Concerns arise over American chestnut project

Efforts to return the American chestnut tree to the landscape have hit a stumbling block. Once a staple of forests throughout the eastern United States, the American chestnut (Castanea dentata) provided nuts for wildlife and humans, as well as wood for building, but at the beginning of the 20^th century, a pathogen wiped out nearly all of the trees. For the past decade, researchers have been experimenting with genetic engineering to help the trees to survive the fungus. The method was promising, but this month the American Chestnut Foundation pulled its support from one of the efforts due to mounting concerns. Researchers plan to seek federal funding to continue with the program.

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