ALCS

Appalachian Land & Conservation Services Co., LLC

Where Conservation & the Marketplace Meet

ALCS Harvests and Plants Wildgrown Native American Chestnuts

October 31, 2005

Appalachian Land & Conservation Services Co. president and CEO Josh First announced the successful harvest and subsequent planting of wild-grown chestnuts found on a previously unknown American Chestnut tree on land owned by Appalachian.

In the photo below, Josh First holds part of the American Chestnut harvest from a just-discovered wild tree.

The location of the tree is not being disclosed publicly but was formally reported to the American Chestnut Foundation (www.acf.org).  The tree has the imported chestnut blight but was sufficiently healthy to produce a bumper crop of the spiny chestnuts.  Seventeen nuts were harvested.
Planting the chestnuts in tree tubes and other protective shelters ensures a new crop of young, native, American Chestnut trees and the continuation of pure American Chestnut DNA.  While several different projects are under way to genetically alter the American Chestnut in order to provide resistance to the blight, there remains a constant search for wild American Chestnuts that survived the blight, in order to maintain genetic diversity for the future.

The chestnuts were planted on private land in Pine Creek Valley, also known as the “Pennsylvania Grand Canyon,” where the American Chestnut tree was a prominent component of the once-towering towering native forest there.

For further information contact Josh First, Appalachian Land & Conservation Services Co., LLC (717) 232-8335 or jfirst1044@aol.com.
Appalachian's president, Josh First, was actively engaged in getting this legislation passed for two-and-a-half years.  For more than a year he served as the coordinator of the Abandoned Mine Lands Campaign, and then spent more time drumming up grass roots support for the legislation as a member of the coalition and as a contractor for the Pennsylvania Environmental Council.  "I am proud to have worked closely with such a fine group from the environmental and coal field communities," said First.  "This is a win-win for both the environment and for coal operators, who will now get the support they need to aggressively re-mine abandoned mine lands and simultaneously reclaim them and beautify them."
Josh with Chestnuts
Josh with Chestnuts

Josh with Chestnuts

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Appalachian is a small, nimble firm specializing in real estate projects that yield high returns in conservation value.  We are particular about the projects we work on, and are always open to new ideas.  Sometimes the most unlikely ideas work out the best!

 

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Appalachian Land & Conservation Services Co., LLC

P.O. Box 5128

Harrisburg, PA 17110

Phone: (717) 232-8335

E-mail: josh@appalachianland.us