The American chestnut tree once dominated 200 million acres of the eastern United States, and its wood supported the U.S. economy and everyday life while chestnuts served as a primary food source for wildlife, livestock, and people, including as roasted chestnuts sold by street vendors. In the late 1800s, Cryphonectria parasitica, the fungal pathogen that causes chestnut blight, arrived from Asia, and by 1950 it had killed an estimated 4 billion trees. The American Chestnut Foundation uses backcross breeding to produce potentially blight-resistant American chestnuts with the goal of returning the species to its native range. An American chestnut planting took place on April 21, 2018 through the combined effort of Wauseon Rotary Club, Fulton SWCD, Wauseon Tree Commission, Wauseon residents, representatives from the Wauseon School District, and U.S. Forest Service.