Dunstan Chestnut Trees and GIS map Updates

Today we ordered ten chestnut trees from Chestut Hill Tree Farm. We chose Dunstan Chestnut trees because they are resistant to chestnut blight. The blight was introduced in 1904 and wiped out virtually all American chestnut trees on the east coast. The loss of the American chestnut tree was considered on of the worst ecological disasters in America, as we lost a mojor food source in our forest ecosystems. It also had an economic impact on the Appalachian region as its lumber was used for a wide variety of products. The Dunstan variety is a hybrid that can be traced back to American and Chinese lineage. A great history of the American Chestnut can be found on Chestnut Hill Tree Farm's Website. I was informed that our trees can be expected to arrive in late March or early April.

In addition to ordering the chestnut trees we were able to complete a GIS map showing the existing trees on EC as well as the planned locations for the chestnut, cherry, and cedar trees we plan on planting this year. We will be reviewing the map one last time with Dr. Cawley tomorrow in class and hopefully submitting it to Bill Martin for the board meeting later this week.

Lastly, we looked into what trees were available from Sharp Top, another nursery we may potentially be ordering from. They have a variety of cedars in stock, however they do not have beech. We may have to look into using an alternative such as birch, oak, maples, or elm.