Chestnuts, Pigeons, and Programs - what does this have to do with Northeastern Forests?

North America is a land marked by unique sights and diverse environments. In particular, the East Coast is coveted for its spiraling megacities, many which have become household names throughout the world, and the truly astonishing habitats they lay throughout this historic region. 

Names like the Long Island Sound and the Blue Mountains are just few of many awe inducing localities which harbor hundreds of animals, plants and fungi. 

Yet despite the Northeast being consistently hailed for its pristine natural areas and biodiversity. It’s a land scarred by loss. In both a fundamental and ecological level, many species had been completely lost or reduced to cultural obscurity due to their massive declines. Even today these declines are beginning to intensify and become noticeable to untrained eyes.

Particularly, the Northeastern forests, while there are arguably more than what there once was a century ago are in a confused state. Some forests consist of a singular species and they're often growing too close to each other and a lack of understory plants. Just because you have trees- it doesn't mean a forest is healthy. 

While the subject on what to do with forests is a tough debate we tend to know how we got to this situation. The eradication of two species, the loss of two giants of which once called these forests home is a major piece on what's to blame for this precarious situation.

Ask any rural folk in the 20th century and they’ll tell you the Northeast’s most impressive tree. Standing up to 115 feet tall, a circumference of 4 meters- it was the one of the most dominant trees within the Northeast. Particularly the tree was well known for its burrs.  Which when roasted provided a wonderful treat. 

Native communities revered and relied on this plant. It provided food and shelter for them and Native Americans managed forests to improve habitat.

Appalachian communities further incorporated this tree into their daily lives. Its timber was rot resistant and was enamored by its sweet nutty flavor.

But why do we not see this tree in a park? Why does no one speak of the sweet flavor of chestnuts anymore? What happened?

The unthinkable occured. In a span of thirty years the tree suddenly disappeared. They'd completely disappear from most of their range. What could have been the reason?

A pervasive fungus of Southeast Asia, it was introduced accidentally in 1904 by the transport of Japanese Chestnut trees. Invasive species can warp environments to degrees unimaginable and in this situation it was no different. Billions of trees died and soon there would be no forests of chestnuts. 

“See what you have done to me! Where a few years ago I homed over your land in uncounted thousands, to-day I am alone. See me searching for a mate! See me hunting for a flock of my kind! See what you have done to me! See! See! See!” - Gene Stratton Porter, The Last Passenger Pigeon

Within the early colonial days of the United States, there was no animal that was more intriguing than the passenger pigeon. It was a gracile and beautiful bird. Males were enveloped with sky blue feathers, and an orange breast. Females were duller yet they still had an allure. 

Yet it wasn't its looks that made the bird so fascinating. It was its sheer numbers. The birds were nomadic and they followed food sources all throughout the United States. 

This unique lifestyle is not only never seen in any other bird but this resulted in the passenger pigeon possibly having the greatest population size in North America.  With over 3 billion birds; flocks of this species would eclipse the Sun and block the sky. Trees would be felled by the sheer amount of birds roosting on trees. 

Flocks of doves would be naturally invincible to predation. Their flocks would restore lost birds by nesting in massive colonies. Native Americans and colonists were reliant upon this species for food. 

Yet one aspect about modern man is the fact that when things seem inexhaustible- our avarice takes over. The development of the telegraph and the railroad system within the Northeast had opened a crippling weakness of the birds. The once secluded breeding roosts which may have experienced occasional hunting suddenly were faced with massive disruptions. 

Millions of birds would die; adults, juveniles and nestlings were shot indiscriminately. The flock of birds that do escape were sent further North in an attempt to have breeding success yet they soon would be pursuited. 

The final roost was disrupted in 1884 within a span of two weeks. There would be no more flocks. People would finally realize the fatal flaw they had committed yet it was too late. Singly birds would continue to be seen for some time, wandering survivors for a bird already on its last legs. The final bird was Martha, dying in the Cincinnati Zoo in 1914. 

These now lost components of the Northeastern played a crucial role in ecosystem dynamics. Towering American chestnuts provided food and shelter for many species like squirrels, woodpeckers and deer while the once ceaseless flocks of pigeons would force critical periods of habitat succession through the felling of trees and providing the soil with droppings.

Yet hope is not lost. The American chestnuts did not become lost to time. A few strands of mature trees  either naturally had a resistance or were lucky enough to survive the blight, Furthermore the American Chestnut Project is working diligently to restore their numbers all across the Northeast. 

Despite the fact that the true passenger pigeon is gone an organization, Revive and Restore, has taken not only the time to uncover the biology of the pigeon but to utilize genetic manipulation to revive* the species. Yet even as we come up with methods to restore these two once monumental species, it is imperative to protect what is left.