2019/2020 – CMS Year in Review

CMS Meetings

  • Total # of species – 539!  (Yes, we blew away the 2017 record of 409)
  • New species – 88 (beat the record of 69 new species in 2016)
  • Best in Show:  Cortinarius ponderosus – Jacob Anderson
  • 1stPlace:  Sparassis radicata – Keiko Bryan and Rob Castleberry  
  • 2nd Place: Boletopsis leucomelana – Bruce Newhouse & Peg Boulay

  • Family Foray – Chris Melotti enjoyed hosting families in a mushroom themed walk through Hendricks park
  • Introduction to Wild Mushroom Identification Class – Ron & Sandy Patton taught beginners the easiest edibles to identify and where and how to find them.
  • Adult foray – Ron & Sandy Patton led a group to Shotgun Creek.
  • Cooking with Wild Mushrooms – Lee Yamada’s class was unfortunately cancelled due to COVID-19.
  • Numerous CMS Members gave mushroom walks at the annual Yachats Mushroom Festival: Chris Melotti & Molly Widmer, Susie Holmes, Valerie Nguyen, Lee Yamada, and Anna Moore.
  • Peg Boulay and Bruce Newhouse taught their annual class at REI titled “Forest Treasures: Finding and Enjoying Wild Mushrooms”. The event was hosted at Wildcraft Ciderworks with $1 from every glass of cider purchased during the event donated to CMS.
  • Bruce Newhouse also gave an Introduction to Mushroom talk to the Lane County Master Gardener Association and led a mushroom walk for Oregon Wild to the Fall Creek area.
  • Chris Melotti & Molly Widmer assisted with the Yachats and the Sunriver mushroom festivals by providing mushroom identification expertise.
  • Molly Widmer attended the Pacific Northwest Key Council annual foray/myco meeting. Molly serves as the Secretary for the Key Council.
  • Cheshire Mayrsohn taught a mushroom dye class and a lichen dye class at the Eugene Textile Center.
  • Ron & Sandy Patton accepted an invitation to speak to the residents of the Waterford Grand Assisted Living Facility. The audience was attentive and engaged in discussions about mushroom ecology, mushroom taxonomy, and about the many new products and industries being revolutionized by fungus.
  • Mike Potts gave 2 mushroom classes/forays through the Siskiyou Field Institute in Southern Oregon and led 3 forays for the Northwest Nature Shop in Ashland.
  • Susie Holmes participated in collection forays and assisted with the mushroom display setup for the Humboldt Fungus Fair. Taught a microscopy workshop at the Santa Cruz Mycoflora Project’s Wild Mushroom Foray. And, attended the attended the Pacific Northwest Key Council annual foray/myco meeting.
  • Dr. Bitty Roy is currently serving as Treasurer on the Board of Directors of the North American Mycoflora Project. She authored a blog post in June describing how MLCO was created. She led a fungal walk for the West Eugene Wetlands Wander (sponsored by WREN) to Willow Creek. And, contributed to the content for the Mycological Society of America’s first virtual meeting: Monetary value of Citizen Science: The 2019 MycoBlitz by Bitty A. Roy, Eric Chandler and D. Jean Lodge and Citizen Science Contributions to Professional Mycology by D. Jean Lodge, Bill Sheehan and Bitty A Roy.
  • The CMS forums: General topic forums, Area Forums to communicate with members who live near you (Eugene/Springfield, Portland area, Southern Oregon, Central Coast), and the Interest Group Forums (Culinary, Photography, Education, Cultivation, Mycelium, Taxonomy, Fungi crafts).
  • Mount Pisgah Mushroom Festival Species list: the 2019 list, and a list of the most common species on display at the festival.
  • Edible mushrooms fruiting calendar.

Our summer of 2020 endeavor is to provide CMS members and the public with easier access to our website and notifications. We are currently testing a CMS app and mobile notifications. Stay tuned for instructions.

  • President: Cheshire Mayrsohn
  • Vice President & Meeting Speaker Coordinator: Chris Melotti
  • Treasurer: Pavel Gubanikhin
  • Foray Coordinator: Matthew Johnson
  • Members at large: Lee Yamada, Bob Blanchard
  • We began the year with Cori Sanchez as Secretary and ended the year with Erin Brown as Secretary.
  • Website & Newsletter: Sandy Patton

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