Pinyon Pine Cone Productivity Assessment

Join the Cone Mapping Community Science Effort!

No one is sure why Pinyon Jays are declining so quickly, but one of the leading hypotheses is that fewer and fewer pinyon pines are producing reliable pine nut crops. Because Jays rely on cached pine nuts to get through the winter, fewer pine nuts may mean fewer Pinyon Jays.  Unfortunately, very little data exists to test this theory. Community scientists can fill this gap and help us determine whether pinyon pine production plays a role in Pinyon Jay declines. If so, future management can stress the protection of productive stands and recreating woodland conditions that favor nut production.    

For more info on cone counting, you can check out the manual on the HUB!

This year, we are hoping to greatly increase the number of pinyon pine cone data points currently in our database. In order to incentivize this effort, we are offering the following prizes for dedicated volunteers who submit pinyon cone productivity records using the Survey123 Form.

These prizes are based on collecting certain numbers of data points, each data point has a 25 meter radius and should not overlap the radius of an adjacent plot.