Biologist Andrew Newhouse on the genetic revival of the American chestnut

The American chestnut once dominated the Eastern woodlands. NPR's Scott Simon talks to Andrew Newhouse, an environmental biologist, about efforts to bring these trees back from the brink of extinction. NPR Science LISTEN & FOLLOW NPR App Apple Podcasts Spotify Amazon Music iHeart Radio RSS link Science Biologist Andrew Newhouse on the genetic revival of the American chestnut September 5, 20267:43 AM ET Heard on Weekend Edition Saturday Biologist Andrew Newhouse on the genetic revival of the American chestnut Listen · Transcript Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www. npr. org/player/embed/nx-s1-5954830/nx-s1-9915466" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript The American chestnut once dominated the Eastern woodlands. NPR's Scott Simon talks to Andrew Newhouse, an environmental biologist, about efforts to bring these trees back from the brink of extinction. Transcript SCOTT SIMON, HOST: The American chestnut once dominated forests in the eastern U. They were majestic trees, and the nut's an important source of food for people and wild animals. But a deadly blight pushed these giants to the brink of extinction. There could be hope now to bring them back because of a genetically engineered disease-resistant chestnut tree project. That effort hit a milestone last week. Andrew Newhouse joins us now. He's director of the American Chestnut Research and Restoration Project at the State University of New York. Thanks so much for being with us. SIMON: What was the milestone? We received the first of a few different approvals from U. S. federal regulatory agencies that we would need in order to start distributing these trees and start using them for restoration. SIMON: Why do you want to do that? NEWHOUSE: Well, as you said, these trees were really important. They were unique parts of our forest ecosystem, and now they're mostly gone. And so people have been trying for many years to restore or replace or treat or protect American chestnuts. So this project, using biotechnology, is really a unique approach and offers, I think, a lot of hope in light of threats to not only American chestnuts, but also other important native trees. SIMON: What's the role you think they could play? NEWHOUSE: They could fill some of the same roles they did previously. Of course, they could provide a food product. They could be helpful for people, for wildlife and also for offering an example of unique approaches to conservation.