U.S. Department of Agriculture
Agricultural Research Service
Preserving A Historical Elm
[Running time:  ~ 1:58]

Welcome to focus on ag research from the Agricultural Research Service or A-R-S.  A-R-S is the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s chief scientific research agency.

ARS scientists are helping to preserve a 200-year-old elm tree that stands outside City Hall in Perth Amboy, New Jersey. The weathered elm, planted around 1815, has survived Dutch elm disease and brutal storms. 

Dutch elm disease was discovered in 1931. By the 1980s, it had killed 77 million American elm trees. 

ARS scientists, at the National Laboratory for Genetic Resources Preservation, collect genetic materials to preserve America’s agriculture. This winter, they’ll snip twigs from the tree and ship them to their laboratory in Fort Collins, Colorado. There, they will store the twigs in an indefinite flash-frozen state.

The historical elm is a symbol of strength for the residents of Perth Amboy.  It has ties to both New Jersey’s and our nation’s history.  On March 31, 1870, Thomas Mundy Peterson walked beneath the tree on his way into City Hall to vote. Peterson was the first African American to vote under the newly-enacted 15th Amendment. 

To learn more about this research, visit AgResearch magazine at www.agresearchmag.ars.usda.gov.  

That’s our podcast for today.  Thanks for listening.