BRONX, NY (September 30, 2026)—More than 120 years after a forester at the Wildlife Conservation Society's Bronx Zoo first documented the chestnut blight that would ultimately wipe out nearly 4 billion American chestnut trees, American chestnuts are returning to the WCS Bronx Zoo, thanks to a partnership with the New York Restoration Project.  

On Monday, Oct. 5, the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Bronx Zoo and New York Restoration Project (NYRP) will plant hybrid American chestnut trees at the zoo, part of a gift of 25 trees from NYRP in partnership with The American Chestnut Foundation.

The planting represents a remarkable homecoming for one of America’s most iconic trees. In 1904, Bronx Zoo Chief Forester Hermann Merkel was the first to document the devastating chestnut blight, which spread across the American chestnut’s native range and transformed forests from Maine to Florida and west to the Ohio Valley.

Once among the most important trees in eastern North American forests, the American chestnut provided food and habitat for wildlife and timber for generations of people. Today, it is considered functionally extinct in the wild.

Now, more than a century later, hybrid American chestnuts bred for blight resistance are being returned to the Bronx Zoo as part of a larger effort to restore the species to the landscapes where it once thrived.

WHAT:

Media availability and ceremonial planting of hybrid American chestnut trees at the Bronx Zoo.

The event will provide opportunities for reporters, photographers and television crews to document the planting and interview representatives about the extraordinary history connecting the Bronx Zoo to the American chestnut and efforts underway today to bring the species back.

WHO:

WCS Bronx Zoo representatives

New York Restoration Project (NYRP leads the largest urban effort to help restore the American chestnut, working with partners to bring hybrid trees back into New York City's landscape.)

WHEN:

Monday, October 5, 2026

Media arrival: 8:30am–Noon — at your convenience

Planting begins: 9:00 a.m.

WHERE:

Wildlife Conservation Society’s Bronx Zoo

Media should arrive at Fountain Circle, off Fordham Road.

Upon arrival, please call Mary Dixon at 347-840-1242.

WHY IT MATTERS:

The American chestnut was once a defining tree of eastern North American forests before chestnut blight devastated the species in the early 20th century. The disease was first documented in 1904 by Bronx Zoo Chief Forester Hermann Merkel, making the return of American chestnuts to the zoo more than a century later especially significant. See here a link to a historical record of this discovery back in 1904: Annual report - New York Zoological Society : New York Zoological Society : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

New York Restoration Project leads a major urban effort to help restore the American chestnut. Since 2017, NYRP and its partners have planted and stewarded more than 200 hybrid American chestnuts in Northern Manhattan’s Highbridge Park, creating New York City’s largest chestnut grove. In 2025, NYRP launched the 1,000 Chestnut Challenge to expand restoration and engage New Yorkers in planting and monitoring chestnut trees.

The WCS Bronx Zoo planting expands that restoration network while bringing the American chestnut back to a place with a unique role in the history of its disappearance.

###

New York Restoration Project

Founded in 1995, New York Restoration Project (NYRP) is an environmental justice nonprofit and citywide nature conservancy dedicated to expanding access to nature for all New Yorkers. NYRP believes that nature is a fundamental human right and that everyone deserves access to high-quality public green space. Working collaboratively with residents and communities across all five boroughs, NYRP renovates gardens, restores parks, plants and distributes trees, promotes urban agriculture, and builds partnerships that create a greener, healthier, and more resilient city for all. Since its founding by Bette Midler, NYRP has built or renovated more than 350 gardens, planted and distributed nearly 300,000 trees, and restored more than 300 acres of parkland. Learn more at nyrp.org