We anticipate opportunities for people to harvest morel mushrooms in areas that experienced wildfires last summer on our forest. Mushrooms are considered a “forest product” and requires some kind of permit (free or charge) to harvest. This year, the Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest (HLC) will be issuing personal use charge permits from any HLC office. There are two different “uses” for mushroom harvesting: Incidental Use and Personal Use Charge Permit.
- Incidental Use allows you to harvest an amount up to 5 gallons and does NOT require any permit. A mushroom harvester is allowed possession of less than one gallon per day with a total of 5 gallons per season.
- Personal Use Charge Permit allows you to harvest up to 300 gallons for the season. The cost of the permit is $1 per gallon with a minimum purcase of 20 gallons (and is sold in $5 increments). No more than 5 gallons in possession per day. Personal use charge permits are required for all harvesters over 12 years of age; individuals ages 12-17 must have their permits signed by a legal guardian or adult sponsor and must be accompanied by an adult while harvesting.
Additional mushroom harvesting information can be found in the HLC 2018 Mushroom Guide.
Click here to view the 2018 Mushroom Harvest Map of the areas open to mushroom harvesting across the Northern Region.
Additional regional information can be found on the Northern Region’s Post-Fire 2018 Mushroom Harvest webpage.
