This was so cool to learn! I can't wait to hear more about how diverse agroforestry can help our chestnuts be restored. I enjoyed the guest speaker as well! Can't wait to hear how our agricultural systems are learning to be more resilient to the upcoming climatic changes.
This was great! Gamekeepers were talking about this a while back. I hope we can get the American Chestnut back again someday. Thanks for this episode guys & gals.
She's pretty awesome! One thing I've been trying, since I'm (I think) outside the zone for growing Chestnuts (SC Piedmont 8b) is telling the story. The power of the storyteller cannot be underestimated, though it too often is. Sara's good at telling a tale. I don't think folks really understand the How and the Why of an issue without a Storyteller who can weave a narrative that's compelling. It's easy to regurgitate data, but if there isn't a compelling Why..... the next generation isn't going to want to carry on the tradition. As blacksmith and amateur historian of the traditional trades, I've seen many instances of where something seems rather cut-n-dry at first glance, but the 2nd and 3rd Order Effects are massive and never even thought about until you get smacked in the face with them! The role the chestnut played in the ecology, from the bottom up, is a good example of this. Everyone talks about using the wood for cabins, roasting chestnuts over an open fire, but we miss the importance of supporting the food web at the "ground level" with insects that eat the leaves or use the fallen timber as shelter. The impact that had on the fish and bird populations is likely never to be known, but we can assume that it wasn't good. Much the same can be said about the beavers and how we are only now seeing how removing them from the ecosystem caused a very long cascade failure since they were the "keystone" species that everything else was built upon. Even now, people are just beginning to understand and only because they've built "Beaver Dam Analogs" to try and control erosion. As well as that has worked, imagine what the landscape must have been like centuries ago before the Fur Trade! So keep up the great work. We need the American Chestnut returned to the landscape.
A good slogan for wildlife would be....our nation's wildlife is significantly over the carrying capacity of available resources help make a change.....that was an excellent statement......it's a wake up call one.....😮😊
I can see that being motivating for habitat restoration.. but I can also see that being used *against* urban wildlife (or any situation where we’d prefer NOT to concern ourselves with habitat mngt)
I really enjoyed listening to this podcast. I’ve had a nostalgic interest in the American chestnut for years. Starting planting Dunstans about twenty years ago as this was the closest to American that I could get. They’ve done quite well (never had one succumb to the blight). Each year I’ll collect nuts , stratify, and plant the following spring. Would have like to have heard her comment on Allegheny Chinquapins (shrub chestnut) which I also propagate.
Hi I am really wanting to get some Chestnut seeds or seedlings. AThe 6 I bought locally from big box all died. Trying to revive my childhood farm land. Can you sell me some good seed or seedlings?
I'm in the forest industry in Indiana and know of several trees we have. Most, if not all are known about, at least on the state DNR level but perhaps there are a few more no one has ever recognized. I was working with a consultant forester back in the mid '80's doing TSI on a farm near Attica that was three foot diameter and 120 feet tall then. That was my first encounter. I've questioned many times if it is still there but never got in the truck and made the two hour trip to go look. It had a Forest Service and Purdue U. Seed tree I.D. tags but I've not been successful in locating it on a database. On a different note, I've been working on my own with Butternut for decades. I will definitely go extinct if more is not done to save it. I've lost several of the wild trees, more to storms than the disease at this point but have had some progress in my plantings.
First of all great guest and a very good episode....😊 I remember as I read about American chestnuts that there were survivors trees that had been originally planted in what the called the outlying regions of the range and that some of those survived or are yet because they were far from the blight.....I've always thought that if considered good soil conditions any outlying regions would be strong candidates for reintroduction....well and of course why not it can't hurt that's for sure....hopefully someday and I know their working hard to get introduceable American resistant but I also know the time involved is really slow.....diversity for chestnut trees if that's why the foreign species was brought here was an over sight well it probably wasn't even that it was just uncontrolled event of people wanting too bring them here just to do it I've never seen a reason that I can recall.....it sure was a tragedy though......😮 we really need too consider a more dynamic original landscape that we once had before that thought is lost completely because it is a very small percentage of people on that level unfortunetly........😊
There is a stand of American Chestnut in Burford Ont. It is an isolated stand, with farm fields all around since pioneer days. Perhaps that is what protected it.
