nama 2016 - north american mycological …growing gourmet and medicinal mushrooms robinson lower...
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NORTH AMERICAN MYCOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION SHENANDOAH FORAY
SEPTEMBER 9-11, 2016
We’re all here to have a good time, but please respect these things:
Wear your nametag at all times. It’s your admission to all events and
meals.
Be prompt for all lectures, workshops, and field trips.
Sign in and out for all field trips.
No pets or firearms on 4-H grounds, and no smoking in buildings.
Don’t get lost!
Lost and found. The lost and found is at the registration table in the
Conference Center lobby.
Supplies. Front Royal has several grocery stores. The closest are Food Lion
and Martin’s, which are both about 4.5 miles away. From Harmony Hollow
Road (604), turn left on 522 to go toward town.
The Food Lion will be on the right as you come into town. There’s a
CVS Pharmacy in the same shopping center.
Martin’s is around the corner: turn left on South St. (55) at the light
just after the Food Lion. Then turn left again into the Royal Plaza
shopping center.
Meals. All meals will be served in the dining hall.
Breakfast is from 7:30-8:30.
Lunch is from 12:00-1:00.
Dinner is from 5:30-6:30 (6:30-7:30 on Wed).
If you are going on an all-day foray, the 4-H Center will provide a box lunch.
For an emergency, call 911.
4-H Center: (540) 635-7171
Bruce Boyer: (703) 863-9633
Connie Durnan: (202) 669-5740
1
The Mycological Association of Washington and the New River Valley
Mushroom Club would like to welcome you to NAMA’s 2016 Shenandoah
Foray. Shenandoah National Park is a beloved spot for our members. We’re
so happy to share it with you.
The Shenandoah landscape has an ancient history. Once taller than the
Rockies, the Shenandoah Mountains have eroded over millennia into the
gently undulating slopes you see today. Some of the rocks you’ll see exposed
here may be a billion years old.
Shenandoah also has a rich human history. For 150 years before the creation
of the park, European settlers were farming in the area. You may see the rock
walls that they built, and walk on their paths. For thousands of years before
that, Native Americans visited the area to hunt and gather in the summer, and
to make their stone tools. Some of the paths we walk may be their paths as
well.
Many visitors to the park learn about these different layers of park history.
Fewer learn about the layer that we’ll be exploring on this foray: the world
that lies hidden beneath our feet. Fungi are part of what make Shenandoah
National Park possible, sharing nutrients to help trees grow and breaking
down the wood when trees fall. In lichens, they are clinging to nearly every
rock surface, continuing to shape the mountains for generations to come.
We’re excited about the partnership that we’ve formed with the park to treat
our foray field trips as a fungal Bioblitz. We learn so much as individuals at
NAMA forays. This year, we’ll be helping the park learn, too.
-- the Shenandoah Foray Committee
Bruce Boyer, planning coordinator
Becky Rader, logistics coordinator
Connie Durnan, registrar
Martin Livezey, program coordinator
William Needham, field trip coordinator
Tony Airaghi, treasurer
Elizabeth Hargrave, publicity coordinator
Cody Waisanen, socials coordinator
NORTH AMERICAN MYCOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION SHENANDOAH FORAY
SEPTEMBER 8-11, 2016
If there are changes to this schedule, they will be posted in the Conference
Center foyer and at the dining hall.
