Saving the American Elm

by Bruce Carley

Excerpted by permission from www.elmpost.org

“I have posted this article to call attention to a special project which I have been doing since 1994 and which hopefully will be a source of inspiration for many. Ever since some new disease-resistant varieties of purely American elm were called to my attention, I have been hooked on raising these trees for distribution in my home town of Acton, Massachusetts, and it did not take me long to conceive of finding a way to have them planted on various conservation lands, where they will always be safe from indifferent landowners…

“I am pleased to inform everyone that you now have more than forty DED-tolerant American elms distributed throughout Acton in ten of its conservation lands, plus one municipal property (Meeting House Hill). A few of my young friends from the resource room in which I used to volunteer deserve credit for the planting of the particular trees that now stand dedicated to them. While this number of trees is a milestone worth celebrating, we should not lose sight of the fact that if we stop at this number, only this many American elms will be left in this community in the next few decades. That is one reason why my project remains ongoing in the form of sales to private residences, public departments, tree societies, and similar organizations. Hopefully this endeavor to inspire others will result in the planting of many more disease-tolerant American elm trees in other towns.”

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