These days, that’s it.īack in the early 1990s, the Mycological Society of San Francisco successfully argued for opening up mushroom hunting in several other parks, including Tomales Bay State Park, Mount Tamalpais State Park and Samuel P. Or on private land - if they have permission.
Within California, law-abiding mushroom gatherers are limited to national and state forests, where collecting is allowed after obtaining a free permit, and they’re also welcome in Point Reyes National Seashore, which is managed by the National Park Service, and Salt Point State Park. That’s unusual compared with places like Alaska, where the state constitution guarantees subsistence rights on all public land, and the rest of the Pacific Northwest, where foraging is permitted in state parks and on most other public land. The answer to that question isn’t entirely clear, but for the most part, mushroom hunting has never been allowed on much of the public land in California. Mushroom collectors on a hike through Salt Point State Park. So how did Salt Point become the only state park in California to allow mushroom foraging? “We’re the only game in town,” Lair says. There’s almost nowhere else they can go, and that’s actually part of the problem. It’s a difficult issue, Lair says, because a lot of people are benefiting from and enjoying mushroom hunting at Salt Point. “We’re in talks right now about not allowing it anymore,” says Russian River Sector Superintendent Mike Lair. Officials have grown increasingly concerned. In the last couple of years, as the pandemic-friendly hobby has exploded in popularity in California, it has upped the potential for damage to park resources, particularly trees vulnerable to forest pathogens. Ashley Harrellįor years, there’s been controversy about allowing mushroom gathering within Salt Point. Although plenty of foragers trespass and gather mushrooms illegally, those like Bingham prefer to abide by the law.Ī coral mushroom foraged by Brooke Bingham in Salt Point State Park. The vast majority of the good spots are on private land or tucked away in parks where the practice is outlawed. So the plan is to bring the mushrooms home to Occidental, use a book to identify them and make sure they’re all safe to eat.įor edible mushroom enthusiasts like Bingham, it’s difficult to find places to legally harvest fungi. Bingham is relatively new to the endeavor and therefore “not super seasoned,” she says.
0 kommentar(er)
