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Chilgoza pine (Pinus gerardiana) is an important source of income in forested eastern Afghanistan through the harvest of edible seeds. Since the late 1970s, the resource has been largely inaccessible to researchers and government personnel from outside the region, except for the years 2002–2015, roughly coinciding with Operation Enduring Freedom. We assessed physical and social attributes of chilgoza pine forests and the management capacity of indigenous communities. We employed interviews/questionnaires and field measurements performed by Afghan forest scientists from Kabul, trained local residents, and U.S. forest scientists associated with military operations to examine stakeholder perceptions of chilgoza pine forest resilience, assess forest health, stand structure and natural regeneration status. Intensive cone collection, tree damage caused by cone harvesting, grazing, fuelwood collection, and …