West Virginia SI Data Center Chestnut Dispute: Conservation Experts Question Relocating Mature American Chestnuts
UK-based Nscale's planned Monarch Compute Campus data center in Mason County, West Virginia, is at the center of a preservation dispute: officials propose relocating mature trees from a rare American chestnut grove near the site, but conservation experts warn that trees that survived decades of disease may not withstand being uprooted. According to Tech Times on October 22, Gov. Patrick Morrisey announced the grove's preservation plan on October 10, and the controversy intensified after a 404 Media investigation published on October 21.
The grove stands at the former Clements State Tree Nursery near the Ohio River and has supplied nuts for conservation work for more than a decade. Mark Double, a former president of The American Chestnut Foundation's West Virginia chapter, told 404 Media that many of the trees have survived multiple chestnut blight infections over 35 years; Amy Metheny, a forest pathologist with the foundation's chapter, told WCHS-TV she believed the trees would die within two to five years if moved. In a statement updated October 16, the foundation called for an independent evaluation of the relocation proposal, saying it knew of no documented successful relocation of mature American chestnuts. Under the governor's plan, the trees would be moved elsewhere on the property in late 2027 during their dormant season, supervised by professional arborists, with Nscale covering the costs.
Nscale says it never intended to bulldoze the grove and has agreed to fund preservation efforts; the company and state officials both say preservation is the goal. The governor's office, citing a state agriculture assessment, said the trees were expected to deteriorate under existing conditions and that relocation with proper care might improve their health, though some losses were anticipated.
The development also faces environmental permit scrutiny: state records show Monarch Cloud Campus LLC has applied for an air quality permit for an off-grid power facility and filed two state waters permit applications over construction affecting wetlands and waterways. Regulators have preliminarily determined the power facility could meet air quality requirements, but a final decision is pending. A public meeting on the waters applications is scheduled for October 26, followed by a virtual air quality hearing on October 29.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 美洲栗树（Castanea dentata），Jean-Pol Grandmont 摄，CC BY-SA 3.0，Wikimedia Commons / American chestnut tree (Castanea dentata), by Jean-Pol Grandmont, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- 2026-10-11West Virginia governor announces preservation plan for historic chestnut and chinquapin trees at former Clements nursery
- 2026-10-22West Virginia SI Data Center Chestnut Dispute: Conservation Experts Question Relocating Mature American ChestnutsThis story
