On May 31 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., The American Chestnut Foundation will be sponsoring an Appalachian Trail  MEGA Transect Chestnut Project training workshop at Lehigh Gap Nature Center, Slatington, Carbon County.

The training will begin with a presentation from 10 a.m. - noon, followed by a hike from 1 - 3 p.m. Mike Manes,  TACF Pennsylvania Chapter volunteer, will lead the training workshop.

This effort is part of the AT MEGA-Transect Project, a larger collaborative project of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, the National Park Service, the US Forest Service, and many other partners.

The AT MEGA Transect seeks to engage the public in citizen-science efforts to collect data along the AT to raise awareness of threats to the environmental health of the Appalachian Region.

The AT MEGA-Transect Chestnut Project began in 2008 as a collaboration between TACF, ATC, and the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club to train volunteers to collect data on American chestnut trees growing along the AT.

Information gathered from this project will help scientists better understand trends and preferred site requirements for American chestnut by evaluating where chestnuts are still present in the forest.

Class size is limited. To register for the training on May 31, contact Kathy Marmet by sending email to: kathymarmet@gmail.com. More information about the AT MEGA-Transect Chestnut Project can be found at

Once the mighty giants of the eastern forest, American chestnuts stood up to 100 feet tall, and numbered in the billions. From Maine to Georgia, the chestnut was a vital part of the eastern forest, provided abundant food for wildlife, and was an essential component of the economy.

In the beginning of the 20th century the fungal pathogen responsible for chestnut blight, accidentally imported from Asia, spread rapidly through the eastern forests and by 1950 the fungus had eliminated the chestnut as a mature forest tree.

In 1983, a dedicated group of scientists and laypersons formed The American Chestnut Foundation and began a special breeding process, which in 2005 produced the first potentially blight-resistant trees called Restoration Chestnuts 1.0.

Now assisted by more than 5,000 members and volunteers in 23 states, the organization is undertaking the planting of Restoration Chestnuts 1.0 in select locations throughout the eastern US.

The American Chestnut Foundation is a non-profit conservation organization headquartered in Asheville, NC.  There is also a TACF Pennsylvania Chapter.

For more information on TACF and their work to restore the American chestnut tree, contact TACF Director of Communications Mila Kirkland at 828-281-0047 or send email to: mila@acf.org.

6/2/2014