About Us
Hello from the Kentucky Chapter of The American Chestnut Foundation!
We are an active group of Volunteers who work together to help the national effort to restore the American Chestnut back into its native forests. With our Partners, we manage several orchards of hybrid American Chestnuts and full American Chestnuts that facilitate breeding options.
Wild American Chestnuts are still found across Kentucky in their native range forests. While an extremely small number of wild American Chestnut trees survive the blight to grow large enough to produce flowers and burrs, there are many sprouts that grow from the roots of the original trees. Take a look at the original American Chestnut Range Map. American chestnuts like well drained, acidic sandstone soils. They do not like low acidic clay soils or soils and low areas that hold water.
We invite you to help search for wild Americans and to record them on the free ‘TreeSnap’ app. Or you can contact us via our Kentucky Chapter Facebook link to let us know their location and if you need help to ID that your trees are full American or a Chinese or Japanese Chestnut, or a hybrid with mixed parentage. You can see general locations of wild American Chestnuts found and mapped to date on the TreeSnap website: https://treesnap.org/ Choose “MAP” from the menu to see general tree locations, with the knowledge that the app moves the exact tree locations by about five miles each to protect the individual trees and the landowners. With the “OBSERVATION CATEGORY” filter box, select “American Chestnut” to remove the visual clutter of other species that are also entered into TreeSnap.
JOIN US. Become a Member. Become a Volunteer. Click on the BECOME A MEMBER button to the right to simultaneously join the national TACF organization, plus the Kentucky Chapter. You will enjoy working beside and developing friendships with many other conservation minded people who are taking a variety of actions to do our part, along with our sister Appalachian state chestnut chapters, to restore this iconic American tree.
Kentucky Chapter Menu
Kentucky Facebook
We invite you to JOIN THE KENTUCKY CHAPTER
support.acf.org/membership
Help Our Actions in Kentucky to Help Save the American Chestnut Tree
The mission of The American Chestnut Foundation (TACF) is to return the iconic American chestnut tree (Castanea dentata) to its native range.
All members will receive:
1. A subscription to Chestnut magazine, published three times a year
2. Membership in your local state chapter ($15.00 of your membership is allocated to the chapter) Choose "Kentucky Chapter"
3. Expert advice on growing and caring for American chestnut trees
4. Opportunities to volunteer in local breeding and research activities
5. Special access to annual wild-type American chestnut seedling sale
Good Work by Michael French * * * *
Looking at the bare rock mine surface from a reclamation research project in Eastern Kentucky, most of us would have little faith that much would grow on such a soiless surface.
However in 2007, Michael French was a big part of a U of KY Research Team, who planted several tree species in a variety of test plots seeking best practices for mine reclamation. Michael used this research for his Master's Thesis at UK.
In this plot of mixed mine rock, several Allegheny Chinquapin nuts were planted with tree shelters as protection against wildlife predation. Note the planting, by Team Member Terry Stamper, in the drill bore hole that blasted chunks of rock when the mining of coal was active. A variety of hardwood tree species, including American Chestnuts, were planted in the other plots.
In the two following photos on March 8, 2023, Michael was delighted to find at least 10 surviving Chinquapins (Castanea pumila), including the one planted in the bore hole. Even better, was to find several of the trees producing fertile burrs and nuts. Multiple other tree and weed species are also growing, thanks to birds.
From this large project, Michael went on to a career in leading crews in plantings of multiple tree species, including American chestnuts, with KY TACF Partner, GREEN FOREST WORKS, based in Lexington, KY. Their story is much too large for a single Post. Check out their website: www.greenforestswork.org/
Being that I am .77 years old, I remember going chinauapin hunting with my Grandmother in the area of Newland NC. Since no chestnuts, she used them in her Thanksgiving stuffing/dressing.
😎
Is there research indicating that chinkapin is nitrogen-fixing like leguminous species like black locust?
Trees by Harry Behn (Sept. 1898-Sept. 1973)
Trees are the kindest thing I know,
They do no harm, they simply grow,
And spread a shade for sleepy cows,
And gather birds among their boughs.
They give us fruit in leaves above,
And wood to make our houses of,
And leaves to burn on Halloween,
And in the spring new buds of green.
They are the first when day’s begun,
To touch the morning sun,
They are the last to hold the light,
When evening changes into night,
And when a moon floats on the sky,
They hum drowsy lullaby,
Of sleepy children long ago...
Trees are the kindest things I know.
Photo: Large Chestnut Oak growing along Amburgey Rocks, Daniel Boone National Forest
Latest News
Many Miles Completed in Search for wild, full American Chestnuts Across Kentucky
Our Kentucky Volunteers have driven and hiked many miles across the state searching wild full American Chestnuts and “Snapped” them into our data base using the free TreeSnap app. We estimate that we have observed close to 4,000 wild Americans, “Snapping” 1,543...
The Faith of Planting Chestnuts and Chinquapins
Looking at the bare rock mine surface from a reclamation research project in Eastern Kentucky, most of us would have little faith that much would grow on such a soiless surface. However in 2007, Michael French was a big part of a U of KY Research Team, who planted...