“Incidentally, if you Google it you can find places to buy resistant American Chestnut trees to restock our forest lands. I’m thinking of getting some.”
I’d definitely do it if there are any, but from what I’ve read we haven’t got a blight resistant American Chestnut.
The loss of that species was a great tragedy. It was the most common tree in Eastern Hardwood forests until 1904 and many trees were 6 ft thick and nearly 100 feet high. It was fast growing, provided beautiful wood and was a major food source for all sorts of wildlife.
I suspect there was a link between the death of the American Chestnut and the extinction of the Passenger Pigeons that used to feed on them. Of course Passenger Pigeons may not have been such a wonderful thing- there were billions of them and their droppings were a major health hazard.
THe death of the American Chestnut and the extinction of the Passenger Pigeons are not linked. This extensive article on their demise says that their prime food was acorns and beechnuts. Pigeons were well on their way out decades before 1904, and it was people and the railroads that did it according to this:
https://www.audubon.org/magazine/may-june-2014/why-passenger-pigeon-went-extinct
Another aspect that I read a while ago is that they needed a flock of a certain size to stimulate their breeding hormones. By the time they only had a few specimens left, they could no longer promote breeding. If they try to restore the PP, they will have to build a big enough flock to create that stimulus. A major task.
This link from the American Chestnut Foundation answers many questions: http://www.acf.org/Q&A.php
Here is one commercial source that claims resistance. Unfortunately, they only deliver to some states. However they have extensive material on how, when, where to grow them, diseases, etc.: http://www.chestnuthilltreefarm.com/?gclid=CN_EjMvp28cCFUcXHwodxvMAGg
This Georgia based company mentions no restrictions on shipping: https://www.willisorchards.com/product/american-chestnut-tree#.VejBEflVikp
The impression I get is that while there might not be certified resistant Chestnut trees, you can manage to grow them, especially if your soil is not already infected. The grow quickly and start producing early and are not extinct, merely rare in the wild.