Is the Forest Only Trees?

Commercial Wild Mushroom Harvesting in the Willamette National Forest

• When: Wednesday, September 19, 2018, from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm
• Where: Amazon Community Center, 2700 Hilyard St, Eugene, Oregon 97405

The talk is free and open to the public. There will be a mushroom identification session prior to the speaker. Bring what’s in your basket, edible or not, and learn from the experienced members of our community.

In Oregon, the edible, wild mushroom industry contributes to a significant portion of the economy, and thousands of commercial harvesters are harvesting in Oregon forests. 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. This disenfranchisement of the commercial wild mushroom harvester community relates to themes of environmental justice, which looks at the undue burden actions place on marginalized communities. Thus, through this lens of environmental justice, we can examine how the Forest Service can more holistically and justly manage public lands. Through document analysis and interviews, Becca’s research examines the extent to which Willamette National Forest’s management of commercial wild mushrooms incorporates environmental justice principles.

About the Speaker: Becca Marshall graduated from the University of Oregon this past spring with a Bachelor’s in Environmental Studies. She hopes to pursue a career in sustainable agriculture, and this fall she’ll leave for the Gambia to work as a Peace Corps Volunteer doing agroforestry and community garden work. In her spare time, she loves reading, exploring the outdoors and playing with her cat.