Is there hope for the American Chestnut?

With Dr. Don Davis

What role can we play in the restoration of the American Chestnut? Dr. Don Davis joins us online to explore the fascinating ecological and cultural history of this stately tree as well as potential for its future.

Davis offers an overview of the tree’s ecological importance, its importance to human culture over time, and its recent decline into functional extinction. He also discusses the on-going debate about how to save the American Chestnut and whether it is possible to restore it to its former role in forests of the Northeast.

There may be a specific role that Maine can play in this restoration process! Davis explains why this is and what people can do to get involved.

Recorded on March 4, 2022 in Damariscotta, Maine.

About the presenter

Donald Edward Davis, Ph.D. is an award-winning author who has lectured widely in the US and throughout Europe about Chestnut trees. His books include The American Chestnut: An Environmental History, the award-winning Where There Are Mountains, Homeplace Geography: Essays for Appalachia, Southern United States: An Environmental History, and Ecophilosophy: A Field Guide to the Literature. Davis’ articles have been published in such journals as Environmental Ethics, The Ecologist, and the Utne Reader. He was a section editor of the Encyclopedia of Appalachia and wrote six separate entries for the award-winning publication. He was the founder and President of the Armuchee Alliance and has served on the Board of Directors of the Appalachian Institute for Mountain Studies and the American Chestnut Foundation. Davis currently works for the Harvard Forest as a part-time research scholar.

Photo courtesy of Don Davis.