This episode of Vermont Edition also included a conversation about the Vermont Big Tree Program with Gwen Kozlowski, the outreach and education coordinator for the Urban and Community Forestry Program through UVM Extension.
Local scientists are working to restore American chestnut trees to forests in Vermont and throughout the eastern U.S. A destructive blight in the first half of the 20th century nearly decimated the species. The pathogenic fungus Cryphonectria parasitica killed between three and four billion American chestnut trees.
Prior to the 20th century, American chestnut trees dominated eastern forests — one in four trees were American chestnuts. Their wood was ideal for building, and European settlers used the timber "from cradle to casket."
"The real first thing we need to tackle is figuring out what will provide resistance," said Jamie Van Clief, a regional science coordinator for the American Chestnut Foundation. Scientists have successfully identified similar species that co-evolved with C. parasitica. They then breed American chestnuts with a blight-resistant species, like the Chinese chestnut.
"If you ever want to appreciate bees, my goodness, come out and help us pollinate trees," said Van Clief, who is based in Asheville, North Carolina. "It's an incredible volunteer event."
Van Clief studied forestry at the University of Vermont, as did her Vermont-based colleague Deni Ranguelova. On Thursday, Ranguelova will be in Shelburne to pollinate flowers with Massachusetts pollen to create "hopefully really good hybrids."
"Through this scientific approach, we're hoping that, with every generation, we will get more of the desired genes that we want," she said.
Since the American chestnut blight began felling trees in the early 1900s, numerous other diseases have begun threatening various tree species. Scientists and foresters worry that beech leaf disease to kill all of Vermont's beech trees over the next few decades. Oak wilt is threatening oak trees and causing damage similar to the better-known Dutch elm disease.
"A lot of other foresters have kind of looked to the story of the American chestnut as kind of a playbook for maybe how to approach these other diseases, because they're relatively newer," Ranguelova said.
People who are interested in planting blight-resistant American chestnut trees can access seeds through the American Chestnut Foundation membership program. They also run numerous local events, including planting, inoculation, pollination and nut-collecting.
Broadcast live on Wednesday, July 9, 2025, at noon; rebroadcast at 7 p.m.
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