Mushroom Justice?: Commercial, Wild Mushroom Harvesting in the Willamette National Forest

Abstract

This research examines the extent to which Willamette National Forest’s management of commercial wild mushrooms incorporates environmental justice principles. In Oregon, the edible, wild mushroom industry contributes to a significant portion of the economy, and thousands of commercial harvesters are out picking. Commercial mushroom harvesters are a diverse group of people who live on the fringes of society, are highly mobile, politically weak and largely understudied. The United States Forest Service land makes up the majority of the land that harvesters rely on to pick mushrooms. However, timber activities like clear cuts and logging destroy mushroom patches and the voices of harvesters are largely missing in public planning processes that impact decisions made by the Forest Service. The disenfranchisement of the commercial wild mushroom harvester community relates to themes of environmental justice. Environmental justice looks at the undue burden actions place on marginalized communities, and through this lens we can examine how the Forest Service can more justly and holistically manage United States lands. For my research, I interviewed harvesters and land managers, and reviewed the Willamette National Forest’s natural resource documents for how they manage for wild mushrooms. Themes that emerged include a minimal consideration of the mushrooms and the wild mushroom industry, restricting harvesters’ access to the forest, and a predominant focus on managing for timber. All of this suggests an undue burden placed on harvesters because the Willamette National Forest is not managing for mushrooms. I conclude that the Willamette National Forest cannot manage the forest in an environmentally and socially just way if they do not consider the commercial wild mushroom industry and work to involve the harvesters in management decisions.