On a mission to save the chestnut tree
In Ind.
By CCTIMES, Published January 18, 2008

Imagine billions of trees wiped out by blight. Great forests of American chestnuts have been reduced to almost nothing. For researchers, it’s a challenge just to find the remaining few.

“Today, finding American chestnuts in the woods is difficult,” said Joe Schibig, a professor at Volunteer State Community College (Tennessee). “They seem to be found in the most inaccessible locations. They like steep slopes. It was a mountainous species, a species of hillsides.”

Schibig knows the difficulties well. He’s been cataloging the remaining American chestnut trees for several years. That research has taken him all over Tennessee and Kentucky, and it’s been risky at times.

“At Mammoth Cave National Park, there were three rattlesnake encounters, where people came within a foot of stepping on a rattlesnake,” Schibig said. “It was kind of scary. You realize what a close call it was.”

The quest is for a tree that was once one of the most important on the continent. It is a species that has deep roots in the history of the nation, Schibig said.

A healthy American chestnut can grow up to 150 feet tall and 10 feet in diameter. They were decimated by chestnut blight, caused by a bark fungus accidentally introduced into North America.

The research attempts to find the remaining American Chestnuts and catalog them. However, scientists want to go further. They’re using genetics to cross chestnuts to try and grow blight resistant trees.

Schibig’s work is receiving international attention. He recently co-authored a paper with University of Kentucky professor Songlin Fei that was published in the international journal Forest Ecology and Management.

Schibig brings his research into the classroom at Vol State by closely involving students in his work. Student researchers have hiked through the woods, helping to catalog trees and winding up with their own set of adventures. Schibig said it helps open up a new realm of experience for the students.

“They practice science. They’re doing science. It’s rare for a student to do real field research before graduate school. I’ve relied on them for a lot of data gathering,” he said.

The field portion of Schibig’s research will wind down after upcoming trips to Mississippi and western Tennessee. Now he’s working on the breeding end of the research and hopes to have a plot of trees soon in Kentucky, which he will manage in his research on blight resistance.

Schibig’s even tapped other Vol State faculty to help. Geology instructor Clark Cropper is growing American chestnuts as part of the breeding project.