Maryland Forest Service Seeks Black Walnuts

Collection Sites in Frederick and Washington Counties Open Until Oct. 26

Marylanders with black walnut trees on their property are asked to donate extra walnuts to the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. 

The Maryland Forest Service will use the walnuts to grow and plant trees along creeks, rivers, and streams as part of state’s tree planting program, aimed at enhancing habitat and water quality throughout the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.

Citizens can drop off walnuts – in bags, boxes, or containers – at either Gambrill State Park in Frederick County or the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resource Conservation Service office in Washington County. Anyone with questions should contact those locations directly.

Black walnut trees are easy to identify by the large round nuts that drop after the leaves fall in autumn. Black walnuts are fairly common in Maryland and may live for up to 250 years. They are the most commonly planted nut tree in North America, partly because most seedlings germinate from nuts buried by squirrels.