7:30-8:30 BREAKFAST - Dining Hall – Early Arrivals only
8:30-12:00 Trustees Meeting
Conference Center lower level – Meeting room
Informal
field trip
leaving at
9:00
Meet between Robinson
and Dining Hall
at 8:45
12:00-1:00 LUNCH - Dining Hall-- Early Arrivals only
1:00-1:30 Break Workshop:
Susan Hopkins
Mushroom
Dyeing
Fairfax Shelter
Informal
field trip
leaving at
1:00
Meet between Robinson
and Dining Hall
at 12:45
1:30-3:30 Graduate Student Presentations
Rachel Koch
Daniel Raudabaugh
Jessie Uehling
Jorge Diaz-Valderrama
Conference Center auditorium
3:30-4:00 Break
4:00-4:30 Mycoflora Committee Meeting
Conference Center lower level – Meeting room
4:30-5:30 Break
5:30-6:30 DINNER - Dining Hall
7:00-9:00 Evening Program – Conference center auditorium
Welcome
Tribute to Herb Pohl
Finds of the Day
Wendy Cass – Shenandoah National Park
Roy Halling – Fungi Down Under: Sand, Gum Trees, and Porcini
9:00-10:30 SOCIAL – Robinson Lodge
HOSTED BY THE MYCOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION OF WASHINGTON AND
THE NEW RIVER VALLEY MUSHROOM CLUB
3
7:30-8:30 BREAKFAST - Dining Hall Yoga (7:00-8:00) – Dining Terrace
8:30-10:30 Arleen Bessette
Coming to Your
Senses: The Subtle Art
of Mushroom ID
Robinson lower level
Michael
Castellano
Behold the
Beauty and
Diversity of
Truffles in
Eastern North
America
Talk in Conference
Center auditorium
followed by truffle hunting on 4H grounds
Field trips
leaving at
9:00
All-day:
#1
Half-day:
#2, #3
Meet between Robinson
and Dining Hall
at 8:45
10:30-10:45 Break
10:45-11:45 Mark Jones
Growing
Gourmet and
Medicinal
Mushrooms
Robinson lower level
Brian Looney
Sorting Out
the Red
Russulas of
North America
Conf. Center auditorium
Debbie Viess
Amanita
Toxins: Deep
Analysis and
Myth-Busting
Conf. Center lower level
12:00-1:00 LUNCH - Dining Hall
1:00-1:30 Break Field trips
leaving at
1:00
Half-day:
#4, #5
Meet between Robinson
and Dining Hall
at 12:45
1:30-2:30 Ryan Kepler
Insect Pathogenic
Fungi of the
Appalachians
Robinson lower level
Rod Tulloss
Recent Research in
Amanita
Conference Center auditorium
Workshop:
Shannon Nix
Introduction
to Fungal
Microscopy
(pre-
registration
required)
Conference Center lower
level:
Microscopy room
2:30-3:00 Break
3:00-4:00 Tradd Cotter
Mushroom Rescue
Modules – Mushroom
Production, Water
Filtration, and
Mosquito Abatement
Robinson lower level
Gary Lincoff
Amateurs Can Make a
Difference: Developing a
Mushroom Survey in
Your Area
Conference Center auditorium
4:00-5:30 Break Yoga (4:00-5:00)
Dining Terrace
5:30-6:30 DINNER - Dining Hall
7:00-9:00 Evening Program – Conference Center auditorium
Finds of the Day
Raffle Winners
Update on Mycolflora and Herbarium Project – Barbara Thiers
Searching for Fungal Dinosaurs in Guyana’s Lost World – Dr. Catherine Aime
9:00-10:30 SOCIAL – Robinson Lodge
NORTH AMERICAN MYCOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION SHENANDOAH FORAY
SEPTEMBER 8-11, 2016
7:30-8:30 BREAKFAST - Dining Hall Yoga (7:00-8:00) – Dining Terrace
8:30-9:00 Break
9:00-10:00 Patrick Leacock
Name Changes:
200 Years of
Opinions
Robinson lower level
Jay Justice
Entolomoid
Mushrooms of
Eastern North
America
Conference Center auditorium
Workshop:
Denis
Benjamin
Mushrooms
in
Watercolor
(pre-
registration
required)
Dining Terrace
Workshop:
James
Lendemer
Lichen Field
Study in SNP
(Participants
must provide
their own
transportation
and entrance
fee to SNP)
Meet in Conference
Center foyer
Field trips
leaving at
9:00
All-day:
#6
Half-day:
#7, 8
Meet between Robinson
and Dining Hall
at 8:45
10:00-10:30 Break
10:30-11:30 Conrad Schoch
Fungal Names
on Genbank
Robinson lower level
Dorothy Smullen
Fairy Rings &
Pinwheels:
The Genus
Marasmius
Conference Center auditorium
12:00-1:00 LUNCH - Dining Hall
1:00-1:30 Break Field trips
leaving at
1:00
Half-day:
#9, #10
Meet between Robinson
and Dining Hall
at 12:45
1:30-2:30 Andy Methven
Appalachian
Species of
Lactarius
Robinson lower level
Rytas Vilgalys
Fungal Genetic
Diversity:
Barcodes,
Sequences, and
a Role for
NAMA
Conference Center auditorium
Workshop:
Denis
Benjamin
Mushrooms
in
Watercolor
(pre-
registration
required)
Dining Terrace
Workshop:
Rob and Ann
Simpson
Fungi, Fun,
and
Photography
Conference Center lower
level:
Meeting Room
2:30-3:00 Break
3:00-4:00 James Lendemer
Lichens of the
Smokies and
Shenandoah
Robinson lower level
Alan Bessette
Red-Capped,
Blue-Staining
Boletes
Conference Center auditorium
4:00-5:00 Cooking Demos /
Mycophagy
Fairfax Shelter
Bidding for the Silent
Auction Closes at 5:00!
