Nscale's planned data center would sit on a historic American chestnut grove in West Virginia
Overview
Nscale plans a 2,250-acre data center, the Monarch Compute Campus, on the former Clements State Nursery in Mason County, West Virginia, where a historic American chestnut grove stands.
A 404 Media report says residents and conservationists oppose the project, and that the trees face potential destruction after November 1, 2026. Nscale says it does not yet own the nursery land and is under a plan for a purchase agreement. It says that once it owns the land, it will focus on caring for the trees, which an arborist assessed as suffering from blight and other adverse health conditions. Separately, the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection ordered Nscale to repair stormwater controls after heavy September storms flooded nearby neighborhoods.
Written by AI from the articles below · updated Oct 21, 10:15 AM ET
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Article timeline
The articles in this story. Times are ET.
- 404 MediaNewsEndangered American chestnut grove faces threat from proposed data center
AIAn endangered American chestnut grove faces a new threat from a massive data center, according to 404 Media. The article's full text is paywalled, so no further details about the project, location, or developer are available.
- 404 MediaNewsChestnut grove becomes a flashpoint in West Virginia's data center fight
AIA historic American chestnut grove at the former Clements State Nursery in Mason County, West Virginia, sits inside Nscale's planned 2,250-acre Monarch Compute Campus. Residents and conservationists oppose the project, and the grove has drawn attention after a reader raised concerns about trees facing "potential destruction after November 1, 2026." The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection ordered Nscale to repair stormwater controls after heavy storms flooded nearby neighborhoods in September.
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