An AI infrastructure company is covering the cost of preserving chestnut and chinquapin trees at a shuttered West Virginia nursery. Governor Patrick Morrisey announced on October 10 that the trees at the former Clements State Tree Nursery in Mason County will be moved within the property, with Nscale funding the work.
The nursery closed 2021 after financial losses, but the trees retain conservation value for seed and sapling harvest.
A relocation plan, not a removal
The trees remain on the property, moved to a more suitable setting under professional supervision rather than cleared for development.
Professional arborists are expected the trees during the late-2027 dormant season, according to the governor’s office. Seed and sapling access will continue after the move, maintaining the trees’ ongoing role in propagation.
The genetic safety net has already been built
Conservation groups and state agencies have already secured backup genetic material from the nursery site.
Conservation groups and state agencies established multiple two hectares stands on state land, with two additional plots created using grafts and seedlings. The American Chestnut Foundation, the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources, the West Virginia Department of Agriculture, and the West Virginia Division of Forestry all participated in an Oct. 5 assessment. Their involvement extends to the broader conservation effort, creating a layered genetic safety net that is not dependent on a single site.
Nscale’s footprint and who pays
Nscale, not West Virginia taxpayers, is responsible for the full cost of preservation and relocation.
Nscale is developing an AI data center and utility grid project up to 2,250 hectares in Mason County, per a local report from wchstv.com. The governor’s office said Nscale would cover the preservation and relocation costs. Local residents and conservation advocates raised concerns about the trees before the governor’s commitment was announced, drawing wider public attention to the issue.
If the relocation succeeds in 2027, the trees and their genetic material could remain available to researchers and growers for years to come, keeping a piece of Appalachian ecological heritage intact alongside a major technology project.