Robinson Lower Level
Yoga (4:00-5:00)
Dining Terrace
5:00-5:30
HOSTED BY THE MYCOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION OF WASHINGTON AND
THE NEW RIVER VALLEY MUSHROOM CLUB
5
5:30-6:30 DINNER - Dining Hall
7:00-9:00 Evening Program – Conference Center auditorium
Finds of the Day
Photo Contest Results
Award Announcements
President’s Address – David Rust
Macrofungi and their Niches – Walt Sturgeon
9:00-10:30 SOCIAL – Robinson Lodge
7:30-8:30 BREAKFAST - Dining Hall Yoga (7:00-8:00) – Dining Terrace
8:30-9:30 Mycoflora Committee
Mycoflora Wrap-Up
All are invited to discuss NAMA’s mycoflora work.
Conference Center foyer
10:15-12:00 Walt Sturgeon and Team
Walk Through the Display
Conference Center lower level
By 12:00 CHECK OUT
Return your keys and foray badges
Pick up your box lunch in the Dining Hall
Conference Center foyer or in the Dining Hall after breakfast
NORTH AMERICAN MYCOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION SHENANDOAH FORAY
SEPTEMBER 8-11, 2016
Throughout the foray, be sure to check out the display tables in the lower
level of the Conference Center. If you have mushrooms to add to the display,
please drop specimens off at the sorting tent outside, NOT at the display
tables. For more on the collection and vouchering process, see page 15 of
this program.
Also throughout the foray, you can visit the vendor area in the lower level of
Robinson Lodge. You’ll find mushroom-related items for sale from a dozen
different foray participants, ranging from fine art to mushroom cultivation
supplies.
Thanks to the two local wineries who donated gift certificates for our raffle:
Desert Rose Ranch & Winery
Open daily 12-6pm
13726 Hume Rd.
Hume, VA 22639
www.desertrosewinery.com
Rappahannock Cellars
Open daily 11:30-5pm, Saturday to 6pm
14437 Hume Rd.
Huntly, VA 22640
www.Rcellars.com
You can buy raffle tickets at the Registration table in the Conference Center
foyer. Winners will be announced during the evening program on Friday.
HOSTED BY THE MYCOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION OF WASHINGTON AND
THE NEW RIVER VALLEY MUSHROOM CLUB
7
Thanks also to the many foray participants who have donated items for the
silent auction! Please bring your items to Pat Lewis in the auction space in
the lower level of Robinson Lodge.
The silent auction will be open for bidding starting at the social on Thursday
night, then all day on Friday and Saturday.
Come bid for your chance at some fantastic items including:
Preserved mushrooms and extracts
Mushroom cultures, spawn, and kits
A digital camera
Photographs and watercolor paintings
Handmade items such as a hand-forged bottle opener, a mushroom
knife, a morel walking stick, and pottery
Lots of mushroom crafts and tchotskes
College application coaching
FUNGI Magazine subscriptions and gear
National Park-related items
Yummy edibles like honey, maple syrup, and a Virginia cider basket
Raw wool and hand-dyed items
Books
T-shirts
Bidding closes at 5:00 on Saturday. You can pick up your items then, or at
the social on Saturday night.
NORTH AMERICAN MYCOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION SHENANDOAH FORAY
SEPTEMBER 8-11, 2016
Catherine Aime is an associate professor of botany and
plant pathology at Purdue and director of the Purdue
herbaria. Catherine is an expert in the systematics, evolution,
and biology of rust fungi. Catherine has also spent 15 years
documenting and describing new species and genera from
Guyana and other tropical forests worldwide.
