ST. PAUL — Foraging, the process of harvesting wild plants and mushrooms, has too many barriers in Minnesota, foraging advocates say. A bipartisan bill, which was heard in the House Environment and Natural Resources Finance and Policy Committee Thursday, Feb. 27, would create the Minnesota Sustainable Foraging Task Force in hopes of opening up foraging in the state. This 17-person task force would consist of four lawmakers, two Indigenous representatives, several researchers, a few advocates and a Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) representative. The task force’s goal would be to create recommendations that balance ecological preservation with the right to “enjoy the state’s bountiful natural resources through foraging,” according to the draft bill. Minnesota Mycological Society President Peter Martignacco said foraging is like hunting without the “chase.” People can forage in rural, suburban or urban environments either for food, fun or cultural reasons, he added. According to Explore Minnesota, the state is home to wild mushrooms, berries, leeks, ramps, nuts and even rice. Martignacco said while foraging can be a great way to spend time, Minnesota regulations place extreme limitations on what plant life can be foraged, where foraging can take place and how much you can forage. “It depends on what kind of land type you're on. It depends whether you are allowed to do it at all in the case of plants,” Martignacco said. “Do you need a permit and if you have a permit, what does it allow you to do? Does it allow you to just harvest vegetative material? Or if I want to harvest something that has a bulb or a tuber, can I dig it up?” “I have heard from the community directly, many people that have said for too long the rules that we have really limit people’s access to foraging on public lands, which is unfortunate,” Pha said. “We really need to relook at our rules and take a different approach.” The task force will work for two years discussing potential regulations while factoring in public input to create a report to present to the Legislature. “Their voices haven't been heard as a part of the discussion and this bill’s stated intent is really to ensure that this conversation does happen,” Schultz said. Chef Alan Bergo, who won the James Beard Award for cooking and is known for foraging for native ingredients, said in the committee that foraging lets people enjoy the local environment. “I’ve seen firsthand how Minnesota’s natural bounty fuels creativity, builds tradition and fosters community connection in our kitchens and beyond,” Bergo said. “You shouldn’t have to be a land baron in order to experience the bounty that our state land provides.” DNR Assistant Commissioner Bob Meier said in the committee that the DNR does support foraging but there is a legitimate concern about how a large number of people foraging could cause damage to the environment and wildlife. “The numbers coming into state parks year after year going into the same areas can cause significant impacts,” Meier said. “We’ve seen some people foraging within our state parks, collecting quantities as much as 20 pounds of material to share and eat with others.” While commercial foraging could create an environmental risk, Martignacco said smart regulations can balance environmental protections while allowing people to forage for personal use and enjoy Minnesota’s natural resources. Martignacco said his interest in foraging came from his love of mushrooms, which he finds “fascinating and beautiful” and yet so poorly understood. “If you talk to any hunter or fisherman, a lot of their connection is their relationship to the game that they're seeking,” Martignacco said. “Foragers have that same connection to the things they're looking for and their environment that they spend time in.” Following its passage in the House committee, the bill was laid over for consideration in a omnibus bill later in the legislative session. here's your how to guide.Courtesy of Peter Martignacco Alex Yantifovich and Ryan BlochGo Deeper.CloseCreate an account or log in to save stories We have added it to a list of your favorite stories meaning this long weekend might be your last chance to look for them But don’t worry — this is just the beginning “It's really the first mushroom of the season,” said Peter Martignacco the president of the Minnesota Mycological Society Morels are mushrooms that flush from Missouri all the way up to Canada but only for a short amount of time “I think that kind of the short season and difficulty in finding them I think are things that motivate a lot of people” to look for morels a self-taught mushroom forager of 15 years MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all “That group of mushrooms and why it's grouped together it has to do with the way the spores are released … the spore surfaces in those little pits,” Martignacco said The little pits make the honeycomb design of morels This characteristic makes them relatively easy to identify They kick off the mushroom hunting season in the Midwest “There's actually some cup funguses that fruit a little bit earlier than morels … but there really isn't any other mushrooms that grow before the morels really do to any great degree,” Martignacco said When morels start to fruit and for how long depends on the weather and moisture needs to reach at least 50 degrees for yellow morels really to become active and start fruiting And once the soil temperature gets above 60 degrees it’s over They don't fruit anymore,” Martignacco explained Mahmood Tajbakhsh posing with a bag of chanterelles he foraged.Courtesy Mahmood TajbakhshMorels reach maturity between seven to 10 days so after they are done fruiting morels aren’t around much longer Tajbakhsh tends to begin searching for morels “a bit before the lilacs are blooming all the way through They can be spotted in April but generally in Minnesota “Some people say Mother’s Day,” Martignacco said but the fruiting varies because of the weather you will find black morels more often since “black morels fruit at cooler temperatures.” So when “we're finding yellow morels in the Twin Cities you can find at the exact same time you can go to Northern Minnesota and find black morels,” Martignacco said The season for yellow and black morels ends around the same time. In southern Minnesota including the Twin Cities, this can be through May, but in northern Minnesota, morel season can go into June, according to the University of Minnesota Morels and other mushrooms are “up to 95 percent water,” Martignacco said you're not likely to find many morels you're not likely to find much of any kind of mushrooms,” Martignacco said The mushroom to find after morels is the chanterelle.” “People are finding oyster mushrooms right now A large chanterelle mushroom in a state park north of Minneapolis.Jennifer Simonson | MPR News 2014Identifying black and yellow morelsWhere and how to forage morels is kind to beginners looking to forage since they are easy to identify compared to other species “Black morels are a different set of species than the yellow morels yellow morels come in a variety of different colors,” explains Martignacco A good trick is knowing what type of trees morels favor Morels “associate well with cottonwood trees” that are dead or alive but stressed