Why are pinon nut scarce?
Pinon nuts take time to form and many things can happen in the time between cone formation and harvest. The cones themselves take 2 years to mature. There is a saying in New Mexico… “once every seven years a good crop comes along…” The ol’ timers were not kidding. Another reason was piñon tree the die off 5-10 years ago. After an extended drought there was a 20 percent die off of pinon trees in some areas.
