1,000+ Wild Chestnut Trees Thrive in Maine After 120 Years

Forty-four years ago, biologist Dr. Bernd Heinrich planted 25 American chestnut saplings on his Maine property for just $10. Today, over 1,000 thriving descendants blanket his forest, challenging everything scientists thought they knew about a tree species wiped out over a century ago.

The American chestnut was once abundant along the entire East Coast until an accidentally imported Asian virus in 1904 devastated the population. Within decades, experts declared the majestic tree "functionally extinct," leaving ghostly gaps in forests that haunted biologists for generations.

But something remarkable happened on Heinrich's hundreds of acres. Bluejays and squirrels carried seeds from his original trees as far as a mile away, burying them throughout the forest. Three generations later, not a single tree shows signs of blight.

"These chestnuts are really taking off," said the 85-year-old professor emeritus from the University of Vermont, who recently climbed to the top of one tree to collect samples. "And it could very well be that these are blight resistant."

His team, working with University of Vermont students, has mapped each tree with GPS during an ongoing field study. The documentary "The Wild American Chestnut" captures this unexpected success story unfolding in real time.

The timing couldn't be more significant. In December 2023, The American Chestnut Foundation withdrew support for its genetically engineered chestnut after decades of development revealed the trees were genetically defective with disappointing field performance. Thirty years of biotech-based restoration efforts had produced nothing but setbacks.

Meanwhile, Heinrich's wild trees flourished naturally, no genetic engineering required. The discovery suggests the species might be shifting its range northward due to climate change, opening new territory beyond its historical limits.

Why This Inspires

This story reminds us that nature's resilience can surprise even the experts. While scientists spent decades engineering a solution in laboratories, wild American chestnuts were quietly adapting and thriving in Maine's northern forests.

Heinrich's observation and patience revealed what high-tech interventions couldn't deliver. Sometimes the best path forward isn't the most complicated one.

A $10 purchase and four decades of watching nature work its magic may have just rewritten the future of an American icon.