Bringing Back the American Chestnut Tree - In the Hopewell Valley

by Tom Ogren

American Chestnuts

The Hopewell Township Environmental Commission and Friends of Hopewell Valley Open Space (FoHVOS) teamed up in early May to plant 170 American chestnuts at the Fiddler's Creek Preserve (opposite Baldpate Mountain.) The preserve features a fenced in 40-acre former farm field which is the site of a large scale re-forestation effort by FoHVOS and the Mercer County Park Commission. Over 7,000 trees and shrubs have been planted by volunteers at the site since 2011.    

Chestnut planting at Fiddler's Creek

Environmental Commission member Mike Aucott initiated the chestnut planting project and directed the planting at several locations throughout Hopewell Township. The planting of the chestnuts this May at Fiddlers Creek Preserve was done by volunteers and FoHVOS Stewardship Director Mike Van Clef. The photo at right shows the location of where some chestnuts were planted. Similar groupings of planting sites were scattered throughout the enclosed area. The plastic tubes tied to stakes were placed on top of the chestnuts to protect them from being eaten by squirrels.                                                            

Stately American chestnut tree
from decades past

The American chestnut (Castanea dentata) is a large tree in the beech family native to eastern North America.  Before the species was devastated by chestnut blight, an invasive fungal disease, it was one of the most important forest trees throughout its range and was considered the finest chestnut tree in the world. It is estimated that between 3 and 4 billion American chestnut trees were destroyed in the first half of the 20th century by blight after its initial discovery in 1904. Chestnut blight is caused by an Asian bark fungus introduced into North America on imported Asiatic chestnut trees. 

Appalachian family with
American chestnut tree

The planting at Fiddler's Creek is part of a large scale cross breeding effort to plant thousands of chestnuts throughout the Northeast. This effort is spearheaded by The American Chestnut Foundation which has pioneered a backcross breeding technique in an attempt to restore the American chestnut to its original habitat. What was done at the Fiddler's Creek Preserve is the first time hybrid chestnuts have been planted in New Jersey using this technique. A second stage involves the planting of hybrid chestnut seedlings several years from now, which will cross breed with the trees planted from chestnuts.

Hopefully we can bring this prized hardwood tree back to the Hopewell Valley!

(Hikers can access Fiddler's Creek Preserve and a small parking area from Fiddler's Creek Road via a dirt driveway about a quarter mile east of the Baldpate Mountain entrance.  A small Fiddler's Creek Preserve sign marks the driveway entrance.)

Tom Ogren has been a FoHVOS Trustee since 2007 and is a former Pennington Borough Council member. In his free time, you'll find Tom planting trees and building trails in preserves throughout our Valley.

                         

                                    

February Force of Nature: Joann Held

There is no stopping February's FoHVOS Force of Nature, Joann Held.  In 2013, FoHVOS presented Joann with our prestigious Jack Gleason Environmental Award for a lifetime of achievement as an environmental activist. At the time she was the founder and co-chair of the Hopewell Valley Green Team, founder and board member of the Pennington Farmer’s Market and a member of the Pennington Environmental commission.

Recently, she was part of the Pennington Borough team that includes representatives from the Environmental Commission, Shade Tree, Open Space, Parks & Recreation and Borough Council that obtained a $1,500 ANJEC grant to work with FoHVOS to create a plan for a native plant arboretum in Howe's Woods.

Today, she is still doing all of that and more. If you live in Hopewell Valley, you have probably benefited from her efforts. Under her leadership, the Hopewell Valley Green Team has expanded their reach as members of the Mercer County Sustainability Coalition, organized or promoted every type of recycling imaginable, and are currently supporting methods to reduce food waste.

Her committed work has provided more options for Hopewell Valley residents to protect the environment. The choices we make in our homes, our travel, the food we eat, and what we buy and throw away all influence our carbon footprint and can help ensure a stable climate for future generations.

In addition to recycling, the Green Team has tackled everything from water conservation, auto emissions, and open space. They have helped our local municipalities receive Sustainable Jersey certification and were a key player in the The 2017 Solar Challenge.

The 2017 Solar Challenge sponsored by Sustainable Jersey, was a unique competition among seven New Jersey towns to educate the public about the benefits of solar energy. The Hopewell Valley Green Team partnering with the Hopewell Township Environmental Commission succeeded in having the greatest number of new solar installation contracts per capita and won the $10,000 prize that is to be used to support a “green” energy project.

Yet, the reason we are naming Joann Held our Force of Nature goes beyond her success promoting sustainability. 

For the last fourteen years, Joann has been the president of the League of Women Voters.  In 2017, in addition to offering forums for local Hopewell Valley elections, the LWV offered Voter Registration and information opportunities including several in Trenton, participated in the National Day for Racial Justice, and gave voter registration materials to new citizens. 

Additionally, Joann was an early researcher in environmental justice and explored air pollution in Camden through her work at the DEP.  Documented evidence of environmental discrimination included data showing that the amount of pollution increased in areas where the numbers of minorities increased.  Today, she is the Secretary for The State of New Jersey Environmental Justice Advisory Council.

Joann’s entire career has been dedicated to environmental protection.  After receiving a Harvard Master Degree in air pollution control, she went to work at the Center for Coastal and Environmental Studies at Rutgers.  From there she went on to spend 26 years working for the NJ-DEP where she received numerous citations and publications.

Our Valley is lucky to have Joann Held, our February Force of Nature, working tirelessly to improve our environmental outcomes that help preserve the character of Hopewell Valley.

A version of this post also appears in the February issue of Hopewell Express.