[ Georgia ] Close to home, the Georgia Chapter of the American Chestnut Foundation is fighting the good fight. This past May, Nathan Klaus, a wildlife biologist with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, found a mature American chestnut on Pine Mountain in Harris County . The tree was subsequently hand-pollinated by members of the Georgia Chapter. Fifty-seven nuts were collected from that tree this fall. Those nuts will be used to eventually develop a Deep South variety of resistant American chestnut. One of the problems facing the Georgia Chapter is locating “mother trees” – chestnuts that have lived long enough to flower and set seed. Klaus has since found two more mature trees in the Pine Mountain region, and there are 20 or so trees scattered around the state that are being monitored, hand-pollinated and nuts collected for breeding. More trees are needed.

News notes are courtesy of Southern Forests Network News Notes
www.southernsustainableforests.org