The CT Chapter, as part of The American Chestnut Foundation (TACF), has made great strides in the effort to restore the American chestnut tree to its former range. As part of the back-cross breeding program, we have planted thousands of tree in dozens of plantings in our breeding orchards across the state. Within the next year or two, we will begin testing the BC3F1 trees for resistance to the chestnut blight. Nuts from resistant trees will be be planted in seed orchards, and nuts from the most blight resistant of trees grown from those nuts will then be used for more extensive restoration efforts.
However, the planning documents that guide our current work are reaching the end of their scope. TACF is currently preparing an overall American Chestnut Restoration Plan. This will provide high level context and direction for the next several years. In addition to this, the CT Chapter needs to develop a long term plan, with more specific recommendations based on our local conditions, needs, and resources. At its last meeting, the CT Chapter Board of Directors authorized the creation of a working group to gather relevant background material, draft a Long Term Plan for the chapter, and based on input from interested parties, present the plan at the next Board meeting.
Please read the full article for more information, if you are interested in participating or contributing to this effort.
The plan will address the chapter's needs over the next five to ten years, and will address a variety of issues, including, but clearly not limited to:
- requirements for land (geology, ownership, management) for various planting types
- priorities for choosing locations for restoration plantings
- how to choose and evaluate partners for orchard management
- probable financial requirements for implementation, and potential sources of additional revenue
Jack Ostroff was chosen by the board to lead this effort. He is currently looking for members interested in joining this group. The group will complete its work in three basic phases:
- review background material, and establish scope and outline of the plan
- write a draft plan and publish it to the chapter web site for comments and suggestions
- revise plan based on input received and present to Board of Directors for approval
The specific logistics for the group's operation have not yet been determined, and suggestions are welcome. There will most likely be two in-person meetings, at the beginning and end of the process. Most meetings are expected to take place using an on-line teleconferencing or web-meeting tool, such as Skype or Webex, although final arrangements have not yet been made, and will depend partly on the geographic locations of group members.
If you are interested in participating as a member of the working group, or you have any questions or comments about the process, please contact Jack Ostroff by email at planning 'at' ctacf 'dot' org.
Shade tolerance of the BC3 hybrids will be an important attribute for re-colonization of Connecticut forests. As all of our orchards have good light conditions, has the shade tolerance actually been tested?Re-introduction efforts, will eventually need to be on a very wide spread scale within the state. The logistics of this seem to go beyond the abilities of our chapter membership. Planning for partnerships with local Connecticut Land Trusts, Water Companies, Connecticut DEP, and other suitable land holders need to be coordinated. Additionally, other volunteer bases will need to be located. Perhaps scout troops and town conservation commissions, to name just a few, have suitable memberships to assist the efforts.
These are all keen observations of some of the challenges we face. And in fact the specific purpose the Strategic Planning Committee will be expected to address. Our last plan was developed in 2005. At that time we had few models for any tactical logistical approach beyond creating the back-cross orchards. The plan did not outline an approach for the inter-cross (seed) orchards or how reforestation might be accomplished. Our success with the back-cross program -- due in small part to that 2005 Strategic Plan, and in large part to the phenomenal efforts of TACF Volunteers -- means that we now have the next phases practically looming over us. Separately, I think the question of testing can and should be integrated into the reforestation part of the project. To your point, we expect reforestation to require significant and diverse human resources to help plan and execute. We already have materials coming out of the TACF Meadowview Research Orchards that can be used to "kick-start" that program and provide feedback on the right logistical approach. Reforestation will provide much feedback on the competitiveness of the trees under a wide variety of conditions. We are working with UConn this summer (more to come on that) to create GIS profiles which will allow us to better understand suitable locations for reforestation or restoration efforts. But still, the success of the program will be measured by the competitiveness in actual plantings.
I applaud you David for reading this post by Jack and understanding the challenges and opportunities it presents. While we are still in the planning stages .. I would certainly encourage any group or individual out there with an interest in using their land for this restoration to contact us (bill "dot" adamsen "at" gmail "dot" com) about their interest in participating. We also look forward to getting your input to the process and the plan.
The Town of Wethersfield last month closed on a former dairy farm with funding from a bond issue and State conservation grant that comes with restrictions that may allow part of the property to be useful for a Chestnut back-cross seedling orchard. It has upland pastures, mature forested wetlands as well as lowland pasture with brooks and ponds. The Local folks are already talking about involving local high school vo-ag students, the Scouts and the local Buck Nature Center people. I've posted some info about the CT Chapter of TACF on the Facebook page for "Friends of the Wilkus Farm" which has additional information about the parcel. http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=74465864172&... A video tour of the farm property narrated by Jim Woodworth of the Great Meadows Trust is at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZ_lZLTz7k0The Town is still in the early stages of considering uses for the land. Some overture from the TACF would be timely. I live in Wethersfield and am a CT Chapter member and am willing to help.
