NEW ENGLAND REGIONAL RESTORATION WORKSHOP

FEBRUARY 12, 2011

PORTSMOUTH, NH

RESTORING THE AMERICAN CHESTNUT

HOW FAR HAVE WE COME?

THE AMERICAN CHESTNUT AND TACF

American Chestnut: The TreeMajor component of eastern forests

Fast growth, large, extremely rot resistant

High-value timber species

Nuts valuable to wildlife

Tannins used in tanning leather

Nuts valuable to people and livestock

Culturally significant

Chestnut Blight

Blight first identified in New York in 1904

Fungus (Cryphonectria parasitica) girdling canker

Two vectors for spread:

airborne ascospores and sticky, spiral conidia (asexual spores)

Chestnut BlightSpread very quickly

Functionally wiped out chestnut as over-story tree by 1950’s

TACF Backcross Breeding Program

Goals:To develop blight-resistant American chestnuts

To ensure regional adaptability

To ensure long-term resistance

TACF’s Breeding PlanExpect to produce a tree with a high level of blight-resistance and American chestnut character and the ability to survive and compete in the forest.

Meadowview Research Farms

Location:Meadowview, VASupport:TACF’s Chief Scientist Dr. Fred Hebard, research assistants and farm staff

Completed 4 generations of breeding since 1989

Started with 2 advanced sources of resistance ‘Clapper’ -1st backcross from USDA

breeding program ‘Graves’ – 1st backcross from CAES

breeding programAdapted cultural methods to reduce

generation times Flowering and selection size

achieved in 2-4 yearsCurrently home to

34,000 trees on over 150 acres

TACF Backcross Breeding Program

Goals:To develop blight-resistant American chestnuts

To ensure regional adaptability

To ensure long-term resistance

TACF State ChaptersCurrently 17 state chapters from Maine to Georgia

Carry out the TACF breeding program locally

Tasked with inventorying local, wild American chestnuts

Conducting controlled pollinations and harvesting nuts

Planting and maintaining orchards

Educating the publicAll-volunteer with regional

staff support

TACF Backcross Breeding Program

Goals:To develop blight-resistant American chestnuts

To ensure regional adaptability

To ensure long-term resistance

We have been producing B3F3 nuts in Meadowview since 2005

Most B3F3s have gone into large test plantings

It will take a long time before we know how they will perform in the forest

Chapter breeding programs are a generation or two behind

What’s Next?

WHAT IS RESTORATION?

RESTORATION

The Society for Ecological Restoration’s (SER) definition of ‘ecological restoration’:

“Ecological restoration is the process of assisting the recovery of an ecosystem that has been degraded, damaged, or destroyed.”

And an…“intentional activity that initiates or

accelerates the recovery of an ecosystem with respect to its health, integrity and sustainability.”

What Is Restoration?

Process vs. Practice

The process of ecological restoration includes a wide range of practices including: erosion control, removal of exotic native species, reforestation, re-vegetation of disturbed areas, etc.

Are our current practices part of the restoration process?

Establishment of TACF Structured organization

created a network of state Chapters and volunteer-run breeding orchards to develop blight-resistant trees

Breeding Developing a tree with

adequate levels of blight-resistance and American growth characteristics

Testing Evaluating the

effectiveness of our breeding program through progeny tests and silvicultural testing in the “real world”

Reintroduction Returning the chestnut to

our eastern forestsBreeding – Testing –

Reintroduction represent TACF’s practices in our overall process of restoration

TACF’s Restoration Practices

RESTORATION

Breeding

Testing

Reintroduction

TACF and our partners will need to advance our breeding program while testing and conducting early reintroduction.

Restoration operates on a continuum.

Restoration

RESTORATION

Breeding

Testing

Reintroduction

Breeding has been our central focus

Look to progeny plantings as an opportunity for reforestation and testing

Long-term testing of most advanced breeding generations

Incorporating results into future breeding efforts

Restoration

WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?

PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE

Restoration Plan

Draft restoration plan presented in April 2010 Provided a good foundation for

discussion Generated a lot of questions and

suggestions Highlighted a need to make this a

much more methodical and inclusive process

New strategic planning approach Start with data collection

Collect member/partner questions and suggestions

Use data to guide strategies

Restoration PlanData collection starts with four focus areas or “tracks”

Regional Meetings Gather input and recommendations

from our members and partners Hosted regionally by TACF’s RSCs

Breeding and Testing Chair – Dr. Kim Steiner; Penn State

University

Development and Business Chair – Michael Doochin; Interstate

Packaging Company

Reintroduction and Ecology Chair – Dr. Brian McCarthy; Ohio

University

Regional MeetingsRegional Meetings Subject –Specific TracksSubject –Specific Tracks

Gather member and partner input regarding all three subjects: Breeding/Testing Business/Development Reintroduction/Ecology

Provide input to subject-specific tracks

Use notes from Regional meetings to help focus discussion

Meetings open to all, but field professionals and experts in the subject will be encouraged to participate

Restoration Plan

Data synthesized and reviewed

Writing/review groups established

Draft plan developed for initial review

Restoration Plan

Restoration Plan

Regional meetings complete by early March 2011

Subject-specific tracks scheduled and completed by May 2011

First draft available for review by Fall 2011 Draft should be presented at fall

Board Meeting/Annual Meeting Available for member/partner

review shortly thereafter

Reasonable timeline…

THANK YOU!