The Coal Creek
Watershed Foundation has been assisting with restoration of the Great
American Chestnut on reclaimed mine land since 2008. Each year we
invite students from the closest school to the mine site to assist with the
planting. This year, for the third year, we had scheduled Ginger
Montgomery's students from Copper Basin High School to assist with a
planting event in the Copper Basin. Due to the quarantine closing
schools, they
did not get to join us. Instead, on 16 April 2020, fifty blight-resistant
American chestnut hybrids were planted on reclaimed mine land of Copperhill
Industries by David
Turner--retired Environmental Consultant with the Division of
Water Resources Mining Section of TN Department of Environment and
Conservation (TDEC), Josh Haynes—Copperhill Industries https://www.mineralsandores.com/environmental,
John LeCroy--Regional Director of External Affairs at the TDEC, Scott
Deal—Glenn Springs Development, Barry Thacker and Carol Moore—Coal Creek
Watershed Foundation. Copperhill
Industries was the host and TDEC was a participant. The planting site is an
EPA Superfund Site and with approval from EPA and TDEC ,Copperhill
Industries were allowed to plant trees as a part of the reclamation
activity. This is a coordinated effort with all agencies, private companies,
non-government organizations and the school participating. Prior to the chestnut blight of the early 1900s, one-fourth
of the trees in Appalachian forests were American chestnuts. Barry Thacker
grows the trees from the nuts and shares them each spring to restore the
species on reclaimed mine sites. For over 30 years, the American Chestnut
Foundation (TACF) has been developing a hybrid that is 94% American chestnut
and 6% Chinese chestnut. The hybrid will retain the virtues of the American
chestnut as a large forest tree with a sweet-tasting nut, but with the
blight-resistance of its Chinese cousin.
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