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07/26/2007: Planting Hope: Secretary Kempthorne Dedicates American chestnut Tree, Underscoring Partnership to Restore Natural Icon to Appalachia |
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SOUNDBITE: The Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne planted a blight-resistant American chestnut tree in the nation’s capital Friday, pledging to work with state and local governments and private restoration groups to help return this fabled natural icon to American landscapes. The planting marked the 30th anniversary of the signing of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act which Secretary Kempthorne called one of the most successful environmental programs in American history. (text) | :23 | ||
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SOUNDBITE: American chestnut trees were once dominant in eastern forest accounting for a quarter of the trees from Maine to Florida and west into the Ohio Valley. However, the species was nearly exterminated by blight in one of the greatest ecological disasters in North American history. By 1950, the pathogen had killed nearly 3.5 billion of the trees. (text) |
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SOUNDBITE : It has taken nearly 25 years of breeding to come up with blight resistant seeds and seedlings. The only way to find out if a backcross breed has been successful is to inject a 5 to 8 year old tree with the blight. Angel says bringing the trees to Appalachia will be a homecoming for the American/Chinese hybrid chestnut tree. (text) | :14 | ||
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SOUNDBITE : The SMCRA
has regulated the responsible mining of 29.5 billion tons of coal
since it was signed in 1977 and exemplifies how the federal
government can work with states and tribes to restore and conserve
landscapes. Cooperation from the coal mining industry has been a
success also. OSM recommends using the forestry reclamation approach
[FRA] to
industry operators which Angel says achieves positive results for
both the land and the operator. To date, the partnerships of the ARRI and the American Chestnut Foundation have planted more than 3,000 pure and hybrid American chestnut trees on surface mines in all seven Appalachian coal states. OSM also provided funding in 2006 and 2007 to reforestation researchers at the University of Kentucky, Virginia Tech, and Ohio University to find better ways to plant American chestnuts on reclaimed mine lands. (text) |
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