Vermont / New Hampshire Chapter

About Us

Our Mission

The American Chestnut Foundation (TACF) has been working to restore the magnificent American chestnut, Castenea dentata, since 1983. The driving force that moves this effort forward consists of 16 State chapters of dedicated volunteers. The VT/NH Chapter was first organized in 2007. Three restoration approaches are implemented under the TACF “3-BUR” program: “Breeding, Biotechnology and Biocontrol – United for Restoration.” The VT/NH Chapter incorporates all three methods in its restoration efforts.

Breeding: The traditional TACF breeding program is implemented at nine breeding orchards and three seed orchards that are managed by volunteers and partners across VT and NH. These orchards contain trees produced through three generations of back crossing wild American chestnuts (having no blight resistance) with Chinese chestnuts (which do have blight resistance). The resulting offspring are screened for blight resistance and those with acceptable levels are intercrossed over three more generations. At each generation we continue to refine the balance of blight tolerance and American chestnut character in this population of trees. Blight resistance is a complex trait that is not easily transferred to American trees. Stringent selection criteria and genomic assessment tools helps us keep only the best trees in our program.

Biotechnology: The core of the biotechnology program is transgenics. Scientists at the State University of New York, College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY-ESF), discovered that a gene from wheat produces an enzyme, oxalate oxidase (OxO), which enhances blight tolerance significantly. Release of this transgenic tree into Eastern forests requires Federal approval from USDA, EPA and FDA. The transgenic tree is a clone so it must be crossed for multiple generations with wild America chestnuts to assure genetic diversity. The VT/NH Chapter aggressively seeks nuts from wild trees, with emphasis on those having 100% American characteristics. These nuts are planted in Germplasm Conservation Orchards (GCO) in VT and NH. Flowering trees in GCOs may be pollinated with transgenic pollen following Federal approval.

Biocontrol: The primary biological control method being explored by TACF and its partners is hypovirulence. Chestnut blight fungus is infected by a virus, thereby sickening the fungus and reducing the ability of chestnut blight to cause lethal infections. Using this method, the natural defenses of the chestnut, combined with soil microorganisms may enable the tree to halt canker growth and ultimately survive an infection. In addition, the VT/NH Chapter is experimenting with “mud packing” as a method to slow blight canker development on individual trees.

Our Mission

Self-sustaining stands of blight-resistant American chestnut trees growing in Vermont and New Hampshire woodlands.

Board of Directors

The Board of Directors strives to achieve this Goal through various committees having responsibilities to manage orchards, locate and harvest nut producing wild American chestnuts, oversee Chapter governance, and convey the chestnut restoration story through outreach.

Board Members

Evan Fox – President

Evan Fox is retired and lives in Barnard, VT with his wife Sue of 41 years, where she loves to garden and he loves to grow, manage and harvest about ten acres of softwood and hardwood trees, including the challenging Chestnut. He is an avid outdoorsman, carpenter and amateur cabinetmaker, heats mostly with firewood and is a semi-serious maple syrup producer during the season. Evan graduated Penn State’s Agricultural Engineering College in 1979, made his career in PA and serves as President of the Penn State Alumni Association’s Vermont Chapter.

 

Gary Hawley – Vice President

Gary Hawley is an Environmental Sciences and Forestry faculty member in the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources at the University of Vermont.  He is also a member of the Williston, VT Conservation Commission for over 25 years.  Hawley’s research interests include assessments of forest genetics and physiological responses to environmental stresses such as climate change and anthropogenic pollution.  He has been involved in several American chestnut research projects including cold tolerance assessments, evaluation of the growth of multiple seed sources and performance of blight resistant hybrids relative to other forest tree species. This work is being conducted with the TACF and US Forest Service.  Hawley also has been heavily involved and has directed many of the activities surrounding the green renovation of the Aiken Center and other Rubenstein School buildings at the University of Vermont.  This nearly 20-year process includes teaching a yearly course titled “The Greening of Rubenstein Interns” that has guided students through many aspects of energy efficiency upgrades and is currently pushing ahead to Net Zero Energy for these buildings.

Bill Coder – Secretary

Bill joined TACF after happening upon an educational orchard around 2000 and then became active in the VT/NH Chapter upon moving to Bedford, NH in 2014. A retired engineer, Bill volunteers at several environment focused organizations. The idea for an educational chestnut planting at NH Audubon in Concord resulted from his volunteer connections in both organizations, forming a full circle with how he first became aware of the American chestnut story.

