AMV Program: Restoration of the American Chestnut Tree – An Icon Returns
Channel: Audubon Miami Valley
Date: 10/11/2020

Presenter – Carolyn Keiffer

Once called the “Redwood of the East,” the American Chestnut was rendered functionally extinct by an imported fungal pathogen. Now, a century later, scientists from the American Chestnut Foundation hope to return the tree to the canopy of eastern forests. Historical significance, restoration efforts and reintroduction plantings will be highlighted. Dr. Carolyn Keiffer joined the Miami University faculty in 1996 after earning her doctorate in restoration ecology at Ohio University. She is currently working with ODNR, the U.S. Forest Service and the Department of the Interior to restore the American Chestnut to U.S. Forests. Dr. Keiffer is passionate about involving students in community service projects and many of her students are active in local parks, arboretums and nature sanctuary projects.