Forest Service Signs Deal To Reintroduce Blight-Resistant Chestnuts

[hatrack]

The Eastern woodlands lost a mainstay of its ecology and beauty a century ago when the American chestnut tree became nearly extinct from an Asian blight.
But last week, the US Forest Service signed a deal to reintroduce a blight-resistant species that's being bred by the nonprofit American Chestnut Foundation.

The chestnut's return will mark another success story in restoring key species - such as bald eagles, beavers, and wolves - to the environment. The mighty chestnut, which can grow up to 120 feet high, once commanded up to one-quarter of Eastern forests. Its billions of nuts were irreplaceable to many birds and mammals. If abundant enough to harvest, this new rot-resistant timber could even replace pressure-treated wood.

For two decades, the foundation has carefully crossbred surviving American chestnuts with a fungus-resistant Chinese variety. The technique has required six generations of trees and many volunteers working in diverse plantations to succeed."

EDIT

http://csmonitor.com/2004/1019/p08s01-comv.html

[amandabeech]

1. Perhaps it is time to start with species of ash

with respect to the Emerald Ash Borer, and with tree and bush species susceptible to sudden oak death.