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• 2023 Arizona Morel Maps

  • Start
    20 Mar 2023
  •  
    9:00 AM
  • End
    21 Jun 2023
  •  
    9:00 PM
  • Location
    burn areas throughout the state

  Register

  The 2022/2023 winter has been one for the record books. While most of Arizona is desert, good winter snowpack and spring storms allows us Arizonans to enjoy the age old quest for spring morels.

  We get two types of morels in Arizona - those in the valleys and those in the mountains. Those in the valley grow in riparian areas (forests around streams) throughout Arizona where there are cottonwood trees in late March and April. Those in the mountains grow in recently burned areas from April through mid-June. 

  This year, due to the unbelievable winter precipitation, we have created additional maps and are once again providing all of these maps for free to AMS members.

  
  

  When conditions are right, burn morels can grow in large numbers in recently burned areas. They grow in habitat ranging from Ponderosa pine forests to higher elevation spruce-fir vegetation. Since they grow from tree roots, they can only be found in areas with these trees. The fruiting of morel mushrooms can be triggered by wildfires, so having a good map of recent wildfire boundaries is a key resource for having a successful hunt.

  Those that grow in the lower elevations along streams with cottonwoods are much more rare and do not occur in burned areas. The "riparian morels" are often found earlier in the season and only for a few weeks. When they are found, there are rarely more than a few. Like the burn morels, finding and searching out their habitat is the best way to find them.

  Hunting the Arizona morels is VERY challenging. You will need to consider key factors of the locations you are looking such as slope, aspect, soil temperatures, tree species, and whether or not the area has been recently burned. To help with the latter, the Arizona Mushroom Society has created maps of recent wildfires that can be downloaded and used by Arizona Mushroom Society members for FREE via the Avenza Maps app. In addition, due to the extreme winter precipitation this year, we have also created a map showing cottonwood-dominated riparian forest, so AMS members can search out and hunt the best habitat for those blonde river morels.

  All AMS members have access to our complete library of existing wildfire perimeter maps available to you from 2018 through 2022 wildfires to help you find morels.

  
  

  To access the free Arizona Mushroom Society Burn Morel library and for instructions on how to use these maps, please register for this event and an email with this information will be sent to you.

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• Hot, Straight Uphill, and No Edible Mushrooms Foray

  • When
    24 Jun 2023
  •  
    9:00 AM - 2:30 PM
  • Location
    Flagstaff, AZ
  • Spaces left
    25

  
  

  Get ready... we will be climbing the highest of heights under the punishing June Arizona sun in search of rare fungi that grows along the edges of shrinking mountain snow patches.

  
  

  We are looking to find and document the uncommon and ephemeral snowbank fungi! Snowbank fungi are known from high elevation western conifer forests, and unique to these areas from the Canadian Rockies to the lower Sangre de Cristos of New Mexico. They do not grow in Europe or other regions where there are large snow beds of the arctic, alpine habitat, or glaciers. The snowbank fungi are specifically associated with Engelmann spruce in areas with dwindling snowbanks adjacent to dense spruce forests with plenty of downed trees and litter.

  In Arizona, we are lucky  to have a few vestige snowbank fungi populations in the highest elevations most years. While it is unlikely any of the fungi we find will be edible, this foray will be a unique opportunity to discover, document, and learn more about the rare phenomenon of snowbank fungi in the desert southwest. We will also be recording any snowbank fungi we find using the iNaturalist app, which will allow us to contribute to the broader scientific understanding of the range of various snowbank fungi species. 

  Due to the extreme habitat of snowbank fungi we will need to climb very steep slopes at very high elevations to get to the last melting snows of winter. Please only register if you are in good health and feel comfortable with physical exertion at elevations above 10,000 feet.

  
  

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• 2023 Annual Foray - August 11-13, 2023

  • Start
    11 Aug 2023
  •  
    9:00 AM
  • End
    13 Aug 2023
  •  
    4:00 PM
  • Location
    Alpine, AZ

  - Registration To Open In June or July 2023 -

  Arizona Mushroom Society ANNUAL FORAY

  
  

  Mark your calendars for the August 11-13 Annual Foray in Alpine, Arizona in the White Mountains of eastern Arizona. The annual foray is our annual opportunity to spend a weekend learning about, finding, talking about and eating wild Arizona fungi! 

  .

  SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

  Date/Time	Activity
  Thursday, August 10	Early bird activity
  Friday, August 11, 9am – Noonish	Friday morning group forays, $20/person
  Friday, August 11, 1pm – 4ish	Friday afternoon group forays, $20/person
  Friday, August 11, 6:30 pm @ Alpine Community Center	Informal mushroom id and discussion, Free
  Saturday, August 12, 9am – Noonish	Saturday morning group forays, $20/person
  Saturday, August 12, 1pm – 4ish	Saturday afternoon group forays, $20/person
  Saturday, August 12, 6pm	Annual Foray Mushroom Meal
  Saturday, August 12 7:30 pm @ Alpine Community Center	Fungi presentation
  Sunday, August 13, 9am @ Alpine Community Center	Table talk, Free
  Sunday, August 13, 1pm – 4ish	Sunday afternoon group forays, $20/person

  
  

  EVENT DESCRIPTIONS

  Group Forays - 

  Group forays are your opportunity to go on a 1-2 mile hike with an Arizona Mushroom Society foray leader to find and identify wild mushrooms. You and any guests must be registered to attend forays. The cost is $20/person via online payment. Please only register for one foray between August 11-13th. We want to make sure everyone has the opportunity to get to attend a foray. If there are extra spots available, they will be posted on a first come, first service basis at the Alpine Community Center the Friday and Saturday evenings prior to the next day forays. Foray meet-up locations will be emailed to registrants by August 9th, before the event. No refunds available for cancellations.

  The REGISTRATION button on the left side at the top of page is how you register for a group foray.

  Activities at the Alpine Community Center - Free 

  This is your chance to dive deeper and learn from the experts about the fungi finds you and others have come across. The Arizona Mushroom Society is about education, and folks including Alan Rockefeller and AMS Science Committee Chair, Terri Clements, have already forgot more about fungi than any of us know! We have numerous opportunities for you to learn:

  
  

  

  Friday evening – Come by the Alpine Community Center to see and possibly contribute to the specimen room! We will be keeping a collection of fungi founds, both common and uncommon. These will be identified, sorted, recorded and displayed throughout the weekend for teach with and observation. Friday evening will include AMS science-minded folks and guests sorting incoming species and sharing opportunities for learning and trying out microscopy and specimen and tissue preparation for DNA analysis.

  Saturday evening – Come to the Alpine Community Center to learn about fungi and bring your interesting specimens!

  Sunday morning – Come to the Table Talk! If you have any questions about AZ native fungi, this is the place to answer them. Nowhere else in the world where there be more information about AZ mushrooms available to you!

  LODGING OPTIONS

   For more information on Forest Service Luna Lake group campsites, please visit here.

  For those who want slightly more developed facilities or a spot for your RV with hook ups, we encourage you to rent a place at the Aspen Lodge! They have a number of accommodations including a bunkhouse for a group, chalets, and small cabins at very affordable prices.

  The "Maine" cabin at Aspen Lodge
  

  They also have awesome owners who are eager to learn more about mushrooms since it turns out the lodge is in a prime location for summer fungi.

  You can also look for other lodging in the towns of Greer and Alpine, AZ - the heart of the White Mountains. You can find lodging options in Greer here, for Alpine lodging click here. There are several small cabins for rent, but options are limited due to the small size of the town. Another several miles away are the larger communities of Springerville and Eager, which have a larger selection, but may be further from foray locations. 

  
  

  Other nearby options to the west include Pinetop-Lakeside area, which has several blocks of small tourist-oriented restaurants and hotels. If nothing is available in Pinetop-Lakeside, a little farther out you can find more options in Show Low, AZ.

  There are also ample camping opportunities!  There are a number of developed campgrounds you can camp at throughout the area. Some of the developed campgrounds can be reserved at www.recreation.gov, others are first come, first serve. We will be foraying near developed campgrounds including Hoyer, Winn, Rainbow, Cutthroat, Grayling, Brookchar, and Apache Trout campgrounds. To find out more about the nearby campgrounds and if they are available, go to www.recreation.gov.

  Another option is dispersed camping on the national forest. The foray areas and much of the surrounding landscape is part of the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest. You are allowed to camp without a permit on much of the national forest in the area.

  
  

  FOOD SERVICE OPTIONS

  Food service will be very limited during the foray weekend. Please come prepared with lunches and snacks during forays because there is no location to buy food for several miles. 

  Local towns including Alpine, Pinetop-Lakeside, Show Low, and Springerville-Eager have restaurants and grocery stores for purchasing supplies or meal service. Alpine has a small gas station with snacks and gas.

  We are doing a very special Saturday night mushroom meal, which you can sign up for here.

  VOLUNTEERING

  We are looking for volunteers who would be interested in helping setup and run the event. If interested, please contact us at azmushroomsociety@gmail.com

  

  KIDS AND PETS

  Kids and pets are allowed to attend AMS events, and must be under your supervision at all times. Most forays including walking 1-2 miles on uneven terrain often with downed logs and steep slopes, which is difficult for toddlers and small dogs. Most forays are within the abilities of children 5-6 years old. Very young children will need to be carried, as most forays would not accommodate a stroller or other such mobile device. Dogs that are friendly and can get over logs in the woods generally do well on forays but must be kept on a leash at all times.

  
  

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