Chapter 3: Regulations and Readiness
The idea of “going out and picking” poses risks, legal implications, while preparedness, the proper equipment and advance knowledge increases the likelihood of beneficial results. This chapter discusses the risks associated with using herbs and their lookalikes, how to safely harvest, the tools and supplies you will need and how to forage sustainably.
Rights and legal obligations of foragers in Pacific Northwest
Each state and province in the Pacific Northwest region—British Columbia, southern Alaska, Washington state, Oregon, northern California and Idaho—has specific regulations regarding harvesting of wild plants on both private and public lands. These regulations are designed to protect the habitat, but also safeguard landowner rights.
Generally, commercial harvesting of most edible plants is either prohibited or managed by permit, while foraging for personal consumption has reasonable limits on quantity. Equally important, regulations restrict the methods that may be employed to harvest products.
Rights and legal obligations of foragers in Washington
Foraging for personal consumption is limited to two gallons per person, with restrictions on what can be harvested and what type of equipment may be used. https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=352-28-030 In particular, use of rakes or mass collecting devices is prohibited.
While this regulation may seem clear, there are smaller limits on forage quantities in different state parks http://arcadianabe.blogspot.com/2012/03/rules-for-foraging-on-public-land.html . At the same time, other state land allows annual foraging limits of up to five gallons.
Private land in any jurisdiction requires the permission of the landowner.
Foraging in a nature preserve is not allowed.
Washington State publishes numerous documents that explain the limitations on foraging https://cms.agr.wa.gov/WSDAKentico/Documents/DO/RM/RM/36_SellingForagedWildPlantsAndMushrooms.pdf . It particularly emphasizes that, if anyone intends to sell foraged goods, they must obtain permission or permits in advance.
Rights and legal obligations of foragers in Oregon
Oregon has slightly different regulations for foragers. Generally, on state land, a person can harvest up to five gallons per day. The forager can only use a knife or similar hand held cutting device. No permit is required for smaller quantities for personal use. https://oregondiscovery.com/oregon-mushroom-picking-guide#:~:text=Oregon%20state%20law%20(Division%2010,generally%20require%20a%20free%20permit.
On shorelines, foragers cannot cut, mutilate or trim living vegetation. As in any jurisdiction, many plants are endangered or threatened and cannot be harvested in any quantities. https://www.oregon.gov/oda/programs/plantconservation/pages/aboutplantconservation.aspx
Rights and legal obligations of foragers in California
Because of the huge size and diverse geography of California, regulations are complex and also specific to individual areas of the state. This guide examines rules applicable to northern California (north of San Francisco).
The California Code of Regulations states “No person shall willfully or negligently pick, dig up, cut, mutilate, destroy, injure, disturb, move, molest, burn, or carry away any tree or plant or portion thereof, including but not limited to leaf mold, flowers, foliage, berries, fruit, grass, turf, humas, shrubs, cones, and dead wood, except in specific units when authorization by the District Superintendent or Deputy Director of Off-Highway Motor Vehicles to take berries, or gather mushrooms, or gather pine cones, or collect driftwood is posted at the headquarters of the unit to which the authorization applies.” http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=21301
However, specific state parks and forests allow gathering for personal consumption.
The list of endangered plants should be used as a guide to avoid harvesting plants at risk. https://www.cnps.org/rare-plants/cnps-inventory-of-rare-plants
In national forests, incidental (small) amounts of berries may be harvested for personal use.
Rights and legal obligations of foragers in Idaho
Idaho has one of the fewest sets of restrictions on foraging in their state parks or on public land. Other than their list of endangered plants that should be avoided https://legislature.idaho.gov/statutesrules/idstat/title18/t18ch39/sect18-3911/ they allow harvesting of wild plants for personal use without much limitation.
Rights and legal obligations of foragers in Alaska
Foragers are allowed to harvest wild plants responsibly in all Alaska state parks and lands, so long as they are used for personal consumption only. The same regulations that apply in other states for federal parks applies in Alaska.
