Technology

Somewhere in Mason County, West Virginia, there is a grove of trees that should not exist. According to advocacy materials, roughly 200 American chestnuts, reportedly planted in the 1970s from wild survivors, may be cleared as early as November 1, 2026, to make way for data-center development. The project’s official website says the grove is not even on its land. That contradiction is the whole problem, and it has no public answer yet.

What the Clements grove reportedly represents took decades to build and cannot be rebuilt quickly.

The American chestnut blight, caused by a fungus accidentally introduced from Asia in the early 1900s, effectively erased the species from eastern forests. An estimated 3 to 4 billion trees died. The chestnut had been a keystone of Appalachian ecosystems: food source, timber, and shelter.

The grove at the former Clements State Tree Nursery in West Columbia is described by conservation advocates and American Chestnut Foundation materials as having been planted from wild surviving specimens. Think of it as the ecological equivalent of a seed vault that nobody put a sign on. Advocacy sources say the trees carry genetic material that restoration programs across West Virginia depend on, though that role needs independent verification from the Foundation, the West Virginia Division of Forestry, or a qualified botanist.