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Dying tree species gets help in Thurmont

Thursday, Nov. 2, 2006

Click here to enlarge this photo photos by Bill Ryan⁄The Gazette Robert Strasser talks about Thorpewood Environmental Education Center’s efforts to save the American Chestnut Tree species at the center near Thurmont. Strasser has been working to save the species from disease for several years. Click here to enlarge this photo In the photo above, the American Chestnut leaf (pictured left) and Chinese Chestnut leaf (pictured right) are similar in appearance, but the Chinese tree is resistant to viruses. At right, Strasser points outdamage to an American Chestnut tree in Thurmont.

The walks and intense investigations were more work than a leisurely stroll. Strasser’s strolls are part of an effort to save a tree species that some people may not have even heard of — the American Chestnut. The tree is disappearing from forests along the East Coast.

‘‘It used to be the dominant species in eastern forests,” Strasser said. ‘‘Its native range was all the way from Maine to Mississippi.”

About 100 years ago, around the same time that the human flu arrived, a tree virus arrived in America. A pathogenic fungus swept the United States in 1905, and the 4 billion American Chestnut trees that had existed in the country at that time were reduced to a few million. The pandemic is still devastating the chestnut tree 101 years later.

Strasser learned about the American Chestnut Foundation’s American Chestnut Project after earning a master’s degree in environmental science from Hood College in 1998.

He visited pre-existing research plots in Virginia and decided to get involved with the effort to save the dying trees. In cooperation with Hood College, Strasser has served as a research associate and orchard manager for the first American Chestnut Project research plot in Maryland for the last 1 1⁄2 years. Strasser works on a 3⁄4-acre fenced plot on the grounds of ThorpeWood, an environmental education center in Thurmont. ThorpeWood is a family founded and privately funded institution that has agreed to pay for the project and assist in caring for the trees.

Strasser said the blight-causing fungus came over from Asia on Chinese Chestnut trees. The Chinese trees were naturally immune to the fungus, while the American trees were not.

‘‘It’s much like how the Native Americans were susceptible to European diseases during Colonial times,” he said. ‘‘The blight was much more devastating than people imagined.”

According to Strasser, the blight moved 60 miles per year. In addition to traveling on bugs and birds, the fine fungus spores also wash off the tree during rain and travel to nearby chestnuts. The disease has 64 different strains and as a result it can affect the trees in multiple locations on the trunk. ‘‘The fungus gets in the living part of the tree where the sap flows and secretes antagonistic compounds,” Strasser said. ‘‘The tree fights the infection by pushing it outwards, which raises and cracks the bark.”

With the help of the American Chestnut Foundation, a nonprofit agency, Strasser will breed Chinese Chestnut trees with American Chestnut trees in order to give the American trees the blight-immune gene. The trees will be bred six times to create a blight-immune plant that is as close to the original American Chestnut as possible.

However, not all trees are cut out for the breeding process. Each of the 325 trees in the plot were infected with cultured samples of the blight and then monitored during a 12-month period. The majority of the trees in the plot are half-American and half-Chinese.

‘‘We are evaluating for the most disease-resistant trees,” Strasser explained.

The trees deemed the most disease-resistant will then be bred to another tree, according to its position within the six breeding levels.

‘‘Our goal is to have 500 disease-resistant trees that are as close to the original American Chestnut as possible,” Strasser said.

Strasser has a rhyme to discern between the trees.

‘‘The American leaves are shaped like a canoe, and the Chinese leaves are shaped like a shoe,” he said.

The bred trees will be planted all over the area in hopes that they will be able to survive on their own, producing more disease resistant trees.

Now, there are also research orchards in Jefferson and Davidsonville. Negotiations are currently under way for more.

In the past, the American Chestnut tree had multiple uses, including using its nuts for food.

‘‘People used to sell them like hot dogs are sold in New York City,” Strasser said.

Douglas Boucher serves as Strasser’s supervisor at Hood College. He is pleased with the progress of the project.

‘‘We’ve really gotten a lot done in a few, short years,” Boucher said. ‘‘Three years ago we didn’t even have a Maryland chapter of the American Chestnut Foundation.” Boucher also expressed his satisfaction that Strasser agreed to serve as orchard manager. ‘‘He’s excellent,” Boucher said, ‘‘I was very glad that he was willing to stay in the area and take on this project.”

To learn more about the American Chestnut Project and how to volunteer, visit the American Chestnut Foundation at www.acf.org, or visit the Maryland Chapter of the ACF at www.mdtacf.com.