Permits are on sale for gathering firewood in the Methow Valley Ranger District. They are $5 per cord with a minimum purchase of four cords and maximum purchase of 12 cords per household.
Forest visitors are encouraged to check on road conditions with the ranger district before heading out to learn which roads may be damaged or impassable. More information about the personal use firewood program is available online at www.fs.usda.gov/main/okawen/passes-permits/forestproducts or by calling (509) 486-2186.
The Forest Service has also opened commercial mushroom harvesting in the Jolly Mountain Fire area of the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest. No commercial mushroom harvesting is open in the Methow Valley Ranger District. Commercial mushroom harvesting permits for the Jolly Mountain fire area will be sold at the Cle Elum and Naches ranger stations and the forest headquarters office in Wenatchee.
Harvesting mushrooms for personal use, up to five gallons per person per day, is free but collectors must carry a copy of the Free Incidental Use Mushroom Information Sheet with them while harvesting. The sheet and more information about mushroom harvesting is available online at www.fs.usda.gov/goto/okawen/mushroom and at local district offices.
The growing season for morel mushrooms begins as soon as snow melts and continues through July depending on elevation, slope aspect and precipitation.
