Looking for an outdoor side hustle? Collecting a bushel of pine cones next month will net you $75 and help the Michigan Department of Natural Resources plant trees in state forests.

 

Sept. 1-30, 2021, you can pick red pine cones and drop them off by appointment at six DNR locations: three in the Upper Peninsula and three in the Lower Peninsula.

 

Fresh cones can be found in felled treetops from recent timber sales, on state forestlands and in recently gathered squirrel caches. The simplest way, however, is to pick from living red pine trees where branches extend close to the ground.

 

First, make sure you're picking the right species. Red pines have craggy, reddish bark and 4- to 6-inch needles that grow in pairs. Scotch and Austrian pine cones will not be accepted.

 

Cones should be picked off the tree; fallen cones on the ground are likely to be too old or wet. 

 

Cone scales should be closed, with a little bit of green or purple tint - all brown and open, and they're too far gone.

 

For more information follow this link:  https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,7-350-86469-566216--,00.html