10/02/2026
Ranger Aidan has been hitting the trails and hearing acorns plinking against the ground – time for another Ranger Roundup! This fall, the Preserve’s forest floor is littered with acorns and hickory nuts. It seems this year is a mast year for the hardwood trees of the Preserve. Mast years are years when trees with hard fruits like oaks, hickories, beech, and walnuts produce an abundance of fruit in the fall. While scientists aren’t sure exactly what conditions cause a mast year, climatic cues may be involved. Mast years tend to happen every few years, and the timing is synchronized among trees in a given area. This is a phenomenon that ensures that these trees, whose seeds are a favorite food source of wildlife, get a chance to reproduce. By producing an excess of seeds in one year, trees ensure that wildlife won’t eat them all, allowing some of the seeds to germinate and become trees given the proper conditions. Similarly, low seed production years help keep the population of seed predators in check. This year appears to be a boon for wildlife like squirrels, mice, foxes, and bears, since they will have a solid supply of food as they head into winter. Happy mast year!