Denis Benjamin documents wildflowers and mushrooms
with photography and watercolors. He is author of
Mushrooms: Poisons and Panaceas and Musings of a
Mushroom Hunter: A Natural History of Foraging. A past
board member of the Puget Sound Mycological Society and
co-founder of the Yakima Valley Mushroom Club, he now lives in Fort Worth
and is a Research Associate at the Botanical Research Institute of Texas.
Alan Bessette is a mycologist and professor emeritus of
biology at Utica College. Alan has authored or coauthored
more than 20 books (many with his wife Arleen), including
Mushrooms of the Southeastern United States and specialized
field guides on boletes, waxcaps, tricholomas, and
ascomycetes.
Arleen Bessette is a mycologist, photographer, and dyer.
With her husband, Alan, Arleen has authored more than 14
books including Rainbow Beneath My Feet: A Mushroom
Dyer’s Field Guide. Arleen and Alan live in St. Marys, Georgia.
Michael Castellano is a researcher at the U.S. Forest Service
and associate professor at Oregon State University. Michael
is an expert in the ecology and diversity of mycorrhizal fungi,
particularly truffles.
HOSTED BY THE MYCOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION OF WASHINGTON AND
THE NEW RIVER VALLEY MUSHROOM CLUB
9
Tradd Cotter is owner of Mushroom Mountain and author
of the book Organic Mushroom Farming and Myco-
remediation. His mushroom farm and research laboratory in
South Carolina includes over 50,000 square feet of covered
space and houses more than 200 species of fungi. Research
projects include systems for filtering water, prototypes for novel antibiotic
discovery, and myco-pesticides for problematic insects.
Roy Halling is curator of mycology at the New York
Botanical Garden. Roy works on the classification,
systematics, biogeography, and diversity of mushrooms,
particularly boletes. Roy has focused on exploration for and
documentation of bolete diversity in Australasia for the past
10 years.
Susan Hopkins learned to identify fungi with the New Jersey
Mycological Association, where she has been a member for
the last 36 years. After attending the 1993 International
Fungi-Fibre Symposium in Scotland, she became a dyer. She
has a longstanding interest in the tooth fungi, particularly
Hydnellum, Phellodon, and Sarcodon. After retiring in 2009, Susan now lives in
the Adirondack Mountains of New York.
Mark Jones is CEO of Sharondale Mushroom Farm, located
near Charlottesville, VA. His current work includes learning
and teaching about low-input mushroom growing for small
farm diversification and soil fertility; how fungi can
contribute to agroforestry and natural resource
management; and local strains of mushrooms that have potential as food,
medicine, and earth healers.
Jay Justice has studied the macrofungi that can be found in
the Southern and Southeastern regions of the US for over 35
years. He is a co-founder of the Arkansas Mycological
Society, and scientific advisor or mycologist for clubs in
Arkansas, Missouri, and Tennessee. In 2011 he was the
recipient of NAMA’s “Contribution to Amateur Mycology” award. His
particular interests are the genus Amanita, Chanterelles and Boletes.
NORTH AMERICAN MYCOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION SHENANDOAH FORAY
SEPTEMBER 8-11, 2016
Ryan Kepler is a researcher at USDA's Systematic Mycology
and Microbiology Laboratory. He studies fungi that are
insect pathogens, including Cordyceps and Metarhizium.
Patrick Leacock is a mycologist at the Field Museum of
Natural History and runs the Voucher Program for NAMA
forays. Patrick started out with the Minnesota Mycological
Society and was Recorder at his first NAMA foray in 1988. He
works closely with the Illinois Mycological Association and is
assembling the rich Chicago mycoflora of over 1200 species.
James Lendemer is the assistant curator of the Institute of
Systematic Botany at the NY Botanical Garden, where he
oversees the largest lichen collection in the western
hemisphere. His research focuses on understanding the
biodiversity of lichens in North America, and working with
partners to develop and implement conservation strategies that will safeguard
those species for future generations.
Gary Lincoff is author of The Audubon Society Field Guide to
North American Mushrooms and many other publications.
