One hundred years ago the Blue Ridge Mountains were covered in American chestnut trees, which made up roughly a quarter of the canopy.
The chestnut blight, an imported fungal infection first noticed in New York in 1904, had by the ’50s spread throughout Appalachia and devastated the chestnut tree population. But they’re still around, lurking beneath the soil.
“That tree is probably 200 years old,” said Carl Absher, a retired master arborist who on Wednesday was volunteering for the American Chestnut Foundation on national forest land about an hour outside of Roanoke.
The tree in question looked much younger — a 10-year-old sapling at best, based on its size. But Abshur explained the visible portion of the tree was only part of it. The root stock dates back much longer, growing into an above-soil tree for five to 10 years before the chestnut blight kills that growth, only for it to re-sprout again at a later date.
Below the chestnut sapling on a finger ridge, about 20 volunteers, U.S. Forest Service employees and American Chestnut Foundation staffers worked to ensure it has company in the coming years. The group planned to spend three days this week on the site of a timber cut, planting bare-root seedlings that they hope will grow into a larger restoration project that could restore the American chestnut back to Appalachia.
From The Roanoke Times: https://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/317311