The Carolinas Chapter of the American Chestnut Foundation President, Doug Gillis has been a member since 2003. The foundation's mission is to restore the American chestnut to its native range.
Doug discusses the primary goal, scientific research, to develop American chestnut trees with sufficient resistance to two deadly diseases: chestnut blight and Phytophthora root rot. The goal of forest restoration work is to implement plantings of genetically diverse and disease-resistant American chestnut trees that are capable of sustained population growth across the native range in the ever-changing landscape of our Eastern hardwood forests.
The American Chestnut Foundation is committed to providing educational opportunities to the nation’s youth and fostering a new generation of conservation leaders through public talks, outreach activities, and demonstration plantings.