Chestnuts comprised about 40 percent of the trees from Maine to Georgia. In the years since, scientists have tried to cross-pollinate trees that would be resistant to the fungus. Demonstration projects and experimental plantings have taken place throughout the region in recent years. These projects are not the result of laboratory induced genetic engineering. One of the scientists involved in the project is Canton native Garrett Smathers, a man who has been an advocate for the environment of this region for years.
Hunters realize the chestnuts provide food for wildlife.
Environmentalists are enthusiastic about restoring the gentle giant to forests. The blight did not kill every chestnut. There are isolated trees, and hikers and hunters in this region know that sprouts often shoot up from the massive chestnut stumps and roots still in the forests. Unfortunately, those sprouts die within a few years. But geneticists are trying to keep the original characteristics of the American chestnut alive by using pollen and seeds from these survivors in the restoration project.