Oregon foresters warn mushroom hunters about damage
MEDFORD, Ore, (AP) - Oregon forestry experts are reminding mushroom hunters to be careful in their search for the tasty fungi this harvest season.
"You have harvesters who will do right no matter what, and you have harvesters who will abuse no matter what," said Susan Chapp, director of the Illinois Valley-based Forestry Action Committee, which seeks to educate the public on forest-related issues.
The mushroom harvest typically begins in British Columbia in August, eventually migrating into California where it ends in December.
The Northwest produced some 4 million pounds of commercial edible mushrooms - largely matsutake - in 1993, employing 11,000 people and adding more than $40 million to the economy, according to a government report.
With the fall season for both commercial and personal consumption about to begin in the lower mountain elevations, Chapp urges all pickers to be careful.
"There are areas where mushrooms no longer grow like they used to because people have disturbed the area," she said. "But in areas that are carefully farmed and harvested you don't see that impact."
Her warnings are supported by a 10-year study released last year by scientists with the U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Bureau of Land Management, Oregon State University and other mushroom experts on the highly popular matsutake mushroom.
The study in the high Cascade Mountains near Chemult determined that soil disturbance can be detrimental to the mushrooms.
The continuing study was launched to determine the sustainability of harvesting matsutakes, said Rick Abbott, a silviculturist at the North Umpqua Ranger District of the Umpqua National Forest. He also was one of the authors of the 2006 study.
"We found there was no detrimental effects from careful picking," Abbott said. "But when we looked at the different severities of disturbances, the study shows that more disturbances have a more detrimental effect."
There are more than 3,000 wild mushroom species in Oregon.
But only five - boletes, chantrelles, matsutakes, morels and truffles - are of much commercial value.
In Portland, Maggie Rogers, 74, a mushroom picker for half a century and a contributing editor to Mushroom magazine, agrees that irresponsible pickers can damage mushrooms, particularly matsutakes and truffles.
"When people rake them, instead of waiting for them to mature, that can be very damaging," said Rogers, a member of the Oregon Mycological Society.
She suggests pickers cut the fruiting bodies off with a knife. "That can introduce molds but at least you don't disturb the dirt," Rogers said.
"You have harvesters who will do right no matter what, and you have harvesters who will abuse no matter what," said Susan Chapp, director of the Illinois Valley-based Forestry Action Committee, which seeks to educate the public on forest-related issues.
The mushroom harvest typically begins in British Columbia in August, eventually migrating into California where it ends in December.
The Northwest produced some 4 million pounds of commercial edible mushrooms - largely matsutake - in 1993, employing 11,000 people and adding more than $40 million to the economy, according to a government report.
With the fall season for both commercial and personal consumption about to begin in the lower mountain elevations, Chapp urges all pickers to be careful.
"There are areas where mushrooms no longer grow like they used to because people have disturbed the area," she said. "But in areas that are carefully farmed and harvested you don't see that impact."
Her warnings are supported by a 10-year study released last year by scientists with the U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Bureau of Land Management, Oregon State University and other mushroom experts on the highly popular matsutake mushroom.
The study in the high Cascade Mountains near Chemult determined that soil disturbance can be detrimental to the mushrooms.
The continuing study was launched to determine the sustainability of harvesting matsutakes, said Rick Abbott, a silviculturist at the North Umpqua Ranger District of the Umpqua National Forest. He also was one of the authors of the 2006 study.
"We found there was no detrimental effects from careful picking," Abbott said. "But when we looked at the different severities of disturbances, the study shows that more disturbances have a more detrimental effect."
There are more than 3,000 wild mushroom species in Oregon.
But only five - boletes, chantrelles, matsutakes, morels and truffles - are of much commercial value.
In Portland, Maggie Rogers, 74, a mushroom picker for half a century and a contributing editor to Mushroom magazine, agrees that irresponsible pickers can damage mushrooms, particularly matsutakes and truffles.
"When people rake them, instead of waiting for them to mature, that can be very damaging," said Rogers, a member of the Oregon Mycological Society.
She suggests pickers cut the fruiting bodies off with a knife. "That can introduce molds but at least you don't disturb the dirt," Rogers said.