Learn how the American chestnut tree was a vital com- ponent to the livelihood of people throughout the Appalachian region. In the early 1900s, the tree was decimated from our forests due to an introduced blight fungus that our tree had no resistance to. We will ex- plain the efforts underway to restore it to the forests of the Appalachian Range, including work being done right here in Connecticut.

Jack Swatt has been a member of The American Chestnut Foundation since 1993. After becoming a CT Chapter Board member in 2017, he then became President in 2018. He was elected to the TACF Board of Directors in 2025 and is Chair of the Restoration Working Group. He is currently retired. He is also an active volunteer for the CT DEEP (monitoring wintering eagles and Whip-poor-wills), Audubon CT, CT Audubon, NH Audubon, the Loon Preservation Committee and the Society to Protect New Hampshire Forests (aka the Forest Society). He is also a life member of the Wolcott Fire Dept. Co. #2 and the New Haven Bird Club.