He teaches courses on mushroom identification at the New
York Botanical Garden. He has led mushroom study trips and
forays around the world, and he is a featured “myco-
visionary” in the award-winning documentary Know Your Mushrooms.
Brian Looney is a PhD candidate in ecology and
evolutionary biology at the University of Tennessee. Brian is
studying macroevolutionary patterns in the russulas.
Alexa Mergen is a yoga teacher and author. Alexa’s yoga
lessons help you increase strength and flexibility of body and
mind. She lives in Harpers Ferry, WV, where she hikes, writes,
moon gazes and edits YogaStanza.org. Her poems and
essays are widely published in literary and popular journals.
HOSTED BY THE MYCOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION OF WASHINGTON AND
THE NEW RIVER VALLEY MUSHROOM CLUB
11
Andrew Methven is a mycologist and lichenologist in the
Department of Biological Sciences at Eastern Illinois
University, where he maintains a cryptogamic herbarium with
over 10,000 specimens. He has been a foray mycologist and
speaker at numerous NAMA and local events over the last
twenty years. He is author of Agaricales of California: vol. 10 Lactarius and The
Genus Clavariadelphus in North America.
Shannon Nix is Associate Director of Institutional Research
and Assessment and an affiliate faculty member of the
Biology Department at George Mason University. Prior to
joining George Mason this summer, Shannon taught
mycology, botany, microbiology and electron microscopy
courses at Clarion University of Pennsylvania, and studied how forest
management practices impact fecundity and diversity of mycorrhizal fungi.
Conrad Schoch is a scientist at the National Center for
Biotechnology Information at NIH. Conrad curates the fungal
taxonomy at GenBank.
Ann and Rob Simpson are noted natural history experts
who have spent years involved with research and
interpretation in the national parks. They have led Canon
“Photography in the Parks” workshops in several major
national parks, and their stunning images of the natural
world have been widely published in magazines such as
National Geographic and Time Magazine. Their publications
include Shenandoah Simply Beautiful, Born Wild in
Shenandoah, and several national park travel guides. They
are currently working on a series of wildflower books and a
series of nature guides for FalconGuides.
NORTH AMERICAN MYCOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION SHENANDOAH FORAY
SEPTEMBER 8-11, 2016
Dorothy Smullen is a former president of New Jersey
Mycological Association. She has been studying mushrooms
for over 40 years. She is a past president of NEMF and in 1987
received the Eximia award for contributions to Amateur
Mycology. Dorothy is a retired high school science teacher
with a masters in biology, and currently works as a teacher/naturalist at New
Jersey Audubon.
Walt Sturgeon is chief mycologist for the Foray. Walt is a
past president of the Ohio Mushroom Society, and recipient
of NAMA’s Award for Contributions to Amateur Mycology
and NEMF’s Eximia Award. He is co-author of Waxcap
Mushrooms of Eastern North America, Mushrooms of the
Northeast, and Mushrooms and Macrofungi of Ohio and the Midwestern States.
He is also an award-winning photographer; his pictures appear in many field
guides.
Barbara Theirs is Director of the William and Lynda Steere
Herbarium at the NY Botanical Garden, where she oversees
the Garden's 7.3 million collections of algae, bryophytes,
fungi, and vascular plants, as well as the C. V. Steere Virtual
Herbarium, which contains a searchable database of
digitized herbarium specimens (2 million so far, with 100,000 added each
year).
Rod Tulloss is editor of the website Amanitaceae.org. Rod
curates a fungarium that includes thousands of amanita
specimens.
Debbie Viess is a biologist, naturalist, writer and artist, who
fell under the spell of fungi over 25 years ago. She consults
on mushroom poisoning cases in CA and is a frequent source
on mycological matters for all branches of the media. The
Genus Amanita and deep taxonomy are two of her particular
fungal passions, and she thinks that any time spent in the woods is time well
spent.
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THE NEW RIVER VALLEY MUSHROOM CLUB
13
Rytas Vilgalys is a professor of biology at Duke University
and curator of fungi at the Duke Herbarium. Research areas
in his lab include: the Fungal Tree of Life Project and the
origins of fungal biodiversity; molecular epidemiology and
population genetics of fungi; and molecular ecology of
fungal communities, including their interactions with plants across changing
environments.
