West Virginia chestnut grove sits inside planned AI data center
Original title: The Chestnut Grove Caught in the Middle of A Years-Long Data Center Fight
Nscale’s 2,250-acre Monarch campus, with named clients including Anthropic, Nvidia and Microsoft, covers a historic nursery.
A historic American chestnut grove at the former Clements State Nursery in Mason County, West Virginia, is inside plans for UK startup Nscale’s Monarch Compute Campus. The 2,250-acre project names Anthropic, Nvidia and Microsoft among clients. Residents and conservationists oppose construction; the state environmental agency ordered stormwater repairs after flooding, and Nscale said it would pay for damage. Social posts claim bulldozing after November 1, 2026, while a 2024 foundation note quoted an official saying the trees would remain.
Unconfirmed: Claims that bulldozers will destroy the grove after November 1, 2026, come from social posts and are not confirmed in the article.
- Nscale acquired the campus project, previously tied to Fidelis New Energy, in March.
- West Virginia’s DEP ordered immediate repair of failed stormwater controls.
- The American Chestnut Foundation said a commerce official pledged in 2024 that the trees would stay.
- The contested chestnut plot is described as a little over one acre.
From the original article
11 min read at 404media.co
A small grove of historic American chestnut trees has become the site of resistance against an AI data center in West Virginia.
By Samantha Cole · 404media.co
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