No permit is required for harvesting on state land.
Respecting indigenous cultural and historical practices, the state allows sustenance harvesting of most plants. This more lax attitude allows many people to “live off the land.”
However, there are hundreds of Indian reservations in Alaska and harvesting on any indigenous land may be conducted only with the explicit permission of the band.
Rights and legal obligations of foragers in British Columbia
British Columbia, like Alaska, has a large number of indigenous bands. In BC, these First nations tribes take an extremely active role in managing natural resources, particularly fishing, hunting and foraging. Large tracts of land have been turned over to these bands who bear exclusive jurisdiction over them.
In provincial forests, personal foraging is freely allowed. However, in provincial parks, picking and eating is permitted, but use of containers to gather and take foraged plants home is not allowed.
On Indian reserves, leased crown land and regional parks, berry picking requires permission.
Harvesting of sea plants along open, non-park shorelines is allowed for personal use.
Equipment Needed to Safely and Sustainably Harvest
With the abundance of edible plants in the woods, it may seem unfathomable that someone could starve when lost. Yet, it happens with regularity, mostly due to a lack of preparedness and knowledge.
The story, Into the Wild, about twenty-something Chris McCandless, who delved into the wilds of Alaska and died, likely after consuming a poisonous plant, is a true tale that reveals the risks of not being ready and not having the proper equipment.
Not only do you need to know what plants to pick and what plants to avoid, you need an essential arsenal of equipment.
This Field Guide or App
The app, Plant Snap, provides an excellent resource for identifying plants that you encounter. However, it requires that you be within cell phone coverage range, making it of limited use in the bush, remote locations or mountainous areas.
This field guide can be used to identify the plants listed in this book. Unless you have specific knowledge of the plants you encounter, you should avoid picking or consuming them.
Gloves
Either sturdy latex gloves or gardening gloves are important. You likely will encounter poison ivy, stinging nettle, poisonous oak or other plants to which you may be allergic. The gloves provide an essential layer of protection.
Compass
Some phone compass apps can operate without internet connection. However, the phone also needs battery power and if you do not have a solar charger, your compass becomes useless. A small regular compass takes little space.
Small gardening shovel
Used for root crops, this shovel is handy, but not vital. A folding survival shovel takes up minimal space, however. If you do not have a shovel, your sturdy backwoods knife will do to root up shallow roots.
Folding or small hunting knife
A knife is one of the most essential survival tools, as well as an important foraging tool. It replaces scissors, digging tool and even a small hatchet. A good, sharp knife is valuable for cutting stems, separating roots so that you are not over-harvesting and moving rocks, lichens, debris and so on from around the plants you are harvesting.
Water
Be sure to take along enough water for at least the day, regardless of whether you plan on being on a full-day excursion. Accidents happen. People get lost. Water is essential for drinking and for cleaning small wounds.
Paper bags
Many plants may fragment. Others should be stored in separate bags or containers. Paper bags are biodegradable and reusable.
String
This is to tie bunches of similar plants for ease of handling.
You may opt to use colored string, so long as it is biodegradable, to enable you to mark where specific plants are located for future harvesting.
Insect repellent
It is always advisable to have insect repellent on hand in the wilderness.
Emergency first aid kit
A small emergency kit consisting of band aids, matches, candle, gauze, ASA, hydrogen peroxide, tape, sewing kit, and other essentials should be a part of every excursion into the backwoods or unfamiliar territory.
Satchel or knapsack
This is to carry your supplies and also to store your foraged plants.
Your entire array of supplies and equipment should weigh no more than a couple of pounds and will take up very little space.
In addition to this collection of supplies, be sure that you are properly attired for your excursion into nature.
The Ugly Stepsisters: Dangerous Lookalikes
Many plants, particularly in moist areas, including rainforests, have toxic or poisonous lookalikes. This applies to much more than mushrooms. Many of these lookalikes are not just poisonous: they are deadly to consume and sometimes deadly to touch.
