Giant Chestnut Tree Found in Maine Could Help Save a Near-Extinct Species

The discovery of the tallest Chestnut tree left in North America may mean new hope for an iconic species nearly wiped out by disease.

Why this tree was able to survive for 100 years to become 115 feet tall, when billions of others died-off is the latest clue for activists and scientists who have been working for decades to save the species.

Ever since the accidental importation of an Asian virus in 1904, the American Chestnut, once abundant along the U.S. East Coast and Canada has become “functionally extinct” leaving ghostly gaps in the landscape.

http://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/towering-chestnut-tree-found-in-maine-could-help-save-the-nearly-extinct-species/