西弗吉尼亚州AI数据中心美洲栗树保护争议：环保专家质疑移植古树
英国企业 Nscale 在西弗吉尼亚州 Mason 县规划的 Monarch Compute Campus 数据中心项目陷入保护争议：官员提议将项目地块附近一片珍稀美洲栗树林中的成熟古树整体移走，但环保专家警告称，这些熬过数十年病害的古树可能经不起连根拔起。据 Tech Times 10月22日报道，州长 Patrick Morrisey 于10月10日宣布了该树林的保护方案；争议在10月21日 404 Media 的调查报道发表后升温。本站10月11日曾报道州长宣布保护这片位于前 Clements 州立苗圃的历史性栗树林，本条为该事件的跟进。
这片栗树林位于 Ohio 河畔的前 Clements 州立苗圃，多年来为保护工作提供坚果。美国栗树基金会（The American Chestnut Foundation）西弗吉尼亚分会前会长 Mark Double 向 404 Media 表示，林中许多树已在35年间多次挺过栗疫病感染；该基金会森林病理学家 Amy Metheny 向 WCHS 电视台表示，她认为这些树若被移走，将在两到五年内死亡。基金会在10月16日更新的声明中要求对移植方案进行独立评估，称目前没有成熟美洲栗树成功移植的记录。按州长方案，这些树将在2027年晚些时候的休眠季由专业树艺师监督移至地块内其他位置，费用由 Nscale 承担。
Nscale 表示从未打算推平这片栗树林，并已同意资助保护工作；公司与州官员均称保护才是目标。州长办公室援引州农业部门评估称，这些树在现有条件下预计也会逐渐衰退，妥善移植或许能改善其健康状况，但预期会有部分损失。
该项目还面临环保许可审查：州环保记录显示，Monarch Cloud Campus LLC 已为配套离网发电设施申请空气质量许可，并就施工影响湿地与水道提出两项州水域许可申请；监管部门初步认定发电设施可满足空气质量要求，但最终许可尚未决定。公众会议将于10月26日讨论水域许可申请，10月29日举行线上空气质量听证会。
West Virginia AI 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.
来源：GSM·美国（原文链接）
图片来源：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
- 2026-10-11 00:36西弗吉尼亚州长宣布保护克莱门茨苗圃历史性栗树，Nscale承担全部费用
- 2026-10-22 15:59西弗吉尼亚州AI数据中心美洲栗树保护争议：环保专家质疑移植古树本篇
