**AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** BUTTERNUT HYBRIDS, HOWEVER, ARE DIFFICULT TO DISTINGUISH FROM BUTTERNUTS USING MORPHOLOGICAL TRAITS (ROSS-DAVIS ET AL., 2008). WHILE SOME HYBRIDS CAN BE RECOGNIZED USING MULTIPLE TRAITS (ROSS-DAVIS ET AL., 2008; CRYSTAL ET AL., 2016), THE CHANCE OF MISIDENTIFICATION IS VERY HIGH. MOLECULAR MARKERS, AS ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY, MADE IT POSSIBLE TO IDENTIFY PATERNITY (ROSS-DAVIS ET AL., 2008) AND DETERMINE THE PERCENTAGE OF HYBRIDITY (HOBAN ET AL., 2008). DNA MARKERS HAVE BEEN WIDELY USED TO DIFFERENTIATE NON-HYBRID TREES IN NATURAL FOREST POPULATIONS, ESTABLISH SEED ORCHARDS, AND FURTHER DEVELOP BUTTERNUT CONSERVATION AND RESTORATION PROGRAMS (HOBAN ET AL., 2008). NEVERTHELESS, DNA MARKERS HAD LIMITED UTILITY FOR MEASURING AN INDIVIDUAL'S LEVEL OF INTROGRESSION, ESPECIALLY IN IDENTIFYING F2 OR BACKCROSSES. GENOTYPING BY SEQUENCING (GBS) TECHNOLOGY PROVED TO BE MORE EFFICIENT IN IDENTIFYING HYBRIDITY, FOR EXAMPLE, F1, F2, AND BACKCROSSES (EBRAHIMI ET AL., UNPUBLISHED).