Spring 1997
The American Chestnut Tree in Indiana
Bruce Wakeland, Consulting Forester and Chairman of the Indiana chapter of the American Chestnut Foundation
In 1975 while working in a client's
woodland south of Valparaiso, Indiana I made what turned out to be a very special
discovery: I was doing an inspection to determine the management needs of this over
stocked, even aged woods consisting of pole sized black cherry, black oak and black
walnut. I came across a tree that had excellent form and was almost double the size of the
other trees in the woods. I was not sure why this tree was growing so fast or even what
kind of tree it was. By the end of the day I had found 4 more of these trees and some
small seedlings in the understory. I took some leaf and twig samples home and confirmed my
theory that indeed these very impressive trees were American Chestnut.
I never determined how these American Chestnut trees found their way into this woods. The
natural range for American Chestnut trees in Indiana is reportedly confined to the
southeast part of the state. A fungus blight disease killed nearly all the American
chestnuts during the first half of this century.
I have been active in the American Chestnut Foundation since 1985, and because of
encounters such as these I have grown to appreciate the incredible disaster the nearly
complete loss of this tree represents. The American chestnut tree grew fast and tall and
lived to be very large and old. It had beautiful wood prized for furniture, construction,
and decay resistance. It produced tannin. It produced food for man and wildlife, and it
was part of our culture in poem, song and legend. It was the most common and most
important tree species in the United States east of the Mississippi River.
Efforts in the 1960's to find or create American chestnut trees that were resistant to the chestnut blight were unsuccessful and abandoned. In the 1980's the American Chestnut Foundation was formed to try again. Time was running out because the number of trees and sprouts remaining were dwindling. With every passing year there were fewer and fewer people who remembered the grandeur and importance of this tree, people who might support such a non-profit non-governmental foundation. New knowledge
about genetics gained since the 1960's and the foresight of people like Dr. Charles R. Burnham, and Phil Rutret resulted in the American Chestnut Foundation being formed.
The American Chestnut Foundation is working on many fronts to try and solve the-chestnut blight problem. The most promising approach receiving the greatest expenditure of time, money and resources is a breeding program using multiple back crosses. This time consuming process crosses American chestnut with Chinese chestnut. The progeny that show 'blight resistance and look the most like American chestnut are again crossed with American chestnut. This process is repeated 4 or 5 times always keeping the progeny that have blight resistance and the most desired qualities of the American chestnut for the next back cross to American chestnut or between other back crosses. It is hoped that the end result will be a tree that is an American chestnut tree virtually resistant to the blight. The American Chestnut Foundation is well along on this process. If the American Chestnut Foundation can generate the needed volunteers, within the next 15 to 30 years blight resistant American chestnut trees for out-planting into the wild will be available.
The American Chestnut Foundation has chapters in a number of states, including Indiana, and two research farms with two geneticists headed by Dr. Fred Hebard in Meadowview, Virginia. The address for the national office of the American Chestnut Foundation is, P.O. Box 4044, Bennington, Vermont 05201-4044, phone 802-447-0110. The Indiana Chapter is in it’s third year and has become involved with the backcross breeding program involving Indiana grown trees. The Indiana chapter is also involved in locating currently existing American Chestnut trees in Indiana, and are looking into the possible resistance to the blight by the states largest chestnut tree near Attica. If you have an interest in the American Chestnut tree and want more information, or would like to become a member call the number listed above for the national office?