A Review of Wild Mushroom Harvesting Regulations on Public Lands in the United States

Wild mushroom harvesting is an activity practiced throughout the United States (U.S.) and holds a place of both cultural and economic importance. Mushroom harvesting on public lands in the U.S. takes two primary forms: (1) commercial harvest (for sale) or (2) personal harvest (for one’s own consumption or for sharing to others). As mushroom harvesting has grown in popularity, particularly in urban and suburban areas, ready access to information surrounding harvests on public lands has become increasingly important to the mushroom harvesting community, and ultimately to fungal conservation and sustainable exploitation. In this study, documents pertaining to harvesting on state and federal public lands in the U.S. were analyzed for their accessibility for personal and commercial harvesters. Scores were assigned based on access (ranked 0–5), with higher scores indicating greater access to the public. Overall, personal harvest (Min = 1, Max = 5, Average = 2.96) was permitted to some extent in every state, with the greatest access provided in Oregon, Nebraska, Wisconsin, and Michigan. Permits were often not required (Min = 0, Max = 3, Average = 0.7), with Montana and South Dakota having the most permitting requirements. Commercial harvest was associated with more limited access, and had greater associated regulation (Min = 0, Max = 4, Average = 1.02). Seventeen states that allowed for personal harvest did not allow for commercial harvest. Permitting was almost always required for commercial harvest (Min = 0, Max = 4, Average = 1.06), with Oregon having the most developed commercial permitting requirements. Access to public lands was found to be highly variable in the U.S. and is governed by a variety of local, state, and federal regulations. Information, depending on its source, was at times easy to access through a website, pamphlet, or phone call. However, in many cases information was out of date or difficult to find, and studies on the impacts of commercial and personal mushroom harvesting are limited. As a result, it is important that land managers develop communication mechanisms with the public for information sharing, to provide open and frequent communication, and for building long-term trust and relationships with harvesters. We offer some example mechanisms to land/resource managers and university/public educational partners as a starting point.