West Virginia Chapter

About Us

The West Virginia Chapter of The American Chestnut Foundation (WV-TACF) was established in 2009, the last of TACF’s 16 state chapters to be incorporated. Hybrid chestnut trees have been planted at 68 sites in 26 WV counties. We have initiated germplasm conservation orchards (pure American chestnut plantings) at seven sites in the state. Chapter members help support the mission of the national organization by planting hybrid chestnuts, conducting education, research, and outreach.

If you would like to participate in this group please join us. We include people from all areas that have an interest in restoring this magnificent tree to our forests. When you join The American Chestnut Foundation, a portion of your dues will be shared with the WV-TACF Chapter.

To learn more about who we are and what we do, read our monthly newsletter!

Chestnut Identification

Distinguishing American from Chinese and European Chestnut

Sometimes, individuals who come across a tall chestnut tree in a forest setting, assume it must be an American chestnut.  This is not always the case.  In forest settings, Chinese chestnut, like its American cousin, also can grown straight and tall.  Leaf shape, leaf hairs and twig color are good characteristics to distinguish American from Chinese chestnut.  American chestnut leaves are generally long and slender with a “V” at the leaf base.  Chinese chestnuts have a wider leaf and they are often shiny.  Chinese chestnut leaves have a “U” shape at the leaf base.  Most striking are the hairs on the under-surface of Chinese chestnut leaves.  American chestnut leaves have no hairs.  Chinese twigs, generally brown in color, also have hairs.  American twigs, generally exhibit a reddish color, and like the leaves, the twigs have no hairs.  Buds are another characteristic–American buds are pointed compared to rounded Chinese buds.

In some areas of the eastern U.S., European chestnut trees can be found.  In comparison, European twigs are much stouter than either American or Chinese chestnut.  Buds on a European are often large and green in early spring, turning darker by mid-summer.  Buds are green in the spring, turning dark in summer.

Click here for more chestnut leaf and tree identification information.

WV Chapter Board of Directors

President

Mark Double, Morgantown

Vice President

Jerry Legg, Elkview

Secretary

Jeff Kochenderfer, Petersburg

Treasurer

Sam Muncy, Philippi

Board Members

Dr. Lewis Cook, Fayetteville

Linda Coyle, Keyser

Dr. Joe Golden, Beckley

Jimmy Jenkins, Flatwoods

Carla Kesling, Bridgeport

Dr. Don Kines, Davis

Dr. Brian Perkins, Elkins

Charles Sypolt, Glenville

Dr. Melissa Thomas-Van Gundy, Elkins

West Virginia Chapter Menu

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An example of how the volunteer chapters work and collaborate to use their orchards and resources toward the mission of creating blight resistant chestnuts.

In 2005, we harvested our first potentially blight-resistant chestnuts. We continue this rigorous testing and trials in the forest, orchard, and research labs. The return of the American chestnut to its former native range in the Appalachian hardwood forest ecosystem is a major restoration project that requires a multi-faceted effort involving members and volunteers, scientific research, sustained funding, and most importantly, a sense of the past and a hope for the future.
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An example of how the volunteer chapters work and collaborate to use their orchards and resources toward the mission of creating blight resistant chestnuts. 

In 2005, we harvested our first potentially blight-resistant chestnuts. We continue this rigorous testing and trials in the forest, orchard, and research labs. The return of the American chestnut to its former native range in the Appalachian hardwood forest ecosystem is a major restoration project that requires a multi-faceted effort involving members and volunteers, scientific research, sustained funding, and most importantly, a sense of the past and a hope for the future.Image attachment
1 day ago
The American Chestnut Foundation

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Comment on Facebook

Let’s get some Chestnut 🌰 trees 🌳 so we can make them come back to American 🇺🇸 soil.

The Vermont & New Hampshire chapter of TACF is now on social media. Be sure to like & follow!

Facebook: Vermont & New Hampshire Chapter of the American Chestnut Foundation

Instagram: @vtnh_tacf
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The Vermont & New Hampshire chapter of TACF is now on social media. Be sure to like & follow!

Facebook: Vermont & New Hampshire Chapter of the American Chestnut Foundation

Instagram: @vtnh_tacfImage attachment
4 days ago
The American Chestnut Foundation

Happy first day of Spring! 🌱 ... See MoreSee Less

Happy first day of Spring! 🌱Image attachment

Comment on Facebook

I have 83 acres in East TN, don't know if I have any Chestnut trees... I'll have to check this spring

I just found out our local school in northeast Bradford Pennsylvania . is planting chestnut trees around the school .the students have planned it all out

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Latest News

Allegheny Chinquapin seeds sent to Arkansas

Allegheny chinquapin (Castanea pumila) seeds from the Clements Tree Nursery in Mason, WV were sent to the Prairie Grove Battlefield State Park in Prairie Grove Arkansas.  There are about 200 chinquapin trees at the Mason County site, and a small bag-full of...

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Germination Time

Members of the West Virginia chapter gather in mid-March to pot chestnuts.  In readiness for potting, the bags of nuts that were stratified over the winter in a refrigerator were checked in mid-February to see how many had radicals.  In the photo, there is a wide...

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Arthurdale, WV

Arthurdale is a small, unincorporated community in northern West Virginia (Preston County).  It was one of 98 planned communities that were part of President Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal.  The town was built in 1933 at the height of the depression as a social...

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