Demise of the American Chestnut Tree

“The chestnut blight was accidentally introduced to North America was introduced into the United States from Japanese nursery stock. It was first found in the chestnut trees on the grounds of the New York Zoological Garden by Herman W. Merkel, a forester at the zoo. By 1940, most mature American chestnut trees had been wiped out by the disease. Saplings would attempt to grow but then would also succumb to the same blight. Around 1950, I remember walking through the woods with my dad and looking for chestnut trees taller than 15 ft., but sadly, we never found any.”