Chippewa NF Works Together for the American Elm

Thirty-three people spent the morning of April 29th planting young American Elms on a specially prepared site near Spring Lake.

The knees were muddy but the smiles bright on the faces of Deer River High School students and U.S. Forest Service personnel alike when elm planting day finally arrived on the Chippewa National Forest. Thirty-three people spent the morning of April 29th planting young American Elms on a specially prepared site near Spring Lake.

This project began in 2007 as a joint effort involving the Chippewa National Forest and Northern Research Station, with support from State and Private Forestry, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, and the Leech Lake Band of Objibwe. The goal of the project is ultimately to restore the American elm to the Forest's landscape. The Spring Lake site is one of 3 such sites spread across the Chippewa.

Most of us know the story of the American elm. This tree was once a very important part of our forests, as well as a primary street tree in our towns and cities. Many of us were around to watch it succumb to Dutch Elm Disease, and fairly rapidly lose it's place of prominence across the landscape. Despite the best efforts of a lot of people, and a fair amount of money, relatively little could be done about the situation. This tree has lost its place in our forest canopies, and now exists as an understory component, living but a fraction of its former lifespan.

Researchers have been working for years on developing American elm cultivars that would be resistant to Dutch elm disease. Eventually, it just might be possible to put some of these cultivars back on the landscape, so that their genotype can cross with our surviving wild elms, perhaps resulting in disease-resistant wild elms, and a return of this tree to its former role.

To move towards this goal, Chippewa National Forest staff collected branches from surviving local elm trees so that they could be cross-pollinated with disease-resistant elm cultivars in the greenhouse. A Forest Service geneticist from Delaware, Ohio leads this part of the effort. The hope is that the result will be the development of disease-resistant elm trees that also possess the cold-hardiness to survive our northern conditions.

These young trees are the stock that were planted near Spring Lake on April 29th. Two hundred seedlings were planted within a fenced site, to protect them from deer browse and deer antler rub. Next year another 200 trees will be planted. In a few years, those trees that survive through the winters will be inoculated with Dutch Elm Disease. The survivors of this "test" will be the disease-resistant, cold-hardy American elms that can then be used as a seed orchard for reforestation on the Chippewa National Forest and vicinity.

Chippewa National Forest personnel who participated in planting the site included Deer River District employees from all disciplines, such as forestry, wildlife, recreation, and fire. The fire crew also included student interns from Itasca Community College. The Northern Research Station also provided personnel for the day.

Deer River High School students included an enthusiastic crew of young people from Shandy Geisler's Forestry class. The students teamed up with Forest Service personnel in small planting groups of 2 or 3, so that the kids could learn about Forest Service careers, as well as plant these special trees.

When the work was done, a potluck picnic was held with food for all. The day was one more important step towards the conservation goal of returning American elm to our National Forest!