The American chestnut tree once comprised a quarter of the eastern hardwood forest from Maine to Georgia and west to the Ohio River Valley, providing a valuable economic resource in both timber and nuts, as well as an abundant food source for wildlife.

[1] Roughly 3.5 billion American chestnut trees in the Appalachian hardwood forest were destroyed by a fungus identified as Cryphonectria parasitica between 1904 and 1940.

[1] TACF's work is accomplished by the combination of a small professional staff and a large group of volunteers associated with sixteen state chapters from Maine to Georgia/Alabama and west to the Ohio River Valley.

The requirements for both genetic diversity and regional adaptability were the key factors in the establishment of the state chapter breeding programs staffed by volunteers.

This line of chestnut-blight-resistant trees was developed by the American Chestnut Research and Restoration Project at the State University of New York, College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY-ESF).

Pending federal regulatory approval, Darling 58 was to be integrated into TACF’s restoration program and made available for widespread public planting and sharing.

[7][8][9][10][11] The intention is to have an unrestricted and open release so that the Darling 58 trees and their pollen will restore the American chestnut across its historical range.