MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • December 18, 2022
Billions of American chestnut trees used to grow in the eastern woodlands. The nuts were wildly popular. Then a fungal blight at the turn of the 20th century led to their near extinction. The American Chestnut Foundation has been working to develop a blight-resistant American chestnut. Making genetic modifications is turning out to be the most reliable prospect for restoring the tree to its native habitats. A report from the USDA says it’s difficult to predict the impact on forest biodiversity because the overall ecosystem has changed since American chestnuts disappeared from the landscape. But the report says it is reasonable to believe its long term impacts on the biodiversity of animals and micro-organisms living among the modified trees will be positive. Great, but when will I be able to eat chestnuts from the trees?~ Christine Burns Rudalevige