Yes, Penn State monitors and protects IUCN Red Listed species, in particular the American Chestnut. and has in place Policy AD38 which delegates responsibility for environmental regulatory compliance to the Office of Physical Plant (OPP). OPP must align with Pennsylvania State’s Threatened and Endangered Species regulations.  

Penn State’s Arboretum is a partner institution for the American Chestnut Foundation.  

Penn State Erie – the Behrend campus, operates the Lake Erie Regional Grape Research and Extension Center, which has 15 hybrid chestnut tree species bred by The American Chestnut Foundation. The goal was and is to create a chestnut tree that is as genetically close to the American species as possible, while also inheriting the resistance to chestnut blight from the Chinese species.

Penn State’s historic and ongoing work with conservation management of American Chestnuts is detailed in articles “Blight-resistant American chestnut trees nearing reality,” “American chestnut rescue will succeed, but slower than expected,” and most recently “Researchers identify new threat to American chestnut trees.” 

The Penn State STARS report on biodiversity lists the endangered species supported by the Millbrook Marsh habitat, a World Database on Protected Areas IUCN management category III Natural Monument or Feature, which is owned by Penn State. 

 

Learn more about Penn State’s progress on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals HERE and on SDG15 HERE.