They are few and far between in Wisconsin, and our southern region seems to be the only place they grow. They're not crazy about our winters, but will thrive if in full sun. Which make no sense because the one I found, while in a clearing, was still pretty shaded by other hardwood trees. I had Beau remove a few scrappy trees so our little 'Lone Hickory' had a better chance of surviving.
Qiviut! That looks like YOUR view!
The squirrels love shagbark nuts for the winter as they have a real hard nutshell and don’t rot. When the nuts are ripe the squirrels bite them off and pick them up off the ground just like acorns. The nuts are quite edible but you’ll need a vice and a hammer to get them out, this is why you don’t see them for sale anywhere.
Shagbarks are fairly common but are uber-slow growers that’s why you can’t transplant them from the wild easily and why they are so expensive, but valuable as trees go!