Jorge Díaz-Valderrama is a PhD student at Purdue
University, working in the lab of Catherine Aime. His
research focuses on understanding the Marasmiaceae
fungus Moniliophthora roreri, causal agent of frosty pod rot
of cacao, one of the most devastating diseases of the crop.
Rachel Koch is a PhD student in botany and plant pathology
at Purdue University, working in the lab of Catherine Aime.
Rachel’s research focuses on the recently described
gasteromycete Guyanagaster necrorhizus of Guyana and its
unique spore dispersal mechanisms. She was the recipient of
the NAMA Memorial Fellowship in 2015.
Daniel Raudabaugh is a PhD student in the Miller Mycology
Lab at the University of Illinois. His work has focused on white
nose syndrome in bats. His current research focuses on the
community composition and environmental roles of aquatic
bog and freshwater stream fungi.
Jessie Uehling is a fifth year PhD student in Genomics at
Duke University studying with Rytas Vilgalys. Her dissertation
research is aimed at understanding endosymbiotic bacteria
living inside of plant associated fungi. At NAMA she will be
speaking on global bio-diversity of the ectomycorrhizal
genus Clavulina, with a focus on Guyana, South America.
NORTH AMERICAN MYCOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION SHENANDOAH FORAY
SEPTEMBER 8-11, 2016
Nicolette Albright is a Ph.D. candidate studying with Dr.
Janna Beckerman in the Department of Botany and Plant
Pathology at Purdue University, working in the lab of
Catherine Aime. Her current PhD thesis work includes
characterizing morel diversity in Indiana, both
phylogenetically and morphologically.
Emma Harrower is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of
Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of
Tennessee Knoxville, where she works with Brandon
Metheney. Emma is studying Cortinarius taxonomy as well as
worldwide biogeographic patterns.
Dillon Husbands is a Master’s student in botany and plant
pathology at Purdue University, working in the lab of
Catherine Aime. Her work focuses on the fungi and tropical
ecology of Guyana.
Bruch Reed is an actor and director from Chicago, currently
living in New York City. At the suggestion of his mycological
mentor Patrick Leacock, he became a member of the New
York Mycological Society and has had the privilege of five
foray seasons with Gary Lincoff and the inveterate NYMS.
Rachel Swenie works in Brandon Metheney’s lab at the
University of Tennessee Knoxville, where she aids in fungal
databasing, collections management, and molecular
annotation of specimens. She is working on a project on
diversity of Hydnum in the southeast U.S.
HOSTED BY THE MYCOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION OF WASHINGTON AND
THE NEW RIVER VALLEY MUSHROOM CLUB
15
This will be the twentieth year of NAMA’s voucher program, which seeks to
document and preserve a representative specimen, or voucher, of each of the
species identified at each annual NAMA foray. Dried specimens are housed in
the Field Museum of Natural History, along with photographs and information
about where they were collected. This year, we will also report information to
the National Park Service.
We need your help! Please read the information below on how to collect the
best possible specimen, and what to do with it.
COLLECTING USEFUL SPECIMENS
Using a sturdy knife, dig under the duff to remove the entire specimen,
keeping the base intact and any rhizomorphs attached.
o Pick fresh, intact specimens. Specimens that are in poor condition
are only useful if they are the only instance of a species.
o Collect specimens of varying maturities when available.
Otherwise, we do not need multiple specimens of the same species.
o You may take up to a quart of edible mushrooms out of the park
each day, in addition to the specimens you collect for ID. The
mycophagy team will be happy to use them.
Place each species in its own bag to avoid cross-contamination.
Carefully remove excess leaves and dirt first.
Fill out an ID slip as completely as you can, and place it in the bag with
the specimen. Be sure to include:
o the field trip number and
o your name – we may want to ask questions, or recognize you for
an interesting find!
WHEN YOU RETURN WITH YOUR SPECIMENS
Go directly to the dropoff tent and find the table corresponding to your
field trip number. There will also be a mycophagy table for edibles.
Place each species on its own tray, with its ID slip.
DO NOT take your mushrooms to the tables inside! From the outdoor
foray table, your specimens must go through several steps first:
o ID confirmation by a designated identifier,
o photography and entering into the foray database (vouchering
system), and
o for selected specimens, sampling for DNA analysis.
