Thanks for this recommendation. Its interest reminds me that HN is one of the better sites to browse, and the occasional, seemingly off-topic (non-tech) discussions can be pleasurable.
I'm perversely delighted that determined criminal gangs are associated with covertly reaping a fungus. Refreshingly not because the fungus is psychoactive, but because it has flavor derived value.
I know I shouldn't make light of criminal behavior that in the end, is destructive, but I would enjoy hearing the discussion about "What are you in for?" when these guys get apprehended. The topic probably would interest even hardened criminals. "You can make money doing that shit?"
Which Agency is responsible for enforcement? USDA? Are there dedicated fungus cops? Chasing fungus criminals in the great outdoors sounds like a terrific job.
Matsutake are a big deal here in Oregon too[1]. Interestingly they are a big enough business that you're only allowed to pick a few without a license, though I would bet that enforcement varies...
There are migrant gangs of Matsutake poachers roaming Northern California and Oregon. Working for the National Park Service / USDA Forest Service, we'd have unrelated scientific monitoring equipment destroyed and stolen by these groups assuming that they were camera traps. There are, of course, migrant mushroom foragers in general; but the high sale value of Matsutake invites criminal involvement.
Yes, I guess in that sense getting a ticket for trying to take a few extra pounds home to roast would be a lot better than a beatdown or worse in the woods!
Reminds me of one time when I was hiking during the winter (in Arkansas) and I hiked down into a ravine that was filled with the most amazing smell. I could find no signs of life such as flowers to identify the source. The only thing I could find was a lone mushroom growing on a boulder. Nobody believed me when I told them that I thought the smell was due to a mushroom but it was the only possible thing in that whole valley.
There's a fantastic book about the entire natural, social, and economic ecosystem around Matsutake foraging - "The Mushroom at the End of the World" - https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780691220550
Highly recommend Anna Tsing's The Mushroom at the End of the World: On the Possibility of Life in Capitalist Ruins which does a deep dive into this world
I'm perversely delighted that determined criminal gangs are associated with covertly reaping a fungus. Refreshingly not because the fungus is psychoactive, but because it has flavor derived value.
I know I shouldn't make light of criminal behavior that in the end, is destructive, but I would enjoy hearing the discussion about "What are you in for?" when these guys get apprehended. The topic probably would interest even hardened criminals. "You can make money doing that shit?"
Which Agency is responsible for enforcement? USDA? Are there dedicated fungus cops? Chasing fungus criminals in the great outdoors sounds like a terrific job.