Beaver Brook Association (BBA) has entered into partnership with The American Chestnut Foundation (TACF) to create and maintain the first large-scale test planting of potentially blight-resistant American chestnuts in northern New England.

Planting will occur on BBA land in Hollis this spring. The public is invited to a tour of the orchard site and a presentation on TACF programs from 1-3 p.m. April 28.

At 10 a.m. April 28, the Vermont/New Hampshire Chapter of TACF will hold its annual meeting at Beaver Brook in the Brown Lane Barn. After lunch, the activities will move to the Maple Hill Farm headquarters and a nearby field site.

From 1-3 p.m., a presentation on the history, loss and potential restoration of the American chestnut tree will be followed by a walking tour of the planting site. The public is invited to come and participate in this unique program.

“The BBA’s interest in becoming such an active partner in this effort is very exciting. This planting requires at least a 15-year hosting commitment and we are confident that BBA will be great stewards of our trees,” said Kendra Gurney, New England Regional Science Coordinator with TACF.

Less than 100 years ago, eastern U.S. forests were dominated by large American chestnut trees. These trees reigned over 200 million acres of eastern woodlands from Maine to northern Florida and from the Piedmont west to the Ohio valley, until succumbing to a lethal fungal disease, chestnut blight.

An estimated four billion American chestnuts, one quarter of the eastern hardwood tree population, grew within this range prior to the blight. By the 1950s, the population was reduced to short-lived stump sprouts.

In 1983, TACF began to use the little known backcross breeding technique to develop American chestnuts with blight resistance characteristic of Chinese chestnuts.

“Our breeding program has been underway for almost 30 years and we are excited to begin testing potentially blight-resistant trees in their native environments,” Gurney said.

Approximately 300 of these potentially blight-resistant nuts will be planted at Beaver Brook this spring.

If you are interested in attending the TACF annual meeting and/or the orchard site tour, email Kendra Gurney at kendra@acf.org.