Pacific Northwest Research Station

Title: Harvesting morels after wildfire in Alaska.

Author: Wurtz, Tricia L.; Wiita, Amy L.; Weber, Nancy S.; Pilz, David.

Date: 2005

Source: Res. Note PNW-RN-546. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. 31 p.

Station ID: RN-PNW-546

Description: Morels are edible, choice wild mushrooms that sometimes fruit prolifically in the years immediately after an area has been burned by wildfire. Wildfires are common in interior Alaska; an average of 708,700 acres burned each year in interior Alaska between 1961 and 2000, and in major fire years, over 2 million acres burned. We discuss Alaska's boreal forest environment, describe what is known about the ecology of morels that fruit after fire, and report the morel productivity of three recently burned areas in Alaska. In addition, we describe the results of a series of indepth interviews on the commercial harvest of morels in the Pacific Northwest, western Canada, and Alaska, including information on current harvests, the potential for and constraints to development of an Alaskan morel industry, and potential resource management and business development implications.

Keywords: Morel, Morchella, Alaska, wildfire, mushrooms, commercial harvest, nontimber forest products, special forest products

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Citation

Wurtz, Tricia L.; Wiita, Amy L.; Weber, Nancy S.; Pilz, David.   2005.  Harvesting morels after wildfire in Alaska..   Res. Note PNW-RN-546. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. 31 p..