Experts believe that the trees on Pine Mountain may have survived the blight due to the dry, rocky ridge on which they grow ?EUR??,,????'??? the fungus that devastated so many chestnuts in the past, thrived in a moist environment.

The Georgia chapter of the American Chestnut Foundation hopes to use pollen from the trees in a breeding program to develop blight-resistant chestnut trees.

?EUR??,,????'??When the flowers are right, we?EUR??,,????'???re going to rush down and pollinate the flowers, collect the seeds a few weeks later and collect the nuts,?EUR??,,????'?? said Nathan Klaus, a biologist with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. ?EUR??,,????'??If we ever find a genetic solution to the chestnut blight, genes from that tree will find their way into those trees.?EUR??,,????'??

There were once an estimated 4 billion American chestnut trees in the eastern United States, making up 25 percent of the forests.

Source: Associated Press