Project Overview:
Public and private forest managers in the western US are placing increasing restrictions on wild mushroom harvesting and buying activities. Many of these restrictions are inappropriate in the eyes of many harvesters, and appear to be based on overestimates on the part of managers of the market value at point of first sale for harvesters.  Harvesters view many of these rules as detrimental to the livelihood strategies they developed over the past decade and a half to cope with uncertainty in mushroom markets and fruiting patterns. This project seeks to ameliorate the misunderstandings between managers and harvesters by providing information needed for development of policies that address both livelihood and sustainability concerns.

Project Objectives:
The project involves describing the livelihood strategies of morel mushroom pickers and buyers in two study sites in western Montana during the summer of 2001. The purpose of the article is to provide information to forest managers and scientists about the livelihood strategies practiced by mushroom buyers and harvesters, and how those are influenced by market conditions in the northwestern Rockies following a major fire season and by newly instituted mushroom management policies.