The majority of Pinus monophylla in this area are dying or stressed. Many cones had seeds but all the nuts were empty or shriveled inside. Most trees had needles missing or very short. A few had visible scale presence, like this one.
The black specks are females of this scale insect. Full story here:
http://bugeric.blogspot.com/2018/03/pinyon-problems-maybe-maybe-not.html