Restoring the American Chestnut Tree

Restoring the American Chestnut Tree. . , The magnificent American chestnut tree (Castanea dentata) once dominated 200 million acres of the eastern United States., Many uses of wood from these trees supported the U.S. economy and our way of life., Chestnuts were a primary food source for wildlife, livestock and people. Roasted chestnuts were sold by street vendors., In the late 1800s Cryphonectria parasitica, the fungal pathogen that causes chestnut blight, arrived from Asia. By 1950 it killed an estimated 4 billion trees., The American Chestnut Foundation uses backcross breeding to produce blight-resistant American chestnuts, called Restoration Chestnuts 1.0., Rowlesburg is near the geographical epicenter of the historic American Chestnut Forest, stretching from Maine to Georgia. Thus, it is only natural to host the annual West Virginia American Chestnut Festival in Rowlesburg.