We were delighted to find Terry Richard's article in the August 31, 2014 edition of The Oregonian newspaper detailing the matsutake regulations in our beaver state. This is the kind of information that's really useful for everyone, whether you're picking for your pot or for the mushroom buyer down the street.
Don't confuse Matsutake and Amanita!
We're reprinting his brief article below with a couple of changes to reflect that a month has passed since its publication:
"Four national forests in Oregon (opened) the 2014 commercial harvest season for matsutake mushrooms following the Labor Day weekend.
"Matsutake mushroom season (opened) September 9th on the Deschutes, Freemont-Winema, Umpqua and Willamette national forests, according to the Deschutes National Forest. The 2014 season runs through November 2. The Chemult and Crescent ranger district officers (were) open from 6:30 AM to 4:00 PM on opening day for permit sales and (remained) open until 4:30 PM for other business. Starting September 10th, permits will be sold during regular business hours.
"Anyone harvesting matsutake mushrooms on national forest land must purchase a commercial harvest permit. Permits cost $200 for the 62-day season, $100 for a half-season permit (valid for 31 consecutive days) or $8 per day with a three-day minimum purchase (picking days need not be consecutive). Harvesters must be age 18 or older with ID.
"Permits, which include an informational synopsis and map, are also available at other ranger district officers of the Deschutes, Freemon-Winema, Umpqua and Willamette National Forests."
Our only concern about The Oregonian article is that it carried a photograph of an Amanita muscaria, rather than a matsutake! Judy Roger of the Oregon Mycological Society pointed this out in a letter to the newspaper. She noted the unfortunate choice of an Amanita muscaria, commonly known as the fly agaric or fly amanita, and pointed out its psychoactive qualities. However, by then the photograph of the fly amanita was out there in the public arena. Let's hope that the confusion doesn't result in some unfortunate incident.