Restoration of the American Chestnut

The Tioga County Woodlands Owners Association [TCWOA] invites anyone interested in the restoration of the American Chestnut tree to attend our August 15 program at the Gmeiner at 6:30 pm.  Come learn about the greatest ecological disaster to hit the Eastern US since Europeans arrived in North America.  Find out how the American Chestnut tree, which dominated the Appalachian Mountain range from Maine to Georgia before 1900, was essentially eliminated from the forest within a generation.  What was lost?  Why was it lost?  What was the economic and social impact of that great loss?

-With all the bad news about other species under attack today, such as the hemlock and ash trees, how great would it be if we were able to reintroduce the American Chestnut to its native range?  That is precisely the goal of The American Chestnut Foundation, founded in 1983. Using a six generation back cross breeding program as well as modern genetic tools, the ACF supports scientific research in an active program to establish blight resistance in the American Chestnut tree.

-Join us at 6:30 PM on Wednesday August 15 at the Gmeiner, when Clark Beebe, president of the PA-NJ chapter of The American Chestnut Foundation presents a power-point on the life, death and rebirth of the American Chestnut tree.