Will Abbott – Treasurer

Will and his wife Alicia live in Holderness, NH, in a home that they purchased in 1993 with the help of a local realtor named Doug McLane. Will recently retired from the Society for the Protection of NH Forests, where he ran the public policy shop and oversaw the stewardship of the Society’s 57,000 acres of forest land. He has had a life-long fascination with trees, particularly the American Chestnut and the American Elm, and the potential to restore each to their original range.

Yurij Bihun

Yurij Bihun is a Vermont-based forester with experience in sustainable forest management, tree improvement, international development, and protected area management. In addition to teaching, research, and writing, he has had a wide spectrum of on-the-ground experience with the management of forest ecosystem services. His work in the conservation of forest ecosystems led to his interest in the restoration of natural landscapes and the challenge of returning American chestnut as a functional component our native woodlands. He was on the National Board of Directors of TACF from 2013-2019 and President of the VT/NH Chapter from 2014-2020.

Tom Estill

My caring for, and interest in, the outdoors has been a lifelong passion of mine. It carried over into my career as a science educator with a BA in biology and MEd in Env. Sci. Ed. One of my greatest joys in life is sharing what I have learned in the outdoors with others. I currently serve as a volunteer Sci. Ed. Specialist at a school in Rutland, VT and as a Naturalist at Pine Hill Park, also in Rutland, where, among other things, I look over the care of 50 American Chestnuts. I am also in charge of the Rutland GCO, and am in the middle of planting American chestnut seedlings in each of the schools in Rutland as an Ed. and Outreach activity. It is so rewarding to know I am a part of the movement to help bring back the American Chestnut.

Dr. Gillian Galford

Dr. Gillian Galford is an expert in ecosystems ecology and global change. In addition to research and teaching at the University of Vermont in the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources and Gund Institute for Environment, Dr. Galford leads the Vermont Climate Assessment. Her research spans from the forests of Vermont to the Amazon. 

Dr. Ann Hazelrigg

Ann has been a plant pathologist with UVM Extension for 35 years. She is the Director of the Plant Diagnostic Clinic and works with farmers and gardeners to diagnose insect, disease and weed problems. She is involved in many research projects that typically focus on diseases and organic agriculture. In her spare time she is a struggling fiddler and is excited to add chestnuts to her home arboretum!

Curt Laffin

Curt Laffin, and his wife Carol, have actively participated in nearly all types of VT/NH Chapter activities, especially outreach and communication. Curt is a wildlife biologist retired from the US Fish & wildlife Service. He and Carol live in Hudson, NH.

Lewis LeClair

Doug McLane

Doug McLane and his wife Sue have been active in chestnut restoration since the formation of the VT/NH Chapter. Doug’s favorite activity is tending the Chapter nursery and the ever-growing germplasm conservation orchard here in Plymouth, NH. It is a pleasure to have a chance to lead our Chapter into the challenging future of chestnuts.

Jess Wikle

Jess Wikle is the Manager of the UVM Research Forests and a faculty member in the forestry program. Prior to moving to Vermont, she worked as a consulting forester in southern New England. She is excited about the prospect of healthy chestnuts returning to New England forests some time in the future.

Science Contact – Kendra Collins (non-voting)

Marshall Case, Emeritus (non-voting)

 

Vermont / New Hampshire Chapter Menu

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Whether you already love American chestnut trees or are looking for a new cause to support, consider volunteering with TACF! Volunteering with TACF allows you to learn new skills while participating in an historical effort to restore a functionally extinct species and help heal the environment.

Visit tacf.org/volunteer/ to learn more!

Check out SAHC website: appalachian.org
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How do you know when a female chestnut flower is ready to mate? She starts showing off her styles. This is not a joke. This is straight up factual facts. If you want funny jokes you'll have to go looking somewhere else. Meanwhile, enjoy this episode about our American chestnut friends Cassie and Denny and their first signs of flowers. #cassieanddenny ... See MoreSee Less

1 CommentComment on Facebook

Marcy Caldwell Rau

We love what Tree Plenish is doing and we salute their efforts! Learn more about their organization by clicking this link to their website: www.tree-plenish.org ... See MoreSee Less

We love what Tree Plenish is doing and we salute their efforts! Learn more about their organization by clicking this link to their website: https://www.tree-plenish.org

In a recent article by New York magazine’s Intelligencer, journalist Kate Morgan details the history of the development of the Darling 58 transgenic American chestnut tree, the discovery that it was, in fact, Darling 54, and how that impacted the partnership between The American Chestnut Foundation and SUNY ESF’s American Chestnut Research & Restoration Project.