NORTH AMERICAN MYCOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION SHENANDOAH FORAY
SEPTEMBER 8-11, 2016
Initial sign-up for field trips was completed online. Final sign-up sheets are
available in the conference center lobby, where you can cancel, swap trips, or
claim any unfilled spots.
Meet at least 15 minutes before the scheduled departure time.
Transportation will leave from the parking area between Robinson Lodge and
the Dining Hall. The field trip numbers and destinations will be on the
windows of each bus. Check in with your field trip leader, so your spot isn’t
given away.
Walk-ons who did not pre-register will be taken if there are open spots, or if
those who are registered do not show up by five minutes before departure.
Bring a collecting basket, water, knife, whistle, and pen or pencil. We’ll provide
waxed paper bags and ID slips.
If you are going on an all-day foray, the 4-H Center will provide a box
lunch. Please pick it up at breakfast and bring it with you.
Don’t get lost! Hunt with a buddy, and stay within earshot of your group.
TICK BORNE ILLNESSES ARE RAMPANT IN THIS AREA.
Lyme Disease (transmitted by deer ticks) can cause severe
acute illness and long-term complications.
Alpha-gal (transmitted by Lone Star ticks) can cause an allergy
to red meat and sometimes dairy products; some people have
gone into anaphylactic shock without knowing they have this
condition.
Protect yourself with two important precautions:
1. Spray your feet and ankles with insect repellent containing
DEET before hitting the trail.
2. Check for ticks when you get back, especially in your hair
and anywhere that your clothing fits tightly on your body.
HOSTED BY THE MYCOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION OF WASHINGTON AND
THE NEW RIVER VALLEY MUSHROOM CLUB
17
WHISTLE SIGNALS
Remember, you can use your whistle to communicate:
1 Blast – I’m here (generally used as an answer)
2 Blasts – Come here (we’ve found something interesting,
or it’s time to leave)
3 Blasts – Help! (emergency)
Easy field trips are located on trails that should present no physical problem
to anyone used to being out and about.
Moderate field trips include trails that contain slopes that shouldn’t be an
issue at mushroom hunting speeds.
Challenging field trips may include short, steep sections and/or water
crossings with potential for wet feet. Barring heavy rains, forayers with good
balance or hiking sticks should stay dry.
1. Matthews Arm (Moderate)
This field trip will explore the area surrounding Matthews Arm Campground
in Shenandoah National Park, just past Milepost 22 on Skyline Drive. There
are many trails that intersect in the area. The canopy is comprised primarily of
upland oak-hickory forest with an understory comprised of mountain laurel,
viburnum, and a variety of berries. Other trees in the area include tulip poplar,
red maple, black locust, and beech. The average elevation is 2500 feet, with
ascents and descents of up to 200 feet. The western side of the foray area is
the headwaters of Jeremy’s Run, which is one of the tributaries of the
Shenandoah River.
NORTH AMERICAN MYCOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION SHENANDOAH FORAY
SEPTEMBER 8-11, 2016
2. Thompson Wildlife Management Area (Moderate)
This field trip is located in the Thompson Wildlife Management Area, along
the Appalachian Trail and adjacent access trails. Elevation is 1,300-1,500 in an
area of predominately hardwoods. Oaks, tulip poplar, hickory and ironwood
are abundant. There are several ecologically unique spring seeps in the area
that feed into small streams and Crooked Run, allowing the area to stay moist
even during much of the summer. There are many rock outcroppings.
3. Fox Hollow Loop (Easy)
This field trip will follow the Fox Hollow Loop in Shenandoah National Park at
an average elevation of 2,000 feet. The area is of historical note as the former
homestead of several generations of the Fox family. The trail passes the family
cemetery, the foundation of their home, and lichen-covered rock walls that
once lined pasture and orchards. The forest that has reclaimed the area
contains a wide variety of trees dominated by tulip poplar and black walnut,
switching to oaks at the end of the route. Spicebush and wild grapes are also
abundant. There is a spring and a small stream crossing.
