CMS Forays are open only to CMS members, for more information on membership click here.
- Foray Date: December 17, 2020 (Thursday)
- Bring your masks!
- Foray Leader: Lee Yamada & Bob Blanchard
- Foray area: East side of Coast Range
- Required mushroom permits: – None required for up to 1 gallon
- Parking passes – Federal/BLM/Senior Parking pass
- # of adult participants: 10, children accompanied by an adult are welcome, no dogs/pets
- Meetup time is 10:00 am, expect to be out most of the day. You may leave early after notifying the foray leader.
Join CMS foray leaders Lee Yamada & Bob Blanchard for a December foray. For those of you who think the mushroom season ends in November you are in for a surprise. Anyone who has been out in the woods this week has found there are actually more mushrooms out now than there were in October. And, Lee & Bob will be there to guide you and inform you.
Lee Yamada has been foraging for and cooking wild edible mushrooms since he was 7 years old, a mere 75 years. He has traveled to Europe, South America, and Asia with his wife Phyllis in search of mushrooms. It was a mushroom identification class taught by David Arora (author of Mushrooms Demystified and All that the Rain Promises) in the early 80s that started Lee on his quest to learn more about fungi. He would eventually become an assistant foray leader for David. Lee was an early member of the Santa Cruz Fungus Federation formed in 1984 by David and his students. And, when David was ready to hand over the reigns as Director of the Santa Cruz Fungus Fair; Lee stepped up and organized the fair from 1993 until 2003. On a national level, Lee is a lifetime member of the North American Mycological Association (NAMA) and served as their foray chairperson from 2001 to 2003. CMS was very happy to welcome Lee to their Board of Directors, shortly after Lee & Phyllis relocated from California to Eugene in 2016.
Bob Blanchard and his wife Debbie moved to Eugene from northern California in 1981. In 1998 Bob was fortunate enough to meet Marcia Peeters, who, with other local mycologists, was about to start a local mushroom club – the Cascade Mycological Society. Having photographed mushrooms for a couple of decades and having a keen interest in learning more about them, Bob was thrilled when Marcia asked if he’d like to be part of founding the club. Bob said he’d be glad to attend the meetings without saying a word, absorbing all he could about mushrooms – giving a new meaning to Sponge Bob. Bob has been active in CMS ever since, helping out with the Mount Pisgah Arboretum mushroom festival, and joining the board in 2019. Bob is also an avid birder, photographer, and woodworker. Bob joined the CMS board in March of 2019.
Registration for this foray will be from Sunday, December 13th through Tuesday, December 15th.