American Chestnut, or more precisely, their restoration as a species is something that's near and dear to our hearts, especially Dan's. These magnificent trees, which once grew fast, strong, and gigantic all along the eastern coast from Maine to Georgia provided food, timber, medicine, and of course important wildlife habitat for centuries until nearly every one was wiped out by a blight which was introduced with imported Chinese chestnut trees in the early 1900s. Dan worked for years in an effort to pollinate the 2 American Chestnut trees that remained on the home farm in central NYS and is now a member of the VTNH chapter of the American Chestnut Foundation. They're working on a breeding program for blight resistant American Chestnut trees and, with nuts supplied by the VTNHACF, Dan has planted a small crop of trees with the hope that they will grow, reach maturity, and bear nuts before they too succumb to the blight. This will at least provide a window for researchers and scientists to come up with a solution.
 
Dan was the hand model for this image and a chestnut burr makes up the O in "restore". It was originally created for our top tier Patreon subscribers.
 
The print itself measures 11" x 7.5" and is hand printed on hand ripped 13" x 11" heavyweight BFK Rives paper. It's titled and signed.