4. Snead Farm Loop (Challenging)
This field trip is on the Snead Farm Loop in Shenandoah National Park at an
average elevation of 2,000 feet. The area is of historical note as the former
homestead of several generations of the Carter family, who were relatively
wealthy farmers with extensive orchards and cornfields, including the area
where the Dickey Ridge Visitor’s Center now stands. It is called the Snead
place because its last owner was a Rappahannock County judge of that name.
The park bought the 200-acre property in 1962. The trail covers mixed
deciduous forest in addition to open meadow areas and abandoned orchards.
5. AT at Markham (Moderate)
This field trip will explore along the Appalachian Trail in an area of uplands
that extend between routes 55 and 522 just outside Shenandoah National
Park, at an elevation of about 1,000 feet. The Appalachian corridor is about ½
mile wide at this point and affords foray areas on either side of the trail. There
are some open meadow areas interspersed with deciduous forest dominated
by chestnut oak trees. There is some drainage with a small tributary creek that
affords some potential for fungi that appear in riparian habitats.
HOSTED BY THE MYCOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION OF WASHINGTON AND
THE NEW RIVER VALLEY MUSHROOM CLUB
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6. Elizabeth Furnace (Moderate)
This field trip will visit George Washington National Forest in the vicinity of
Elizabeth Furnace, one of the relict iron furnaces that used charcoal to smelt
iron ore in the 19th century. The area is riparian deciduous forest along the
Passage Creek and upland along the Tuscarora Trail to moderate oak-hickory
woodlands, at an elevation of 500-1000 feet. There are several areas of open
meadow/grassland and many secluded picnic tables for a lunch stop.
7. Fort Windham Rocks (Moderate)
This loop is formed by sections of three separate trails in Shenandoah
National Park, at an elevation of about 2,000 feet. It accesses Fort Windham
Rocks, a greenstone (metamorphosed basalt) formation that includes some
of the oldest rocks in the park. The large outcrop is covered in a diversity of
lichens. The field trip route traverses several different forest ecosystems,
including areas dominated by oak-hickory, black birch, and basswood. Striped
maple is plentiful in the understory. As time allows, we may explore more of
the Appalachian Trail and/or a side trail that leads to a spring-fed creek.
8. Gravel Springs (Moderate)
This field trip will explore the area of Gravel Springs shelter in Shenandoah
National Park, which gained some notoriety as one of the stops mentioned in
Bill Bryson’s A Walk in the Woods. The field trip area surrounds the shelter in
an oak-hickory upland, at an elevation of 2,500 feet. We can explore areas
adjacent to three separate trails that intersect in this area. The general habitat
is wet around the shelter, as it is the headwaters of the Rush River.
NORTH AMERICAN MYCOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION SHENANDOAH FORAY
SEPTEMBER 8-11, 2016
9. Dickey Ridge Lower Trail (Easy)
This field trip will start just outside Shenandoah National Park and enter the
park on Dickey Ridge Trail, at an elevation of 500-750 feet. The general
category of the forest in this area is oak-hickory which is dominated by
chestnut oak and northern red oak. It is expected that mycorrhizal species will
predominate in this area. The northern side of the trail is dominated by a small
drainage area that is in a rutted area that has many dead trees that provide
habitat for saprophytic fungi.
10. Land’s Run/Dickey Ridge Upper Trail (Moderate)
This field trip will use three trails in Shenandoah National Park that intersect
with Skyline Drive at Land’s Run Gap. The average elevation of the area is
2,000 feet with a tree cover that is dominated by oaks. From the starting point,
there are areas to explore in four directions that will be accessed sequentially,
returning to the starting point after each short foray. Two of the trails remain
at elevation and one descends downward several hundred feet into a deep
wooded area. The last area is the upper reaches of Land’s Run Road; there is
a waterfall about .5 miles down this access on the right with a good
observation point.
You are welcome to explore most of the 4-H Center grounds on your own at
any time. However, the wooded area between Congressman Lodge and the
Peters Lodge (uphill from Fairfax Shelter) will be in use by another group
Friday afternoon through Sunday. Please respect their space.
You can access the Appalachian Trail from the trail that goes between Rector
Lodge and Peters Lodge (see map on the back of this program). From there,
you can hike as far as you like!
Within Shenandoah National Park, our research permit only includes the
field trips listed here, not individual collecting. Entrance to the park is $20
per vehicle, good for 7 days.