The CT Chapter has been the recipient of two generous grants which provided for the fencing and operational support of the American chestnut research orchard at Great Mountain Forest. Each grant was for $5000, totaling $10,000 and were from organizations which requested anonymity. The grants were restricted for use at the Great Mountain Forest Orchard.

The completed orchard fencing is a nine wire electric fence with the top wire at eight feet in height. This design differs from the solid lock link galvanized or polyethylene fences we're installed at other orchard locations as it is combines physical barrier with behavior modification. It has already been observed to modify the behavior of the significant deer population in the area. The orchard enclosure has maximized the area for planting and should allow planting of one or more additional lines.

Just completed orchard fencing at Great Mountain Forest - Photo taken by Bill Adamsen
Click on photo for larger view.

In addition to the fencing, the funding provided for continued operational support in the form of a summer orchard management internship. This has been extended to a (former) student from the Housatonic Valley Regional High School.

Thanks are due to the Staff at Great Mountain Forest Corporation (Jody Bronson and Star Childs) for providing support and the time to review plans and work with Falls Village Zoning to secure necessary approvals. Thanks goes out to CT-TACF Board Member Ellery Sinclair for coordinating the applications and construction.

From UMass Extension: Asian Longhorned Beetle found in Massachusetts

The Asian Longhorned Beetle (Anoplophora glabripennis) has been positively identified in an infestation in the Greendale section (northeast sector) of Worcester, MA. Personnel from the USDA PPQ and Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR) inspected the site on Saturday August 2, 2008 and discovered the infestation. The inspection was prompted by the keen observations and persistence of a local resident who suspected the presence of this exotic invader.

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The most recent USF Southern Research Station "Compass" Publication, published in June 2008, is 42 pages devoted to the American chestnut. There are some fantastic articles, and a pdf version is available on-line. You may also be able to get the Southern Research Station to send you a printed version.

Southern Research Station
200 W.T Weaver Boulevard
Asheville, NC 28804-3454

Zoe Hoyle
zhoyle@fs.fed.us
828.257.4388

That was the title of an article published in 2004 by Professor Ralph H. Lutts, a member of the Goddard College faculty, where he coordinates an M.A. concentration in interdisciplinary environmental studies. Some of you may recall reading an excerpt of this same story in "Mighty Giants: A Chestnut Anthology." Alerted to the article by a chestnut enthusiast who contributed to the Chestnut Grower's forum. It contains some significant references to the economic contribution chestnut made to the blue ridge communities.

We'd hardly ever see these people at all, except when they came out to go to the store, and in the fall we could see 'em coming, maybe the parents and three or four kids coming down the trail. The old man would have a big coffee sack full of chestnuts on his back, and the little fellers would have smaller sacks, and even the mother would have a small sack of chestnuts caught up on her hip. They'd all trek to the store and they'd swap that for coffee and sugar and flour and things that they had to buy to live on through the winter. That's the way they made their living.

quoted from Wigginton, Foxfire 6, 403–4 via the Lutts article.

The article goes on to elaborate the mechanisms by which the locals were compensated for their harvest, and then how that harvest worked its way to market. A Fascinating article on cultural and economic impacts of this forest crop. I've provided a link to the article, and also attached a pdf version. I encourage members to take the time to read and appreciate this well researched, documented and written tale.

Like Manna From God: the American Chestnut Trade in Southwestern Virginia by Ralph H. Lutts

With the change in Regional Science Coordinators, there is a change in process for validating chestnut samples for determining parentage.

Samples will be mailed to

Kendra Gurney
TACF New England Regional Breeding Program
USDA Forest Service Northern Research Station
705 Spear Street
South Burlington, VT 05403
Tel: 802.951.6771 x1440 Fax: 802.951.6368
Cell: 802.999.8706
Kendra@acf.org or kgurney@uvm.edu

Kendra will send the samples on to either Fred and or Sara and other sources if required to validate.

Please be sure to include several attached leaves and twig/stems to aid in validation. Attached is a short "check list" we use to help determine if the sample is indeed American chestnut, or Chinese, Japanese, European or a hybrid.

New Haven, CT July 1, 2008 - The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station will hold its 98th annual Plant Science Day open house on Wednesday, August 6, at Lockwood Farm in Hamden.

The featured program will begin at 11:15 a.m. in the main tent. Steve Grant, Staff Writer, The Hartford Courant, will give the Samuel W. Johnson Memorial Lecture entitled “Are We Making Progress? A journalist’s perspective on more than three decades of environmental and agricultural change in Connecticut.” at about 11:40 a.m.

Other speakers, from the Experiment Station Staff, are:

• Dr. Sandra L. Anagnostakis “Chestnuts Are Coming Back!” at 10:15 a.m.;
• Dr. Jeffrey S. Ward on “Japanese Barberry (Berberis Thunbergii DC)” at 10:45 a.m.;
• Mr. Gregory J. Bugbee on “Invasive Plants: Our Lakes And Ponds In Peril” at 1:15 p.m.;
• and Dr. MaryJane Incorvia Mattina on “Communication And Cooperation Through Laboratory Network: Positive Outcomes Of 9/11” at 1:45 p.m.

In addition, there will be technical demonstrations

• by Dr. John F. Anderson “Bed Bugs In Connecticut” at 10:00 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.;
• Dr. Abigail A. Maynard on “Growing Your Own Transplants For Your Vegetable Garden” at 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.

See the attached flyer for more.

Please come and join us in a joint celebration of the establishment of the Guilford chestnut orchard and the second Northeast Utilities donation of $8500 to The American Chestnut Foundation. We will celebrate these two developments by holding a check presentation, orchard tour, and picnic at the Guilford chestnut orchard (directions below) on Friday, July 18th. The event will commence at noon. Come and celebrate the chapter’s newest orchard, the second large donation made by Northeast Utilities, and learn more about our program.

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