Maine – About Us
The Maine chapter of The American Chestnut Foundation (TACF) was established in 1999 to help restore the American chestnut tree to our corner of America here in Maine. We live at the northernmost end of its natural range where chestnuts, like Mainers, make due with less sunshine and more cold. These suboptimal conditions made for sparser populations of chestnuts (and people) than southern climes, even before the blight.
Maine is now home to more surviving, wild American chestnuts than any other state in its range. Our geography gives us the joyful job of finding those wild trees to gather and grow their nuts for breeding a blight resistant tree! Local trees could contribute genes adapted to growing conditions here in Maine, so a future, blight-resistant chestnut could still thrive in Maine.
The chapter’s goals are to: 1) Protect, conserve, preserve, and propagate trees from the remaining native American chestnut populations in Maine; 2) Restore American chestnuts to a place of ecological and economic importance and self-sustainability throughout their original range in Maine, and 3) Make blight-resistant American chestnuts available to the people of Maine as soon as possible.
With your help we intend to restore this iconic species to Maine’s landscape, its wildlife, and its people.
Board of Directors
Key Contacts
Mark McCollough, Chapter President
Thomas Klak, Vice President & Chair of Gene Conservation
Al Faust, Treasurer
Eric Evans, Breeding Coordinator
Eva Butler, Volunteer Coordinator
Ann Rea, Seed Sales
Board Members
David Allen, Portland
Peter Bohman, Monmouth
Eva Butler, St George
Robert Duiett, Searsport
Kirby Ellis, Hudson
Eric Evans, Camden
Albert C. Faust, Winterport
Charles Hudson, Liberty
Dr. Tom Klak, Saco
Ronald Lemin, Bangor
Hunter Manley, Old Town
Mark McCollough, Hampden
Nina Pearlmutter, Kennebunkport
Ann Rea, Bangor
Glen Rea, Bangor
Andy Reed, Unity
Dr. Brian Roth, Orono
Larry Totten, West Bath
Roger Willby, Bridgeton
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