I believe they have, but it’s not approved for release. The blight kills by producing oxalate in the cambium layer. They took an oxalase enzyme gene from wheat and spliced it in. That’s about all I know about it.
@Wolfbay honestly with the focus being on the Am. Chestnut, i was curious if anything was being done with the chinkapins, often forgotten in the plight
That was my problem, I was gifted 4 American Chestnut from GRCA, I tried them on my farm, but I have a ph 7.3 on my farm and they did not thrive. I moved them to another property in another county that had a better soil, and some Carolinian species.
@@ufgamelab It was private property. I did get permission to plant them, but because of the deer, I put cages around them and when I asked them to keep an eye on them, they were not impressed. I never went back, some people like trees only if it is easy.
Why not clone resistant trees with tissue culture. Couldn’t this get 100’s of saplings quickly? Later different strains of cultured trees could be crossed.
What a great follow up to Oaktober. Would enjoy hearing more from your guests, like Sara Fitzsimmons. Had to listen to this podcast twice.
What an amazing guest! Thanks to all of you for bringing awareness to this topic!
This was so cool to learn! I can't wait to hear more about how diverse agroforestry can help our chestnuts be restored. I enjoyed the guest speaker as well! Can't wait to hear how our agricultural systems are learning to be more resilient to the upcoming climatic changes.
This was great! Gamekeepers were talking about this a while back. I hope we can get the American Chestnut back again someday. Thanks for this episode guys & gals.
We hope so too! Thanks for listening, we're glad that you're enjoying the content
She's pretty awesome! One thing I've been trying, since I'm (I think) outside the zone for growing Chestnuts (SC Piedmont 8b) is telling the story. The power of the storyteller cannot be underestimated, though it too often is. Sara's good at telling a tale.
I don't think folks really understand the How and the Why of an issue without a Storyteller who can weave a narrative that's compelling. It's easy to regurgitate data, but if there isn't a compelling Why..... the next generation isn't going to want to carry on the tradition. As blacksmith and amateur historian of the traditional trades, I've seen many instances of where something seems rather cut-n-dry at first glance, but the 2nd and 3rd Order Effects are massive and never even thought about until you get smacked in the face with them!
The role the chestnut played in the ecology, from the bottom up, is a good example of this. Everyone talks about using the wood for cabins, roasting chestnuts over an open fire, but we miss the importance of supporting the food web at the "ground level" with insects that eat the leaves or use the fallen timber as shelter. The impact that had on the fish and bird populations is likely never to be known, but we can assume that it wasn't good.
Much the same can be said about the beavers and how we are only now seeing how removing them from the ecosystem caused a very long cascade failure since they were the "keystone" species that everything else was built upon. Even now, people are just beginning to understand and only because they've built "Beaver Dam Analogs" to try and control erosion. As well as that has worked, imagine what the landscape must have been like centuries ago before the Fur Trade!
So keep up the great work. We need the American Chestnut returned to the landscape.
Great show! Thank you!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Good work! Best wishes from Canada!
Thank you!
A good slogan for wildlife would be....our nation's wildlife is significantly over the carrying capacity of available resources help make a change.....that was an excellent statement......it's a wake up call one.....😮😊
I can see that being motivating for habitat restoration.. but I can also see that being used *against* urban wildlife (or any situation where we’d prefer NOT to concern ourselves with habitat mngt)
A non-Thanos way to put that, is we’ve damaged and paved/lawned over so much habitat that the animals can’t survive.
6:25 Wow. I had no idea. Thank you for clarifying.
No problem!
