An Environmental History of the American Chestnut webinar

When:
November 3, 2021 @ 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm
2021-11-03T13:00:00-04:00
2021-11-03T14:00:00-04:00
Where:
online
Cost:
Free
Contact:
Forest History Society

The Forest History Society will hold An Environmental History of the American Chestnut webinar on November 3rd at 1 pm EDT over Zoom.

Before 1910, the American chestnut was one of the most common trees in the eastern United States. Historical evidence suggests the natural distribution of the American chestnut extended across more than 400,000 square miles of territory, an area stretching from eastern Maine to southeast Louisiana. Some of the tree’s history dates to the very founding of our country, making the story of the American chestnut an integral part of American environmental and cultural history.

Ironically, the tree that most piqued the emotions of nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Americans has virtually disappeared after a blight fungus was introduced during the late nineteenth century, which rendered the tree “functionally extinct.”

Although its eradication caused one of the greatest ecological catastrophes since the last ice age, considerable folklore and sentiment about the American chestnut remains. Over the last several decades, considerable effort has been expended to try to restore this iconic species to the forest, though not without controversy. Dr. Donald Davis will explore all this and more in his talk.

 

To register for this webinar, go to https://foresthistory.org/education/distinguished-lectureship-forest-conservation-history/2021-lecture/