Conflicts 





In the last several years there have 

 been several reports of confronta- 

 tions among mushroom 

 pickers (fig. 6). Other re 

 ports claim that 

 conflicts among 

 pickers have 

 been exagger- 

 ated (Rogers 

 1991). When 

 picking conditions 

 are ideal and many 

 people are in an 

 area, conflicts can 

 develop such as 

 would occur at stream 

 side during a heavy 

 steelhead run. Some of 

 these confrontations in- 

 volve verbal threats, 

 others involve display or 

 discharge of firearms. Al- 

 though this is currently a law 

 enforcement concern, the 

 Forest Service as an agency 

 may be able to control picker 

 density by limiting the number of 

 permits that are issued for a par- 

 ticular area. 



.^«'\^approa,."' season 



.Q^Byreo 





Figure 6 — Newspaper clippings reflect the conflict over 

 mushroom harvesting In the Blue Mountains. 



Biology 

 General 



Fungi are a broad and diversified group of organisms that range from simple yeasts 

 and molds to specialized plant parasites such as wheat rusts and grass smuts, and 

 those that cause various tree diseases. Fungi are not plants but belong to their own 

 kingdom. They typically reproduce by spores and exist by deriving their food and ener- 

 gy from other organisms (fig. 7). 



Saprophytic activity occurs where fungi derive their energy from dead material. Para- 

 sitic activity includes a similar activity on living hosts. Most plant diseases and some 

 human diseases are the result of fungal infections. Many fungi once thought to be 

 solely saprophytic, including some common wood decayers, are now known to actively 

 hunt, capture, and digest various nematodes, rotifers, amoebas, copepods, and bacte- 

 ria. Protein from these lower animal forms serves as a needed source of nitrogen 

 (Barron 1992), 



Mutualists are another group of fungi that live in symbiotic association with plant hosts. 

 Fungi in this group include mycorrhizae that are associated with the roots of trees. Mycor- 

 rhizal fungi modify the root systems of associate plants and trees by providing substantially 

 more surface area and extensions of the small feeder roots. Consequently, these fungi 

 provide the plant with an efficient uptake of nutrients and minerals. The plant, in turn, sup- 

 ports the mycorrhizal fungus that is less able to decompose complex carbohydrates than 

 are saprophytic or parasitic fungi. Many of the choice edible mushrooms found in the West 



