The United States Department of Agriculture's approval of a blight-resistant American chestnut is reviving hopes that this iconic U.S. tree could eventually reclaim part of its former range in Eastern forests.
Disagreement remains over what comes next. Many scientists see the USDA's move as a major milestone, but some are not convinced this particular tree is ready to drive the comeback, according to Reason.
Here's what to know
Darling 54, created at SUNY's College of Environmental Science and Forestry, has been deregulated by the USDA. That means the tree is no longer covered by the agency's plant-pest regulations, removing a major barrier to its eventual release.
Before chestnut blight transformed Eastern forests, American chestnuts were estimated to number about 4 billion and grew across a huge range from Ontario to Mississippi. Once researchers identified the fungus at New York's Bronx Zoo in 1904, it spread rapidly and wiped out native trees by the 1950s.
Researchers tried to counter that threat by inserting a wheat gene into Darling 54. The added gene produces oxalate oxidase, an enzyme meant to break down the acid the blight fungus uses to kill the tree.
Andrew Newhouse, who directs ESF's American Chestnut Research and Restoration Project, said, "Our 'Darling' chestnuts are an important step in the big picture of chestnut reintroduction. They tolerate blight better than any other fully American chestnuts we've tested, so they can help restore some of the ecological relationships that were lost to this disease."
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More background
Emma Kovak, a senior analyst at the Breakthrough Institute, said the decision marks a first for biotechnology aimed at ecological restoration.
"The disease resistant American Chestnut is the first genetically engineered organism with the goal of ecological restoration to be deregulated by USDA," she said, according to Reason.
Still, some researchers are urging caution.
In 2023, the American Chestnut Foundation pulled its support for the project. In comments to USDA regulators, the group argued that the inserted wheat gene appears to have disrupted another gene, which it said may have contributed to weaker growth and survival, and it also called for longer testing to see whether the engineered resistance remains effective over time.
What's being done?
The trees cannot be released to the public unless they also receive approval from the Environmental Protection Agency. So the USDA decision is important, but it does not settle whether large-scale restoration planting can begin.
Meanwhile, other restoration efforts are continuing. The American Chestnut Foundation is still advancing its longstanding breeding program, which pairs American chestnuts with blight-resistant Chinese chestnuts and then uses genomic tools to identify offspring that keep strong American chestnut ancestry while gaining better disease resistance.
Because that approach uses conventional breeding, those trees do not need federal approval before release.
Jared Westbrook, director of science at the American Chestnut Foundation, said the organization supports "the use of any genetic technologies that will be effective at restoring blight resistance," while cautioning that a failed rollout could hurt public trust in future biotech trees.
Where can I learn more?
The fight over how to bring back American chestnuts is part of a much wider effort to save threatened tree species and repair damaged forests. The articles below show how researchers and conservation groups are trying different approaches, from disease resistance to long-term care, to help ecosystems recover.
• In Britain, conservationists are closely observing disease-resistant elms to revive a nearly vanished heritage tree.
• In southwest Washington, land managers are protecting severely imperiled white oaks before habitat loss finishes the decline.
• Researchers warn that reforestation projects need local knowledge if restored forests are to support biodiversity.
Each case shows how hard tree restoration can be, whether through biotechnology, breeding, or years of hands-on stewardship. For the chestnut, the real test will come after the approval process, in forests where survival and resistance have to hold up over time.
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