Morels also flush on dying apple trees and live ash trees people looked for morels near “relatively dead elm trees,” meaning they died in the past few years our forests have a lot fewer elms in them than they 40 years ago A hamburger with morels on it.Anthony Everett“Black morels grow amongst poplar trees on occasion Yellow morels can grow in association with white pine and red pine on occasion,” added Martignacco Martignacco has picked morels 12 inches tall while other mature morels are only a couple of inches tall As for the number of morels in one small area he said “It’s not horribly uncommon for people to find — on a wonderful tree — to find up to 50.” “I think another reason they're so very popular is because they're very easy to identify There's not much you can mix them up with,” Martignacco said One could be “false morels,” but they are not hollow like black and yellow morels They also have more of a wrinkled look rather than honeycomb pits We have a very high rate of Lyme disease here in Minnesota,” Martignacco said There are 16 diseases ticks are known to transmit in the U.S.  Although some are rare, nine of these diseases have been found in Minnesota according to the Minnesota Department of Health Most people know how to deal with mosquitoes while outside but “ticks are a little bit different … the best thing is there's a product called permethrin that you treat your equipment with your clothes This is a product that's not a repellent; it's actually a neurotoxin to ticks,” explained Martignacco Ticks are most active from April to September.Lacey Young | MPR NewsThe Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends “treat clothing and gear with products containing 0.5 percent permethrin.” They have a quick guide on how to prevent getting ticks and recommend showering after being outdoors but ticks are most active during warmer months (April-September),” states the CDC Minnesota’s mushroom season is within the active tick season blackberry bushes and wild parsnip to also watch out for just to protect my skin from any and all of those things,” Martignacco said “I have friends that wear shorts when they go foraging The first rule with eating morels: cook them “It is very important to point out that morels are toxic if not thoroughly cooked,” Martignacco adds “The toxin has never been identified exactly what it is that makes people sick.” Tajbakhsh first washes them with cold water “They have that kind of Honeycomb type of structure around them So you want to make sure you don't have sand Once they’re washed there are a few ways to prep them for cooking There are a few favorite ways Tajbakhsh cooks with morels If he wants the morels as the focus of the dish If he has a lot and wants to do something a little “different,” he makes “a fish soup — take bluegill Mahmood Tajbakhsh's family made pheasant back/dryad's saddle mushroom mole in the black pot (right) surrounded by other homemade sauces.Courtesy of Mahmood TajbakhshHis family has even made a pheasant back mushroom mole if you only have a few you might want to really focus on them.” Mushrooms are low in calories and contain antioxidants and vitamins most wild mushrooms are not heavily consumed by wildlife,” Martignacco said that you've identified it correctly … that may take a couple of times picking it before you've decided that that you're convinced that you have it right,” he said Etiquette is important when it comes to mushroom foraging Especially when it comes to “spots” and asking where people find morels “The etiquette is nobody's going to tell you … because what you're really asking someone says you might have spent 500 hours in the woods Can I just have them so I can come and take the mushrooms you were gonna get?’” Tajbakhsh said Putting the time and work in is part of the joy people let their trusted friends come along to their spots Tajbakhsh said he started foraging morels between 2005 and 2006 You don't tell people somebody else's spots.” and they tell 20 people because they want to brag then very quickly … not only did you lose your spot but also there's no more mushrooms for you to pick And none of those people took the time to walk through the woods getting bit with ticks and all those times they didn't find anything,” Tajbakhsh said A few other rules Tajbakhsh follows are making sure you’re following the law and not being destructive or minimizing any destruction as much as possible “Whether it's a morel or other types of mushrooms we are only picking the fruit …the fungus itself is all underground or it's growing in a piece of dead wood,” Martignacco said He explained that picking the fruit is not linked to fungus disappearing from the area. The University of Minnesota recommends pinching or cutting stems above the soil Patch of morels in center of the photo.Courtesy of Peter Martignacco Alex Yantifovich and Ryan Bloch“Up until about 10 years ago Foraging was definitely not a very mainstream activity for people,” Martignacco said the managers and protectors of our public lands are looking at this and they're concerned about how this might impact ecosystems.”  Martignacco wants to see a greater opportunity on public lands for people that don't have access to private property Martignacco added that several cultural groups like Eastern Europeans and Hmong communities are “very avid mushroom hunters in Minnesota … and it’s part of their cultural heritage … I think giving those groups the opportunity to continue those kinds of cultural activities as long as it's done in an ecologically protected way “You should make every effort to know what you're getting and be safe And be respectful of other people and their spots” Tajbakhsh said While mushroom foraging you may come across a species even mycologists might not know how to identify They estimate that there are probably 1.5 to 2 million species of we're talking about fungus in general and only about 4 percent of them have actually been described … it’s almost nothing,” Martignacco said Another surprising fact: Black morels are known to grow after wildfires and wildfires that we have in here in Minnesota don't seem to respond in the same kind of way and it's unclear as to why and wildfires like the ones that are happening right now in Alberta they will likely have quite a bit of fruiting in those areas they burned,” explained Martignacco really frustrating for amateur mycologists is that all the names are changing because they do a DNA analysis of the mushroom.” Just because it looks like one mushroom and has similar features does not mean it’s from the same genus they find out it's not related at all Then they give it a new name that's totally different they're constantly reorganizing this stuff all the time So names that have been stable for 100 years Proper scientific name identification in Latin doesn’t change what the mushroom is We can still forage morels and chanterelles if they ever get a new mysterious name I'm still learning and there's a lot of different species and things to learn It can improve anyone's life if they like being outside and wanted a way to do it,” Tajbaksh said Mushrooms of the Upper Midwest: A Simple Guide to Common Mushrooms  National Audubon Society Mushrooms of North America Minnesota Harvester Handbook Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker