STOP THE BANNING OF MOREL HUNTING ON PUBLIC LANDS

 
Spring morel mushroom hunting is a traditional American activity whose participants range from the Nez Perce, to descendants of Northern European immigrants, to a another generation of mushroom enthusiasts.         Morel hunting is a completely sustainable activity involving neither the death of an animal, the harvest of plant material (morels are fungus) or the creation of bulldozed logging cuts.   And yet, government agencies are increasingly banning benign mushroom hunting in favor of permitting salvage logging by private logging companies. 
 
These government agencies have prioritized private logging company’s profit over the tax paying American citizen’s rights to our lands.  After years of mushroom hunting, morel lovers now find that in more and more public lands, our access is denied, roads are closed and large fines are levied against the public while these agencies grant access to private salvage logging.  Rangers are paid to patrol for mushroom hunters and levy fines while protecting the access of private companies for logging operations.  This is clearly wrong. 
 

Morel mushroom hunting is a harmless activity practiced by humans for thousands of years. Morel gathers are generally experienced outdoors persons, members of Mycological societies and/or local folks, all with the common goal of gathering these delicious mushrooms during the short window in which they emerge. We can find no incidents of harm to nature or persons from this beloved practice. 
 

Causes cited by government agencies for closure of mushroom hunting range from erosion caused by mushroom hunter’s feet, to danger posed by logging trucks, to elk disturbance, to falling trees.  The common sight of a salvage logging company’s caterpillar truck grading a burnt landscape makes a mockery of this reasoning. 
 

Morel season is around the corner!  We urge the National Forest Service and other government agencies to immediately reverse this policy of denying mushroom hunting permits to tax paying citizens on our very own lands. The more signatures we gather, the greater chance of stopping this very bad policy. Share!