Virginia co-op ad partners collaborate to repopulate iconic tree
Once considered king of the forest, the American chestnut tree prominently filled approximately 180 million acres throughout the Appalachian hardwood forest ecosystem. Experts estimate their population at four billion before disease infections — the chestnut blight fungus — in the early 1900s, resulting in endangered status today.
Wright Tree Service bucket truck at the Virginia Arboretum in Winchester.
Quickly growing up to heights of 75 feet or more, the wide-trunked tree was not only heavily relied upon for lumber but also as a major source of jobs, played a large role in Virginia’s economy, and served as a food source for wildlife and humans.
In an effort to repopulate the iconic tree to the forests of Virginia, Rappahannock Electric Cooperative partnered with The American Chestnut Foundation and Wright Tree Service on a cross-pollination project. The project began several years ago. “I was asked to help when I was a forester in our Blue Ridge district, and I jumped at the chance!” says Cindy Musick, director of vegetation management services at Rappahannock Electric Cooperative. “The Foundation needed help reaching the flowers on the top of chestnut trees resistant to the blight. Since REC uses bucket trucks maintain rights-of-way, it seemed like a natural fit.”
American chestnut tree.
Musick explains that forest health is a concern for REC members. Trees cause the majority of the co-op’s outages, which makes a healthy forest canopy crucial to system reliability.
In late June, the three partners met at the Virginia Arboretum in Winchester where several American chestnuts and other varieties were planted back in 2010. Once mature enough, scientists then introduced two different types of blight to the trees, measured the results, selected the best trees and cut down the rest. With other species like the Chinese chestnut nearby, timing is critical to avoid cross-contamination.
“Our goal is to get these trees healthy enough to survive in the forest,” says Jack LaMonica with The American Chestnut Foundation, a nonprofit organization with 16 volunteer-managed chapters throughout the native range of the American chestnut tree.
LaMonica pollinates a tree from a Wright Tree Service bucket truck.
According to experts, chestnut trees are self-compatible but still require cross-pollination because male and female flowers do not bloom at the same time on an individual tree. Their isolation requires reproduction through artificial propagation.
LaMonica, assisted by a crew from Wright Tree Service, a vegetation-management contractor for Rappahannock Electric Cooperative, completed part of the process in late June. Pollen, inside a small canister like one used for camera film, is applied to individual flowers and then covered with bags.
A close-up look at the process.
“In our small way, we can help to reverse the loss of a tree species native to Virginia, and one that was extremely important economically and ecologically,” says Musick, who is also a certified arborist working to complete her doctorate in forestry management. “It’s a minute part we play, but it helps a tremendous amount by getting these trees pollinated and harvesting the seeds for planting in the fall.”
The team is scheduled to revisit the trees at the arboretum in September for harvesting.
–Report by Jim Robertson, VMDAEC