Plans for an AI data center in West Virginia could wipe out an orchard of one of the nation's least common American chestnuts.
At the former Clements State Tree Nursery in Mason County, bulldozers are scheduled to clear a 200-tree grove in November 2026, threatening a site long important to chestnut restoration.
Here's what to know
According to an Instagram post by Hashem Al-Ghaili (@hashem.alghaili) citing From the Front Lines: Struggles for Justice, the orchard was established in the 1970s from wild American chestnuts that had survived the blight that swept through the species in the early 1900s.
That origin is why conservationists view it as more than a cluster of trees: they describe it as a living seed reserve connected to restoration work in West Virginia and elsewhere.
The post described the orchard as "a vital 'genetics library,'" and "the primary seed source to restore the species across West Virginia." The group said the Monarch Compute Campus project could result in the grove being bulldozed.
Nscale says it is developing Monarch in collaboration with Nvidia and Caterpillar. The planned campus would span more than 2,250 acres and deliver 8 gigawatts of compute for companies such as Anthropic, placing the historic nursery within the broader construction footprint.
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More background
Established American chestnut groves are now uncommon.
After chestnut blight arrived in 1904, the fungus was blamed for an estimated 4 billion tree deaths in the United States. As of 2023, fewer than 4,300 acres of fruit-producing chestnut trees remained across the continental U.S.
Breeding programs have produced blight-resistant hybrids, but naturally occurring American chestnuts in the wild are often limited to stump sprouts that never mature.
For that reason, replacing a mature grove of 200 trees descended from survivors would be extremely difficult.
The conflict also highlights the growing link between AI and energy-intensive infrastructure. A project sized for 8 gigawatts of computing would require enormous amounts of electricity, and large data centers can also consume significant amounts of water for cooling.
At the same time, AI can help optimize grid operations and support cleaner energy systems. The challenge is that the same technology can offer major benefits while also raising concerns about power demand, local energy costs, security, misuse, and land impacts.
Comments on the Instagram post reflected that frustration.
"Why don't they bulldoze old vacant shopping malls now that everyone shops online?" one commenter wrote, echoing calls to use already developed sites instead of clearing a rare nursery grove.
What's being done?
Advocates are trying to secure changes before work reaches the nursery. Their goal is to redraw the development footprint and permanently protect the chestnut grove.
One commenter pointed to a response already under discussion: "On Oct. 10, West Virginia's governor announced a plan to preserve and relocate the Clements nursery's chestnut and chinquapin trees within the property." The same commenter said the work is scheduled for late 2027, under arborist supervision, and that Nscale is to pay for it.
Preservationists say that step could reduce some harm, but it still falls short of preserving the grove as a whole orchard and genetic repository.
The grove is slated for bulldozing in November 2026, while the preservation and relocation work mentioned in the comments is scheduled for late 2027.
Where can I learn more?
These articles highlight similar clashes unfolding elsewhere as AI infrastructure expands.
• In northern Nevada, AI data center growth is reigniting fights over land, water, and power.
• In Nodaway County, Mo., farmers and neighbors rallied against a proposed AI data center.
• In southwest Washington, experts have worked to protect severely imperiled white oaks before they disappear.
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