The American Chestnut was the most ecologically, economically and culturally important tree across forests from Maine to Georgia - by some estimates comprising a full quarter of the tree cover of the Eastern U.S. - and then, in an ecological instant - it was gone, driven into functional extinction by a foreign blight introduced into New York City. This legendary tree - source of massive quantities of nutritious food and huge amounts of strong, rot-resistant lumber - has all but disappeared from its former range across 20 states. But a band of dedicated visionaries is committed to finding a blight-resistant hybrid that can be returned to the wild once again!

Today's show features Catherine Martini with the American Chestnut Foundation, who takes us on a journey through history as well as shares her organizations 40 year strong vision to resurrect this American icon.