Matt - my next door neighbor has a black walnut tree and it's the bane of her gardening existence because she is limited to what will grow on the ground near the tree due to this chemical toxicity thing that walnut trees produce. It may be that once the tree is cut down or dead that it's not an issue any more. I also have a friend who is a woodturner and he said that he loves working with walnut but 1) he has to turn walnut before it is gets too aged and dried out from being cut down and 2) he has to take safety precautions like wearing a mask and wash his hands immediately after working with it because walnut is one of the more "toxic" woods to work with fresh.

martha