Valuing the temperate rainforest: Wild mushrooming on the Olympic Peninsula Biosphere Reserve

Commercial, recreational, and subsistence harvesting of chanterelle mushrooms (Cantharellus formosus (cibarius) and C. subalbidus) on the Olympic Peninsula Biosphere Reserve was investigated during three fall harvest seasons (1994-1996). This article describes i) sociocultural characteristics of harvesters (ethnicity, class, power, gender, age, and kinship); ii) the organization of harvesting (unit of production, strategies, practices, harvest methods, division of labor, and rights to resources); and iii) economic values derived from commercial harvesting. Participant observation and interviews with 79 commercial harvesters and participant observation and a mail survey of 53 recreational harvesters were the chief methods used. Ethnicity and social class were the most prominent social dimensions of purportedly antagonistic relations between commercial and recreational harvesters, who otherwise had surprisingly broad overlap in values, norms and collective understandings. Among commercial harvesters, Latinos were replacing Southeast Asians and Euro-Americans. Gross incomes were low, averaging about USD 30 picking day(-1) for about 4 weeks of picking during the 3-5 month harvest season.