The Department of Natural Resources is seeking the public’s help in collecting black spruce cones to alleviate a shortage of black spruce seed in northwest and northeast Minnesota. To address this, the DNR needs an additional 800 bushels of black spruce cones within the next few weeks. The DNR relies on individual collectors to provide cones to the state forest nursery. “This shortage will significantly reduce our ability to seed new black spruce forests this spring,” said Mike Reinikainen, forestry silviculture program coordinator for the DNR. The nursery dries the cones, extracts the seeds and sells the seed to land managers. Approximately 6,000 acres of black spruce in Minnesota are replanted each year with seeds from the nursery.