Climate & Environment

West Virginia Chestnut Orchard Faces Relocation Amid $20B AI Campus Development

By TOI Tech Desk

American chestnut trees at the former Clements State Tree Nursery in Mason County, West Virginia, may be moved as AI infrastructure developer Nscale plans to build its Monarch Compute Campus on the land. The orchard, planted in 1976 from surviving wild trees, contains about half a dozen mature trees from the original planting and 15 to 20 from a later 1990s orchard. The trees are infected with blight but still produce nuts that have been used for restoration work across the state.

Nscale describes the campus as “one of the largest single AI infrastructure investments in US history,” with more than $20 billion to be invested on a site covering over 2,250 acres. The company has said it will relocate the chestnut trees within the property during their dormant season in late 2027, under professional arborist supervision, and will cover the cost. Senior vice president Pete Hollis told West Virginia Public Broadcasting that there has never been, and will never be, a plan to bulldoze or cut down the trees.

State officials have announced a preservation plan, but chestnut specialists warn that moving mature trees carries risks, including root damage and the trees’ ability to survive relocation while affected by blight. The American Chestnut Foundation has called for an independent evaluation, noting that there are no documented examples of successfully relocating mature American chestnut trees. The feasibility of the proposed move remains unresolved.

The orchard was established from nuts collected by researchers from large surviving trees in West Virginia, Virginia and Maryland, hoping to preserve any resistance to chestnut blight. The American Chestnut Foundation describes Clements as a managed orchard that supports research, breeding and seed production, distinguishing it from a naturally occurring wild population.