WVFA Staff Joined Plum Creek for Chestnut Planting
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"Chestnuts, as a species, continue to be in real trouble here," said Mike Moran, Plum Creek senior resource forester. "The American Chestnut Foundation (ACF) and other organizations are now working with landowners like us to identify, test and plant the right chestnut seeds in the right forest environment to bring the species back to strength in West Virginia."
Chestnuts are shade intolerant, so planting seedlings in forest areas recently harvested by landowners helps the species survive and thrive in sunshine.
Plum Creek is also working with the American Chestnut Cooperators’ Foundation (ACCF) on similar efforts in Fayette and Greenbrier counties, near Rainelle, West Virginia.
For its West Virginia efforts, Plum Creek donates its land to host the plantings and the ACF or ACCF provides the seedlings or seeds to grow and study as well as lending their technical expertise. To date, approximately 300 to 400 varieties of chestnuts are being studied on Plum Creek’s West Virginia lands.
The bare root seedlings planted December 3 in conjunction with ACF are a hybrid of just enough of the Chinese chestnut believed to provide blight resistance, crossed with the American chestnut. Through Plum Creek’s 2013 acquisition of MeadWestvaco Corp. land in West Virginia along with this recent planting, Plum Creek land now hosts three ACF plots of various-aged chestnuts for ACF research.
"Chestnut trees provide nuts for wildlife and people, and chestnut wood is especially desirable in the forest products industry because it grows tall and straight and is resistant to rotting," said Moran. "We are pleased to further the work of ACF to help identify strong, disease-resistant chestnut trees to improve forest diversity, aid the industry and help restore this important species here."
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Plum Creek is among the largest and most geographically diverse private landowners in the nation with more than six million acres of timberlands in 19 states. We also operate wood products mills in the Northwest. We manage our working forests using sustainable practices to benefit Plum Creek’s many stakeholders. Our employees work together to create shareholder value, serve as stewards of the environment, make wood products for everyday use, and build strong communities. Please visit www.plumcreek.com for the latest information about Plum Creek.
