NaturallyScott
At least once a week, I’ll bring you the very best of America’s spectacular world of nature — from birds to mammals, to reptiles and amphibians. From soaring mountains to endless plains, from rugged coastlines to rivers and streams.
Each episode will feature an expert guest — a ranger, a researcher, a birder, or an adventurer — someone who has seen what we want to see and been where we want to go.
NaturallyScott
E34 – Michael Goergen — Saving the American Chestnut, Genetics, Hope & the Future of America’s Forests 🌰🌳
In E34, Scott sits down with Michael Goergen, President & CEO of the American Chestnut Foundation, for a powerful and deeply hopeful conversation about restoring one of America’s most important lost trees — the American Chestnut.
The American Chestnut once made up 25% of the Appalachian forest, feeding wildlife, sustaining communities, and anchoring entire ecosystems. Then a blight brought from overseas wiped out nearly every adult tree within a single human lifetime. Today, only root sprouts remain — alive, but unable to reach the canopy.
Michael walks us through:
🌰 The rise and fall of the American Chestnut — from canopy monarch to functional extinction
🌱 Why the roots never died — and how this miracle of endurance makes restoration possible
🧬 Cutting-edge genetics & breeding programs:
• Recombinant genomic selection
• Cross-breeding resistant trees
• Exploring CRISPR and biotech tools
• Why restoring a long-lived tree requires decades of patience
🔥 Battling multiple threats:
• Chestnut blight
• Phytophthora root rot
• Site conditions that determine survival or failure
🏔 Chestnut groves that still exist today — and where to find wild sprouts and active restoration orchards along the East Coast
🤝 Why this work is powered mostly by volunteers and private donors, not the government — and why that makes it one of America’s great conservation stories
🌲 Forests, ecosystems, water, wildlife, and people — how restoring a single keystone species strengthens entire landscapes and communities
🐻 Unexpected connections:
• Chestnuts and black bears
• Chestnuts and passenger pigeons
• Chestnuts and early Indigenous cultures
💡 Why hope — not fear — drives conservation, and why Michael believes a restored, self-sustaining American Chestnut forest is achievable within our lifetimes.
📚 Michael’s Book Recommendation:
Nature’s Metropolis: Chicago and the Great West — William Cronon
👇 Bonus content & updates:
https://naturallyscott.kit.com/5fd12c6752