I really enjoyed listening to this podcast. I’ve had a nostalgic interest in the American chestnut for years. Starting planting Dunstans about twenty years ago as this was the closest to American that I could get. They’ve done quite well (never had one succumb to the blight). Each year I’ll collect nuts , stratify, and plant the following spring. Would have like to have heard her comment on Allegheny Chinquapins (shrub chestnut) which I also propagate.
Thank you for your ecological work!
Hi I am really wanting to get some Chestnut seeds or seedlings. AThe 6 I bought locally from big box all died. Trying to revive my childhood farm land. Can you sell me some good seed or seedlings?
@@grrrrrlonfirew Check out the American Chestnut Foundation: tacf.org/american-chestnut-seeds-and-seedlings/
I'm in the forest industry in Indiana and know of several trees we have. Most, if not all are known about, at least on the state DNR level but perhaps there are a few more no one has ever recognized.
I was working with a consultant forester back in the mid '80's doing TSI on a farm near Attica that was three foot diameter and 120 feet tall then. That was my first encounter. I've questioned many times if it is still there but never got in the truck and made the two hour trip to go look. It had a Forest Service and Purdue U. Seed tree I.D. tags but I've not been successful in locating it on a database.
On a different note, I've been working on my own with Butternut for decades. I will definitely go extinct if more is not done to save it. I've lost several of the wild trees, more to storms than the disease at this point but have had some progress in my plantings.
I thought about planting an American chestnuts in the central U.P. As northern Michigan has islands of chestnut trees sometimes literally.
First of all great guest and a very good episode....😊 I remember as I read about American chestnuts that there were survivors trees that had been originally planted in what the called the outlying regions of the range and that some of those survived or are yet because they were far from the blight.....I've always thought that if considered good soil conditions any outlying regions would be strong candidates for reintroduction....well and of course why not it can't hurt that's for sure....hopefully someday and I know their working hard to get introduceable American resistant but I also know the time involved is really slow.....diversity for chestnut trees if that's why the foreign species was brought here was an over sight well it probably wasn't even that it was just uncontrolled event of people wanting too bring them here just to do it I've never seen a reason that I can recall.....it sure was a tragedy though......😮 we really need too consider a more dynamic original landscape that we once had before that thought is lost completely because it is a very small percentage of people on that level unfortunetly........😊
There is a stand of American Chestnut in Burford Ont. It is an isolated stand, with farm fields all around since pioneer days. Perhaps that is what protected it.
Fascinating!
Is there a program to reintroduce the American chestnut into the areas devastated by hurricane Hellene?
It seems to me that they could use crisper technology to gene edit resistance to the blight.
Ooo interesting thought! 🤔
I believe they have, but it’s not approved for release. The blight kills by producing oxalate in the cambium layer. They took an oxalase enzyme gene from wheat and spliced it in. That’s about all I know about it.
What kind of work is going into the Chinkapins?
We’ve planted a few chinkapin chestnuts on our place in nw florida. Doing well so far but I’m pretty sure they aren’t resistant to the blight.
@Wolfbay honestly with the focus being on the Am. Chestnut, i was curious if anything was being done with the chinkapins, often forgotten in the plight
🤩
That was my problem, I was gifted 4 American Chestnut from GRCA, I tried them on my farm, but I have a ph 7.3 on my farm and they did not thrive. I moved them to another property in another county that had a better soil, and some Carolinian species.
I wonder how they're holding up in the new area 🤔Nice work trying to get them to grow!
@@ufgamelab It was private property. I did get permission to plant them, but because of the deer, I put cages around them and when I asked them to keep an eye on them, they were not impressed. I never went back, some people like trees only if it is easy.
Come walk some ridges in WNC! I find more and more reproducing every year. Climbing chestnuts is pretty fun as well.
🤩
Why not clone resistant trees with tissue culture. Couldn’t this get 100’s of saplings quickly? Later different strains of cultured trees could be crossed.
Is anyone attacking the blight?
talk about bed head