In the United States you need a permit. We do have a problem with drug addicts over foraging edibles and getting into confrontations in the forest, particularly in Oregon and Washington State. My great-grandmother foraged for mushrooms here and in Lithuania, so I do understand about foraging for food. However, there are a lot more people now, and not all open space should be foraged.
I also, as I said, don’t feel like a hiker should be deprived of seeing everything in the natural state.
If animals knock them over, that’s one thing. People , that’s another.
Sorry to change the topic for a moment, @leafybye and others, but I’m having trouble following the conversation and which topic you’re replying to. Just in case you haven’t come across it, you can highlight text in someone’s post and you get a popup with an option to quote them.
Thanks for pointing this out. If you’re replying to a post from several responses back, quoting the text you’re replying to not only helps others better understand the flow of conversation, but you can quote multiple people in the same post instead of replying separately to multiple posts. No one should be posting five times in a row here. Thank you!
I appreciate the sense of this discussion, and have opinions for and against it. I think most of the useful points have already been stated. Unfortunately I find there are very few people who do actually care about the aesthetics of keeping mushrooms intact. But at the same time I value that there is a lot of research that needs to be collected, which tends to involve leaving them anything but intact…
Just a reminder: as @charlie pointed out, this is a global forum and there are myriad cultural and legal differences regarding fungi (and everything else). It’s fine to share your views, but please keep things civil (I think it’s been OK so far) and remember that sometimes we will have to agree to disagree and let things be.
:) I’m sure most mean no harm, and I guess immoral is too strong a word, but it is courtesy to leave a trail as is. For example, when I went to a Wilderness area trail in my area earlier this year, someone had picked every kind of mushroom, and left it upside down by the trail. I didn’t get to actually see the forest as a Wilderness.
I think this is a valuable discussion, but I think we need to acknowledge that this is potentially more of a cultural than an ecological issue. I personally see nothing wrong in picking a mushroom if it cannot be identified otherwise (and won’t obviously affect the fungus somehow). But I am not defending the actions of people who feel entitled to taking or disturbing whatever they want when nothing can really be accomplished as a result. In regards to taking something from Nature, I like to consider how the action will affect the species at the site (i.e. if I can benefit a species by identifying it or relying on it through reciprocal conservation then I consider the disturbance to be worthwhile).
As a forager, I think we put way too much emphasis on a hands off conservation approach, often to the point of detriment to, and alienation from, wild species and wild landscapes. Do we really fail to realize that our food, our clothing, our tools all come from the same Earth regardless of whether we attain these goods through agricultural or through the sustainable or regenerative use of wild ecosystems? I also think that we have an extremely dichotomized view of interacting with Nature; either we leave it entirely alone, or we destroy it and replace it; are not there other ways of being than this? Apologies for going somewhat off topic; I wanted to add something about interacting with Nature as a whole.
One place I’ve seen collecting anything at all is an ecological reserve. Also, I presume a scientist working on behalf of an agency would be authorized to take a specimen in a public land. The general public could be a different story.
Anyway, yes nature as a whole is up for opinions, I suppose. Yes, we rely on the fruit of the earth. I would hope these days we rely on cultivation of food and fiber, because often foraging can eventually bring detriment to an area if everyone decides it’s a good idea. But, yes, case by case, we can forage. That’s why they allow some mushroom picking in National forest.
I think, as in all things… tread lightly… meaning, you should aim to have as light an impact on that environment as you can while still accomplishing your objective. If it is the only fruiting body of that type evident, then perhaps leave it as is, but if you have seen several, then perhaps pick and dissect one that is out of view of those that might value the aesthetics of seeing them in pristine condition.
Also, consider the ripple effect… you destroy that one fruiting body, and then every other tramper that follow you on that trail also destroy one, and the effect is amplified. We set examples for others, and we need to consider how that will manifest. If it is just you on the hike, pick it. If it is you and a group of 60 school kids, think more about that example setting and ripple effect.
Consideration for the environment, and consideration of others, doesn’t necessarily mean that you shouldn’t do something… just that you should consider all the factors involved!
Actually, I must respectfully disagree. Agricultural practices impact far greater areas of land and greater numbers of species than do traditional ecological ways of using and tending wild resources. If we want to grow food on farms, then we must destroy and replace wild “resources” (I prefer to call them ecological services). Many people also think that Nature is somehow deficient in its ability to produce certain ecological resources, but this is simply not the case in most temperate ecosystems, rather many species are simply overlooked. There are also many species that can (and do) benefit from human harvesting, as they do from other animals using them, the common evening primrose (Oenothera biennis) is perhaps my favorite example of this. Of course, I don’t suggest that the entire human population should descend on our most precious wild lands, but if there was a far greater interest in foraging (and I don’t mean on a commercial scale) I think there would be a lot more action taken to restore damaged ecosystems. Just my thoughts, and no disrespect meant.
My opinion. I am the one of the post of the mushroom artistically altered, so you’ll know my view.
When was a young kid and I was taught how to identify A. phalloides I used to stump on them because I was… ignorant.
Now I think different. Obviously in some cases if you want to investigate them you can break the head as required to fold it and take a picture, without detaching and then let it fold back. If you do not take away the specimen, most of the spores will stay in place. If you need a piece for micoscopy, you do not need 1kg, Just pick the less conspicuous one. you just need the spores
I have read some comments like squirrels, mice . . well, fungi are part of a system, no surprise (please don’t tell me about man being part of the system, connecting and the like - I don’t buy it. It’s using. No one is surviving eating mushroom as a staple nowadays, no one needs the basidia of a mushroom to be able to express his artistic potential)
As for foragers, well, I have gone beyond that too - but let’s say there are different kind of foragers. When I was a kid and used to go foraging I remember idiots going in the wood with rakes to get the small boletus to brine by raking the woods. Then there are the ones taking what they need trying to impact as little as possible. And maybe giving back carrying them around in loosely interwined basket allowing spores to disseminate while walking, a kind of give back. In Italy is mandatory.
My bottom line: do stuff with moderation and knowledge and only disturb environment as little as you can.
If you are out for iNaturalist, be a Naturalist and keep in mind you are there to observe. That’s the guiding star for me. As I mentioned you may sometimes act wrong but it won’t be that wrong
