With the annual spring mushroom season here, the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest has helped create a 2014 Mushroom Guide for harvesters.

The guide helps mushroom hunters, both recreational and commercial, remember when, where, how and if a permit is required. The guide, put together in cooperation with the Umatilla and Malheur national forests, is currently available at all three forest websites as well as at any of the ranger district and forest offices.

A permit is not required to harvest, possess, or transport less than one gallon in Oregon. These free-use mushrooms are for personal consumption and cannot be sold, bartered, or given away.

A commercial mushroom permit is required if you are 18 years or older and harvest mushrooms to sell, or if you plan to harvest, possess, or transport more than one gallon in Oregon (or more than five gallons in Washington).

An Industrial Camping Permit is required if commercial mushroom harvesters and buyers plan to camp overnight on National Forest System lands. Industrial camping permits can only be obtained at the local ranger district office. Commercial mushroom harvesters and buyers are prohibited from camping in developed campgrounds.

Commercial permit rates are $2 per day (minimum 10 days, or $20); annual permit, $100; or buyers permit, $600 plus administrative costs.

Commercial mushroom picking is prohibited in wilderness areas.

Beginning this season, commercial mushroomers will be required to keep a record of the date, time, and quantity of mushrooms removed from national forest lands. There is a chart on the front of the permit called the Product Quantity Removal Record. This new requirement will be enforced. Additional information can be found in the mushroom guide.

Mushroomers on the Wallowa-Whitman and Umatilla forests are required to display a recreation pass in the windshield of their vehicle when using a designated fee trailhead. Northwest Forest Passes cost $5 per day or $30 per year and are available online through Discover Your Northwest at www.discovernw.org.

Proper identification and determination of whether a mushroom is edible are the responsibility of the picker. Many forest mushroom varieties are poisonous. Remember: when in doubt throw it out.