Alexander C. Kaufman
@kaufman
The tragedy of the American chestnut is a minor obsession of mine, which is why this 2020 NYT Magazine story made me so hopeful about science and genetic engineering. It's not quite the fake dire wolf example, but scientists are crossbreeding remaining American chestnuts with Asian cousins that are hardier against the scourge that wiped out the tree in the first place. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/30/magazine/american-chestnut.html
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Jawa
@jawa
Black Walnut has a similar story. Very sad. It seems almost impossible to protect species without broad commercial support from global pests. In citrus we have Citrus Greening disease but weโve poured millions of dollars into prevention to protect crops. Nobody is doing that for chestnut & walnuts https://ucanr.edu/blog/bug-squad/article/sign-times-why-black-walnut-tree-dying
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Alexander C. Kaufman
@kaufman
I didnโt know about this. Heartbreaking. I have noticed there are far fewer of them around on Long Island where I grew up than when I was a kid.
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Jawa
@jawa
Theyโre such pretty woods. We tried to plant a handful of walnut trees a few years ago and they didnโt survive. Iโm definitely going to try again ๐ช
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