The American chestnut tree once dominated the eastern part of the United States. After becoming functionally extinct starting over a century ago due to the spread of a fungus, the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry is close to repopulating it throughout New York state.

The founders of the project, Charles Maynard and William Powell, were instrumental in its regrowth, and recently awarded New York State Commendation Awards for their work. The organization's current director discussed the project, its impact and how soon New Yorkers could see the legendary tree in their neighborhoods.

More than a century ago, the American chestnut tree was one of the most important trees in the eastern U.S.

“It produced this large, reliable nut crop every year," said Adriana Del Grosso, tree distribution manager at the American Chestnut Research and Restoration Project. "That was important for the people of America, and also the wildlife.”

The nuts fed millions and chestnut wood was used to build fence posts, flooring and telephone poles. But a fungus led to the tree's demise.

As the director of the project, Andy Newhouse said Powell and Maynard saw how important it was and initiated the restoration.

“They started working on chestnuts in about 1990,” Newhouse said.

Working on the project for decades, they helped create a genetically engineered fix.

“They really were visionaries," Newhouse said. "Really had this long-term idea, and even when other people didn’t really see it as realistic, they were able to implement that and able to get a project started.”

Powell recently passed away, but his work continues to be recognized. Before his passing, Powell and Maynard were awarded the New York State Commendation Awards, recognizing the years of effort they put into the project.

“The fact that it's grown, that it's getting recognized, that it's seemingly very likely that this will be an important part of tree restoration throughout the eastern U.S. is really special,” Newhouse said.

But when will the tree be seen in local neighborhoods? The project is still waiting for federal regulatory approval.

“All three agencies have indicated that they’re making progress and that they should make their final decision soon. So we are optimistic that we’ll be able to start distributing trees as soon as next year, potentially," Newhouse said.