The Latest Turkey Research
The American Chestnut
 Editor’s
Note: What have scientists learned about turkeys and
 turkey
habitat that can help us understand turkeys better,
learn how to provide better habitat for them and find
out why and when they gobble? State conservation agencies
across the United States currently have conducted research
projects in these areas with the help of the National
Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF), the federal government
and other conservation organizations. To learn the latest
information, we’ve talked with Tom Hughes, senior
wildlife biologist for the NWTF (www.nwtf.org).
For years scientists have worried about the loss of
most of the American wild chestnut trees in much of
its home range. “The American chestnut’s
a huge mast-producing tree for all wildlife species
that depend on mast as a part of their diet, like turkeys,
squirrels and deer,” Hughes mentions.
In the early 1900’s, a blight attacked the American
chestnut trees and wiped out as much as one-half of
the mast-bearing stands in a good portion of the Appalachian
region. Since that time, numerous groups have made concerted
efforts to bring back the American chestnut trees or
make them bligh t
resistant. The NWTF has worked with the American Chestnut
Cooperators’ Federation (ACCF) and the American
Chestnut Foundation (ACF) to develop a blight-resistant
American  chestnut
tree. The ACF has spliced blight-resistant Chinese chestnuts
with American chestnut genes to produce a tree that
looks exactly like the American chestnut tree, yet withstand
blight like the Chinese chestnuts.
“Thanks to the work of these two organizations,
there will be blight-resistant American chestnut trees
available to the public for planting in the wild within
the next five to 10 years,” Hughes says. “The
American chestnut is one of the fastest-growing hardwood
species. If planted on fertile sites, this new breed
of American chestnut can start producing nuts within
15 to 20 years.” You can keep up with this research
by visiting the ACF website at www.acf.org. Every year,
we learn more about the majestic wild turkey. Your hunting
club can apply much of this information to have more
turkeys on your lands.
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