Scientists in southern Vermont have begun infecting thousands of young American elms with a lethal fungus in a bid to identify disease-resistant trees. The effort at a 28-acre site in Benson aims to create a more diverse and tolerant population of the species.
Gus Goodwin of The Nature Conservancy led the inoculation process in May. Crews used drills to create wounds in nearly all of the 5,300 trees before injecting a solution containing roughly 100,000 spores of the pathogen that causes Dutch elm disease. A small number received water as controls.
The project draws on survivor trees from New England to boost genetic diversity. Offspring from parents such as Valley Forge and Damon are being tested, with resistant ones slated for cloning and future seed orchards. Researchers will monitor the plot for two years.
American elms once dominated floodplains across much of the eastern United States before Dutch elm disease killed tens of millions. The current effort seeks trees that can survive repeated exposure and help restore floodplain ecosystems.
Initial checks in early July showed about 800 trees without symptoms so far. Officials stressed it remains too early to draw firm conclusions about individual specimens.
