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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 29, 2016)
Page 8C OUTSIDE East Oregonian Saturday, October 29, 2016 FOUND TREASURE Evan Bush/The Seattle Times via AP This Oct. 8, 2016 photo shows a golden chanterelle mushroom, a prized edible that is relatively easy for beginners to fi nd near Skykomish, Wash. Northwest rain doesn’t get in the way of mushroom hunters and a toadstool button pinned on his shirt. Before you eat: He announced each mushroom’s • Have an expert identify all Latin name, told origin stories (the mushrooms before you eat them lobster mushroom is actually two Where to go: fungi, one of which is a parasite, we • For chanterelles, hunt in learned), and placed each fi nd on his coniferous forests where some edibility continuum, a scale from sunlight reaches the forest fl oor. • Chanterelles fruit in the fall, but “choice” to “worthless.” “Ooh. smell this,” Luther often their growth depends on eleva- exclaimed, before offering a sniff of tion, temperature and moisture; later in the season, hunt at lower a mushroom that carried the distinct aroma of radishes or lemon peel. elevations. Luther provides a security blanket • Take note of local mush- as much as showmanship. He room-hunting regulations; rules pointed out a few mushrooms that differ between national forests “will make you absolutely, violently and national parks. sick,” which ought to warn anyone What to bring: • Rain gear off hunting without an expert. • Basket Even chanterelles, which are rela- • Compass/ GPS tively easy to identify, have a handful • Whistle of poisonous lookalikes. • Knife Once through hunting, some in the group warmed themselves by who moved to Capitol Hill a few the fi re and told mushroom stories. years ago from Australia, brought One man regaled the assembly with their 9-year-old daughter, Frankie, on a tale about the time he fl ipped over the group hunt. The De Platers were his handlebars and landed in a fi eld curious about the wild fungi they had of glorious chanterelles. Others brushed away the dirt from seen while hiking. Frankie proved to be an energetic their precious fi nds. Laura Callow, a teacher, was searcher. “Kids are often the best mush- planning a meal for every mushroom room fi nders. They have a short found, including a cream sauce with angle. They’re looking under the thyme. She’d purchased chanterelle sword ferns we look on top of,” and lobster mushrooms before, but never found her own or cooked with Hudgins said. The family found one chanterelle, such sizable specimens, she said. Architect Jessie McClurg was and a pile of other colorful species to thrilled to have found several pounds bring back for expert eyes. of chanterelles, angel wings and DOWN-TO-EARTH EXPERT Back at base camp, PSMS identi- shrimp russula. A trail runner and fi cation chair Brian Luther examined hiker, she said foraging for fungi the De Platers’ haul, smelled the shifted her perspective about the mushrooms and even took a nibble forest. “When you’re trail running, of one species (don’t try this yourself; you’re focusing on the views and he’s an expert). As if to embody the role of a vistas. With this, you’re focusing on folksy mycological raconteur, Luther a different scale in the same environ- sported red suspenders, a mustache ment.” Mushroom hunting tips By EVAN BUSH The Seattle Times SKYKOMISH, Wash. — The rain is falling without mercy. It’s midmorning, but a gray blanket of low clouds tucks the forest in so cozily that it might as well be dusk. Even with Gore-Tex wrapping, moisture seems hell-bent on coating every square inch of skin. Ah, the pleasure of fall in the mountains of the Northwest. The fi nicky season leaves us ruing the end of comfortable backpacking and dreaming of ski tips plowing grace- fully through powder. But what to do while we wait? For those of us who typically seek high alpine views, it’s time to set your sights lower, even below the salal and sword ferns on the forest fl oor, to where fungi fruit plentifully. The allure of foraged mushrooms brought 12 of us tromping across national forest land near Skykomish, happily braving the rain, dodging moss-laden trees and scrambling up steep embankments. “It’s like an adult Easter egg hunt,” said Wren Hudgins, a volunteer with the Puget Sound Mycological Society (PSMS), who was leading the group of newbie hunters during the organization’s fall fi eld trip. Most Easter egg hunts don’t require the whistles that Hudgins asked we carry, though. It’s surpris- ingly easy to focus so intently on the hunt that you lose track of your surroundings. “Mushroomers are really vulner- able to get lost. They’re looking down, walking off trail and walking in circles,” Hudgins said. EYES OUT FOR THE PRIZE The group fans out, each member’s eyes sweeping the under- growth for a variety of fungi. Mostly, Evan Bush/The Seattle Times via AP A group of new mushroom hunters scour national forest land near Skykomish, Wash., for chanterelle mushrooms. they hope to catch a glint of golden chanterelle mushrooms, which are an attainable prize for a beginning hunter. Smelling of apricot, the chan- terelle is a stout, fl eshy mushroom with a mild nutty fl avor. In stores and when in season, the mushrooms typically fetch north of $10 a pound. They add savor and substance to risotto and play nicely with eggs. Chanterelles