The American Chestnut (Castanea dentata) tree populated much of the Eastern New York landscape with a population of nearly 4 billion trees. They were among the largest, tallest, and fastest growing trees. For thousands of years, the original inhabitants of the Appalachians coexisted with the American chestnut. The nuts provided an abundant food source, and Indigenous Peoples responded in kind by managing the landscape to improve habitat for chestnuts. Humans benefitted not only from the chestnuts themselves, but from the immense opportunities it created for wildlife.
Chestnuts are dense with calories, rich in vitamin C and antioxidants, and the leaves contain higher levels of essential plant nutrients than other local tree species. This made the chestnut beneficial not only for the humans of an ecosystem, but for every level of the food chain. Chestnut leaves were favorites of detritivore insects who, by breaking them down, enriched the forest floor with nutrients. Insects feeding on chestnut leaves were then eaten by fish or birds, and other larger animals would feed directly on the chestnut mast like squirrels, deer, bear, and turkeys.
Settlers to America discovered that the wood was rot resistant, straight grained, and suitable for furniture, fencing, and building. It was preferred for log cabin foundations, fence posts, flooring, caskets, railroad ties, and utility poles. Many barns and large structures such as churches in the Northeast were built with American Chestnut.
The American Chestnut survived all adversaries for 40 million years and then disappeared within 40 years. Why? Around 1904, a blight called Endothia parasitica was introduced to the United States from the Orient.
Commonly known as the Chestnut blight, Endothia parasitica was first found in the chestnut trees on the grounds of the New York Zoological Garden by Herman W. Merkel, a forester at the Bronx Zoo. It is believed that the fungus was unintendedly introduced into America from Asian chestnut trees that were imported as nursery stock.
As the chestnut trees in the Bronx Zoo were killed back to the ground, the blight was beginning to spread. It spread northward into Connecticut and Massachusetts, and southware into New Jersey. Then it began to spread like wildfire through the eastern forests.
Chestnuts are dense with calories, rich in vitamin C and antioxidants, and the leaves contain higher levels of essential plant nutrients than other local tree species. This made the chestnut beneficial not only for the humans of an ecosystem, but for every level of the food chain. Chestnut leaves were favorites of detritivore insects who, by breaking them down, enriched the forest floor with nutrients. Insects feeding on chestnut leaves were then eaten by fish or birds, and other larger animals would feed directly on the chestnut mast like squirrels, deer, bear, and turkeys.
Settlers to America discovered that the wood was rot resistant, straight grained, and suitable for furniture, fencing, and building. It was preferred for log cabin foundations, fence posts, flooring, caskets, railroad ties, and utility poles. Many barns and large structures such as churches in the Northeast were built with American Chestnut.
The American Chestnut survived all adversaries for 40 million years and then disappeared within 40 years. Why? Around 1904, a blight called Endothia parasitica was introduced to the United States from the Orient.
Commonly known as the Chestnut blight, Endothia parasitica was first found in the chestnut trees on the grounds of the New York Zoological Garden by Herman W. Merkel, a forester at the Bronx Zoo. It is believed that the fungus was unintendedly introduced into America from Asian chestnut trees that were imported as nursery stock.
As the chestnut trees in the Bronx Zoo were killed back to the ground, the blight was beginning to spread. It spread northward into Connecticut and Massachusetts, and southware into New Jersey. Then it began to spread like wildfire through the eastern forests.
The American Chestnut Foundation (TACF)
In 1983, a group of prominent plant scientists and laypersons who recognized the severe impact of the American chestnut's tree's demise on the local economy of rural communities and the ecology of forests within the tree's native range founded The American Chestnut Foundation (TACF). Chapters of TACF can be found in all regions where the American chestnut thrived, including New York. Today, TACF is working to reintroduce a blight-tolerant tree to the landscape. Efforts are underway at various research facilities around the US including SUNY ESF where research was led originally by Dr. Bill Powell and Dr. Chuck Maynard. Dr Andy Newhouse now leads the project and regularly returns to update the members of the Woodworkers of Central New York on his progress with the Darling chestnuts.
In 1983, a group of prominent plant scientists and laypersons who recognized the severe impact of the American chestnut's tree's demise on the local economy of rural communities and the ecology of forests within the tree's native range founded The American Chestnut Foundation (TACF). Chapters of TACF can be found in all regions where the American chestnut thrived, including New York. Today, TACF is working to reintroduce a blight-tolerant tree to the landscape. Efforts are underway at various research facilities around the US including SUNY ESF where research was led originally by Dr. Bill Powell and Dr. Chuck Maynard. Dr Andy Newhouse now leads the project and regularly returns to update the members of the Woodworkers of Central New York on his progress with the Darling chestnuts.
Woodworkers of CNY Support to TACF
As noted above, Dr. Newhouse periodically visits our meetings to provide an update on where restoration efforts stand. Many of our members are very interested in planting one or more of the hybrid trees in their landscape to help promote the restoration efforts. In 2024, Andy connected Charlie LaPrease, Chair of the Woodworking SIG, with Michael Bloom of SilvaBio, a Public Benefit Company that licensed the Darling line of American chestnut trees developed by the SUNY ESF group.
Michael wanted help creating 40 somethings using hybrid American chestnut that could be given as gifts. After seeing the stock size, Charlie suggested pens. Charlie, along with Mike Vecellio, Robert Love, and Jim Yonkers, produced 40 pens for Michael using the Slimline Pro EDC Chrome Click pen kits from Penn State Industries.
As noted above, Dr. Newhouse periodically visits our meetings to provide an update on where restoration efforts stand. Many of our members are very interested in planting one or more of the hybrid trees in their landscape to help promote the restoration efforts. In 2024, Andy connected Charlie LaPrease, Chair of the Woodworking SIG, with Michael Bloom of SilvaBio, a Public Benefit Company that licensed the Darling line of American chestnut trees developed by the SUNY ESF group.
Michael wanted help creating 40 somethings using hybrid American chestnut that could be given as gifts. After seeing the stock size, Charlie suggested pens. Charlie, along with Mike Vecellio, Robert Love, and Jim Yonkers, produced 40 pens for Michael using the Slimline Pro EDC Chrome Click pen kits from Penn State Industries.
Michael contacted Charlie in June for 40 of something for 2025. After some discussion, it was decided that 40 bottle openers could be created as the stock was larger. Turners for this year's effort were Mark Lockwood, Robert Love, Mike Vecellio, and Charlie. They used the Ruth Niles style bottle opener from Niles Bottle Stoppers.
