American chestnut trees on nearly two acres of land near the Hampstead Bypass (MD 30) in Carroll County.
 

“It is very exciting that SHA is partnering with the American Chestnut Foundation to preserve a treasured legacy of yesterday,” said SHA Administrator Neil J. Pedersen.  “This partnership agreement exemplifies SHA’s commitment to the natural environment.”

The American chestnut tree is highly susceptible to blight, which is the destruction of plant tissues due to disease.  The arch enemy of the American chestnut tree is an Asian fungus to which the tree has very little resistance.  The Asian blight was first discovered in 1904 in Bronx, New York and by the mid-1950’s, four billion American chestnut trees that encompassed nine million acres were lost in Americas forests.  SHA, along with TACF, is using new technology and back-cross breeding a blight-resistant Chinese chestnut with pure American trees to produce a hybrid blight-resistant tree with the appearance of the classic American chestnut.

“I am extremely pleased and excited that SHA is working with us to help re-establish the American chestnut tree,” said Dr. Gary Carver, President of The American Chestnut Foundation, Maryland Chapter.  “The American chestnut project will help to introduce a giant back into the forest.”

The American chestnut tree once dominated America’s forested regions, especially along the Appalachian Region.  Chestnut trees grow among other forest giants such as the oak, birch and maple.  The American chestnut tree stands out above its forest neighbors, literally.  A mature Chestnut has trunks averaging four feet in diameter and can grow up to 100 feet tall. A tree discovered in North Carolina had a trunk measuring more than 16 feet in diameter.

SHA and TACF will plant the chestnut trees beginning next spring in a grassy area near the Hampstead Bypass.  American chestnut trees have a rapid growth rate and within a few short years can help offset carbon dioxide, a gas that is thought to be partly responsible for climate change.  The trees provide a food source for people, as well as livestock and can provide necessary wildlife shelter.  This effort is over and above required mitigation and part of the One Million Trees effort, which is part of Governor Martin O’Malley’s Smart, Green and Growing Initiative.               

This project supports the efforts of the Smart, Green and Growing initiative.  Introduced by Governor Martin O’Malley in October 2008, Maryland’s Smart, Green & Growing initiative was created to strengthen the state’s leadership role in fostering smarter, more sustainable growth and inspiring action among all Marylanders to achieve a more sustainable future. The initiative brings together state agencies, local governments, businesses and citizens to create more livable communities, improve transportation options, reduce the state’s carbon footprint, support resource based industry, invest in green technologies, preserve valuable resource lands and restore the health of the Chesapeake Bay.

To encourage citizen participation in reforesting Maryland, the Governor recently launched Marylanders Plant Trees, through which citizens can receive $25 discount coupons for the purchase of native trees costing $50 or more from participating nurseries across the State.  Whether taking advantage of the coupon program or not, citizens who plant new trees are asked to use the State’s new website, www.trees.maryland.gov, which offers valuable planting advice.  to register the trees they’ve planted and calculate their benefits.                                                       

SHA and volunteers from TACF will closely monitor the newly planted saplings for any indication of blight.  The trees will be maintained by TACF.  Citizens who would like more information about the upcoming plantings can contact SHA’s Office of Environmental Design by calling 800-446-5962 or go to www.roads.maryland.gov.  For more information about the American chestnut tree contact The American Chestnut Foundation at (802) 447-0110 or www.acf.org or the Maryland Chapter at www.mdtacf.org.

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