and other wild edibles like Boletus edulis (porcinis) are so prized that many experienced hunters keep their searching grounds a secret. “You’ll ask people where they found those boletes or chanterelles, and they’ll say, ‘Oh, east of here,’ or ‘Up in the woods,’” Hudgins said. Some people park a quarter-mile from where they hunt, to keep the competition guessing, he added. For that reason, and because consuming a misidentifi ed mush- room can send you to the hospital or worse, it’s best to tag along with an expert like Hudgins on a fi rst trip. Hudgins, who has been part of the mushroom society on and off since 1974, calls foraging “kind of a geeky hobby.” A psychologist by trade, he said there isn’t a certain type of person drawn to the fungi search. Curiosity is the only thing that binds foragers, he said. And that runs the gamut. Shannon Adams, the club’s media coordinator, said many are interested in foraging and gastronomy, while others seek mushrooms for the colors they produce to dye fabric. Some, like her, keep a sketchbook or paint mushrooms. Others seek to identify rare species. Hikers often join the group to educate themselves should they get lost in the backcountry. Then there are those looking for a mentally transformative experience. (“We don’t encourage that in the club, but it’s there,” Adams said, of some foragers’ interest in hallucino- genics.) Michael and Natasha De Plater, Oregon weighs whether all kids should get outdoor education By GILLIAN FLACCUS Associated Press MOUNT HOOD NATIONAL FOREST — Each year, thousands of Oregon parents hug their kids goodbye and send them tramping into the wilderness for up to a week to learn about their state’s natural wonders. The Outdoor School program was groundbreaking when it started more than a half-century ago. Since then, more than 1 million children have enjoyed — or endured — this rite of passage at campsites scattered from Oregon’s stormy coast to its towering evergreen forests to its rugged high desert. At the program’s heyday, 90 percent of sixth-graders spent the week testing water samples, studying fungi and digging through topsoil. Today, just half of Oregon’s 11- and 12-year-olds take part, mostly through a patchwork of grants, fundraising, parent fees and charitable donations. Caps on property taxes, plus the recent recession, have forced many school districts to scrap the program or whittle it down to just a few days. Staff photo by E.J. Harris Students take aim during an archery class at a combined Helix and Pilot School school district outdoor school in May 2016 at Meadowood Springs near Tollgate. Now, backers of a statewide ballot measure want to use a slice of lottery proceeds to guarantee a week of Outdoor School for all children. If it passes, the measure would make Oregon the only state with dedicated funding for outdoor education, including students in charter, private and home schools, said Sarah Bodor, policy director for the North American Association for Environmental Education. Opponents, however, say its passage would mean deep cuts to a state agency tasked with economic development by siphoning away millions in lottery money critical to expanding Oregon business. And at least one outspoken state lawmaker worries Measure 99 would impose liberal Portland’s values on children in rural Oregon where farming, mining, logging and fi shing are a way of life. The push to fund Outdoor School dovetails with a national trend toward outdoor learning, Bodor said. More than two dozen states have developed environmental literacy plans as educators realize the importance of outdoor time for developing critical thinking and leader- ship skills, she said. “But these are really unfunded mandates and ... the outdoor component is the piece that very often gets left behind,” Bodor said. Measure 99 would cover that unfunded cost by taking up to $22 million — or 4 percent a quarter — from the state lottery’s economic development fund to send 50,000 fi fth- or sixth-graders to Outdoor School each year. The Oregon State University Extension Service would dole out the money to school districts using a process that will be determined if the measure passes. Applying for the lottery funds would be voluntary, and schools, educational districts and nonprofi ts that already run Outdoor Schools around the state could continue to do so. To get the state funding, programs would have to meet certain criteria, including a curriculum that includes the study of plants, animals, soil and water; discussion of the role of natural resources in the state economy; and lessons on the relationship between economic growth, natural resources and conservation. “This is not a mandate — it’s an offer. And we wanted to make sure it was a real one, which means providing suffi cient funding to cover the cost of a good, high-quality program,” said Rex Burkholder, chairman of the Measure 99 campaign committee. With two weeks to go before the election, Measure 99 has no organized opposi- tion, and polls indicate it will pass — but not everyone is buying it. State Sen. Betsy Johnson, a Democrat who represents a rural district northwest of Portland, says lottery proceeds are for economic develop- ment, not camp. She worries Oregonians who remember their own Outdoor School experience will vote for the measure out of nostalgia without understanding it could hurt other programs.