TACF President & CEO Will Pitt, along with TACF Chief Conservation Officer Sara Fitzsimmons are quoted.

This article is available for a limited time to non-subscribers of New York magazine; visit the link for more details.
tacf.org/the-problem-with-darling-58-the-fight-to-save-americas-iconic-tree/
... See MoreSee Less

In a recent article by New York magazine’s Intelligencer, journalist Kate Morgan details the history of the development of the Darling 58 transgenic American chestnut tree, the discovery that it was, in fact, Darling 54, and how that impacted the partnership between The American Chestnut Foundation and SUNY ESF’s American Chestnut Research & Restoration Project.

TACF President & CEO Will Pitt, along with TACF Chief Conservation Officer Sara Fitzsimmons are quoted.

This article is available for a limited time to non-subscribers of New York magazine; visit the link for more details.
https://tacf.org/the-problem-with-darling-58-the-fight-to-save-americas-iconic-tree/

9 CommentsComment on Facebook

The D58/4 mixup was one thing - shouldn't have happened but did. Should've been caught much earlier but wasn't, but particularly unconscionable was ESF's getting in bed with American Castanea, particularly after all the proud pronouncements about not patenting etc. Besides which, AC had no background that I've heard in growing trees.

Hay y'all! Please! These GMO companies are NOT passionate about ecology and tree study like you are at the foundation and how the community here adores this tree and seems to help in any way they are able to. They know it's billions of dollars to be made with chestnuts..... And FAKE GMO TREES ARE NOT GOING TO HELP!! I know of a bunch of large specimens in the Northeast I spent years searching for and continue to. Will be sending samples for testing for the first time this autumn I'm excited to speak with y'all! The tree is FUNCTIONAL AND THRIVING in particular places. But they need stable, happy (organic/wild) ecosystems to behave this way.... Can't just jam trees in the ground and hope for chance.... If I'm ever financially stable I love to participate in bigger projects and planning in the future keep fighting the good fight!! Thank you for listening bless'ed love! 🌰🌱🌳🍁🙏✌️🐺🐾🐾🤘🌟

I think the real problem was over who thought they were responsible for distribution of seedling. Both groups were building distribution networks. TACF thought they were in charge of the program while ESF only felt they needed to be informed. That TACF tried to make it about the money was embarrassing. No one’s going to make a fortune in conservation. The couple million TACF donated is probably nothing compared with what the state of NY (or any of the other Universities) have spent. Weird… internal financial controls at Universities are allot more rigorous than for a non-profit.

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Don't forget to enter the 2024 American Chestnut Photo Contest! We love to see photos that include every season, angle, and aspect of American chestnut, so get creative. Click this link for more information: tacf.org/2024-photo-contest/

This adorable photo was taken by Michelle Casson, who submitted in 2016.
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Dont forget to enter the 2024 American Chestnut Photo Contest! We love to see photos that include every season, angle, and aspect of American chestnut, so get creative. Click this link for more information: https://tacf.org/2024-photo-contest/ 

This adorable photo was taken by Michelle Casson, who submitted in 2016.
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Latest News

Free Nut Offer

Free Nut Offer

The VT/NH Chapter of the American Chestnut Foundation is once again pleased to offer free American chestnut seeds to Chapter members. If you would like to participate, or have related questions, please contact Dan Jones at: daniel_b_jones@msn.com The nuts were...

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Chapter Position on Darling

Late in 2023 The American Chestnut Foundation (TACF) abruptly withdrew its support for the State University of New York’s College of Environmental Science & Forestry (SUNY-ESF) petition for deregulation of the Darling line of genetically modified (transgenic)...

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40th Anniversary Celebration! October 14, 2023

We are excited to announce TACF’s 40th Anniversary celebration on Saturday October 14th in beautiful Lebanon NH. Bring your whole family, and friends interested in joining, to the Salt Hill Pub at the west end of the green, between 10:30am and 2pm.   The VT/NH...

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