Crater Lake rangers seized 234 pounds of morel mushrooms illegally harvested from the park/NPS

Rangers at Crater Lake National Park in Oregon seized more than 234 pounds of illegally harvested morel mushrooms during the Fourth of July weekend, the park announced Monday. The estimated market value of the confiscated mushrooms is $7,944.

Harvesting from national parks is prohibited and can result in fines up to $5,000 and a maximum of six months in jail. National Park Service rangers collaborated with the Oregon State Police, U.S. Forest Service, and the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, and made contact with dozens of individuals suspected of harvesting mushrooms.

“We are thankful for the assistance of neighboring law enforcement agencies and want to remind the public that mushroom harvesting is not permitted anywhere in Crater Lake National Park,” chief ranger Kean Mihata said in a release. “Help us keep this place intact so that ecological processes can play out naturally here. These processes are part of what makes the park special.”

During the summer of 2015, the National Creek Complex – the largest fire in Crater Lake’s recorded history – burned 20,960 acres in the national park and in the adjacent Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest. The area affected by the wildfire has been favorable for morel mushrooms.

Mushrooms, the fruiting bodies of fungi, are critical components of forest ecosystems. Fungi are an important food source for wildlife and part of the forest cycle, helping to harness, store, and recycle nutrients necessary for plant growth. Fungi also form partnerships with forest plant species that aid in the recovery of disturbed habitats, including areas burned by wildfires.