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The American Chestnut tree returns to the Bronx Zoo after more than a century
By
Rosemary Misdary
Published Oct 5, 2026
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By
Rosemary Misdary
Published Oct 5, 2026
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The functionally extinct American chestnut tree is returning to the Bronx Zoo, where the blight that nearly wiped out the species was first discovered more than a century ago.
On Monday, the Wildlife Conservation Society and the New York Restoration Project will plant its first chestnut sapling at the Bronx Zoo since the 1904 blight broke out. A total of 25 2-foot baby trees will be planted in three locations on zoo grounds.
“Chestnut trees have great cultural significance. This will help preserve our natural heritage,” said Jason Smith, a director at the New York Restoration Project. “People love the nuts. People use the lumber. It has really important ecological significance.”
The American chestnut tree was once the largest and most abundant tree in the region’s forests, but at the turn of last century the iconic trees began to die en masse. Herman Merkel, a forester at the Bronx Zoo, observed the canker-covered trunks in 1904 and became the first to document the dreaded chestnut blight. The disease decimated the chestnut over the next 40 years. The tree is now functionally extinct in the wild, according to the Conservation Society.
The new hardwoods will be spread out over three locations at the Bronx Zoo: just north of the pedestrian path of Tiger Mountain, along the east bank of the Bronx River and along the riverwalk. If the trees thrive, Craig Piper, the zoo’s director, said they will be planting more.
“This is an effort for us to continue to strengthen the forest that we maintain, and chestnuts would've been a significant part of the Bronx Zoo forest,” Piper said.
In 2017, the restoration project planted a forest of more than 200 hybrid chestnuts in Highbridge Park in Upper Manhattan, the city’s largest chestnut grove. Almost a decade later, those trees are over 40 feet tall, fruiting and producing nuts. The saplings are hybrids of the American variety and the blight-resistant Asian chestnut.
In 2025, the New York Restoration Project launched the 1,000 Chestnut Challenge, an effort to proliferate chestnut trees across New York City.
In the first year of the chestnut challenge, the restoration project planted over 80 trees across parks, greenspaces and backyards. This year, the five boroughs got more than 350 additional saplings. Next year, the goal is to plant at least 500 more. Interested New Yorkers can sign up for a tree giveaway when it opens-up again next year.
”We've found the interest to be overwhelming of folks wanting to plant the tree in New York City,” Smith said. “I's really important for people to remember that our urban ecosystem can play a part in conservation.”
The restoration project comes as New York is losing many native trees like beech, hemlock and ash to disease and invasive species.
”Our native forests are really under threat from disease, and so finding the opportunity to bring back a tree that was on the brink of extinction is incredibly important,” Smith said.
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Health and Science
bronx
Rosemary Misdary
Rosemary is health & science reporter. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or Signal 646-544-9524.
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