In part, this is a good reason to wear gloves while harvesting.
In later chapters, I describe the dangerous “ugly stepsisters” for the plants that we feature, but this is far from the limit of toxic plants. If you do not know what the plant is, do not touch it and certainly do not taste it. That was the lesson of the movie, Into the Wild. McCandless may have died from consuming a deadly plant that he thought was edible.
Do your research before you venture out. Know before you go.
In addition to extremely toxic and deadly plants there are those that are safe in moderate quantities, harmful in larger doses. Many plants, like sorrel, contain oxalates which may be okay in small quantities but can cause distress in larger amounts. Rhubarb—a cultivated plant–is one of those.
Other plants interact badly with medicines or alcohol. While this is a common complaint with mushrooms (which we do not discuss in this book). It is also true for many synthetic medications. I have provided a list of contraindications and incompatibilities with each plant that we feature.
Sustainability Practices
While states and provinces limit the quantity of plants, herbs and berries that you can harvest, there is an ethical concern at play here, too. The First Nations principles for harvesting any of the earth’s resources are great guidelines for sustainable foraging.
The idea that one should take only what is needed is central to these principles. However, there is more to the practice.
A good guideline recommended that you should take no more than ten percent of any plant in an area. This allows the plant to reproduce effectively.
There are areas, years and seasons where plants grow abundantly and others when there is a dearth of those plants. Always be aware of the status of your foraged plants, whether they are endangered or abundant. Take minimal amounts. Try to never harvest an entire plant, particularly in fruiting or flowering season.
While the roots of plants are significant food sources, if you take the root, you take the plant. See if you can use other parts of that plant. This is another tenet of indigenous practice. Take only what you need but use everything you take.
If harvesting leaves, take only a small quantity of leaves of each plant. If taking stems of muti-stem plants, take only one.
Cut the plant part cleanly to avoid permanent damage.
If you disturb the soil or debris around the plant while harvesting, replace it when you finish.
In dry seasons, when plants are stressed, do not harvest, as it places additional stress on that plant and risks its survival.
Big Pharma Versus Foragers
While Big Pharma does not explicitly deny the efficacy of herbs used to treat various ailments, they repeatedly issue cautions and warnings that the value of those herbs has not been proven scientifically.
While this is a valid and true claim, they ignore the vast amount of anecdotal evidence supporting the effectiveness of herbs in folklore and home remedies.
Science requires “proof positive.” When they have a long list of data supporting a particular claim, they refer to it as empirical data. When laymen have a similar list, it is often disparagingly referenced as word-of-mouth, folk medicine or old wives’ tales.
It is ironic, though, that so many of the pharmaceutical industry’s drugs are derived from plants, or essential oils and essential ingredients in plants.
While they claim that using herbs and other plants to treat an ailment poses risks and that there may be side effects, they conveniently ignore how extensive the list of side effects that must be declared legally for every drug on the market.
In addition to the anecdotally proven effectiveness of using herbs, there is one huge advantage of plants: they have nutritional value, which synthetic drugs do not.
In order to prove, scientifically, that a herb is effective at treating the ailment for which it is used, a great deal of funding is needed. However, Big Pharma funds research for their patentable products, but not for herbs available for free, so the likelihood of being able to provide the needed scientific proof is minimal.
That does not mean you should abandon wild foraging or even growing your own plants. Certainly, concentrated synthetic drugs will have a more powerful punch than a few plants, but that also allows you to determine how you react to those plants more easily and safely.
In any event, since herbs and plants also are nutritionally valuable, your foraging has benefits that commercial medicines do not. And the price of commercial food also is a great motivator for foraging, for free.
Not only are you saving money, eating healthy and finding complementary remedies for your health issues, your excursions into the fresh air provide you with all the benefits that enjoying nature provides.