VA, MD, WV, PA Members Celebrate TACF 25th

	Harpers Ferry National Historic Park and Appalachian Trail Conservancy to Host The American Chestnut Foundation (TACF) 25th Anniversary Events June 7th

Laurie Potteiger and Caroline Dufour, Appalachian Trail Conservancy staff, and and one of two large chestnut trees near the Appalachian Trail that will serve as destination for a guided chestnut identification hike. Alas, the two large forest trees do not appear to be American.

A TACF display of information about American chestnut restoration efforts, cultural history and the Appalachian Trail (A.T.) MEGA-Transect chestnut project will greet visitors to the Harpers Ferry National Historic Park, Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, on June 7th.

TACF volunteers from Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, West Virginia will join representatives of Harpers Ferry Park and its National Trails Day partners Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC), Potomac Appalachian Trail Club (PATC), and Harpers Ferry Historic Town Foundation in a tent near the bus stop where visitors arrive from the parking area. Visitors to the TACF exhibits will receive a pocket chestnut identification guide and TACF 25th Anniversary commemorative token. Events are open to the public. National Park visitor fee information is at: http://www.nps.gov/hafe/planyourvisit/feesandreservations.htm

In addition to the daylong exhibit, a variety of guided hikes will be offered, including hikes with a chestnut identification focus. Biologist Robert Strasser’s American Chestnut Restoration presentation in the John Brown exhibit building will feature historic photos and cultural history of American chestnut as well as restoration science.

At 2:30 pm, the Appalachian Trail Conservancy will host a ceremony celebrating TACF’s 25th Anniversary and the A.T. MEGA-Transect chestnut project at its office at 799 Washington Street in Harpers Ferry. Representatives from TACF, ATC, PATC and the Appalachian National Scenic Trail will participate in the ceremony. Featured speaker Mike Soukup, Associate Director, Natural Resource Stewardship and Science, National Park Service, Department of the Interior will highlight the A.T. MEGA-Transect, which engages volunteers in environmental monitoring from Maine to Georgia, and the chestnut project, which will gather data on American chestnut trees as part of the A. T. MEGA-Transect.  TACF, ATC and PATC are partnering to launch a pilot version of the chestnut project, with the initial training planned May 10th.  Chestnut project leaders Bob Pickett of PATC and Forest Ecologist Doug Boucher of TACF will be on hand to report progress.

Light refreshments will be served outside following the ceremony if weather permits, and the final guided hike of the day, with a chestnut identification focus, will leave from the event site at 4 pm.  The ceremony is free and open to the public.  TACF members are encouraged to join in.