Radiation and Restoration: Saving the American Chestnut Tree in the Atomic Age

Time: 12:00 - 1:00 p.m.

Place: 6th Floor Conference Room, Chemical Heritage Foundation

Information: 215-873-8289 or bbl@chemheritage.org

In 1955 the geneticist Ralph Singleton proposed a unique approach to restoring the American chestnut to its native range. Once prevalent in the eastern U.S., the species had been nearly wiped out by blight in the early 20th century. Undaunted by the dismal record of earlier efforts to halt this decline, Singleton suggested yet another method: exposing chestnuts to radiation at a national nuclear facility to produce trees carrying a genetic mutation for blight-resistance. The idea eventually attracted supporters, and by 1978 some 20,000 irradiated chestnut trees could be accounted for in three separate restoration programs.

This talk explores the history of an unusual but popular attempt to restore the American chestnut, especially in relation to other methods of breeding blight-resistant trees pursued since the 1950s. All struggled not only with the biological challenges involved, but also with the central problem of how to create a resistant tree that would still be accepted as a “true” American tree. These concerns were key to the flourishing of Singleton’s chestnut irradiation project, and illustrate the issues raised when the rescue or restoration of any species is seen to require significant human intervention and genetic manipulation.