Some Northern Michigan Residents Say Out-of-staters Should Not Take The Morels Out of State And Profit From Them
BOYNE CITY, MI -- For many people, Boyne City's Annual National Morel Festival is a weekend full of family fun, but some say it turns into all out mushroom mayhem.
A hunt for a fungus sounds easy. It's not. But the fun of doing it has brought people from all over to Northern Michigan keeping their eyes peeled for the prize -- a Morel Mushroom.
“Just for the morels, for my morale too," laughed mushroom hunter Rod Shattuck.
Shattuck, his friends, and family, have been coming up from downstate for over 20 years.
"Morel Hunting, it's really a true sport,” said Shattuck.
Carl and Barbara Burton bring their R-V to Northern Michigan each spring from Ohio, and have been doing this for eight years.
“It's just a camping trip, and the mushrooms are a bonus," said Carl Burton.
For these families it's all about the sport, and local businesses benefit, as figures show each camper contributes over 60 dollars a day to the local economy.
The elusive Morel is a delicacy for many people, and because of that, these go for $15 to $65 a pound, so you can see where a lot of people can make a lot of money off these simple mushrooms.
And that potential for profit brings out a different breed of hunter, many from out-of-state who take the 'shrooms back with them, and money out of the local economy.
“The Michigan tax payers pay taxes on these state lands, these folks are taking them back, not paying taxes on their bounty, and taking them back and selling them for pure profit," said Scott MacKenzie, who lives in Boyne City.
MacKenzie has a possible solution - require a permit or charge a fee to those taking more than five pounds of morels.
“Deep down inside, I don't like it at all, especially if they're profiting from it," said Shattuck.
Another problem - he says these for profit hunter often use techniques, like raking and pillage, which ruins the terrain and takes away from what he says the hunt is all about.
And right now, there's no limit on how many morel mushrooms you can collect.
As for the 50th annual National Morel Festival -- it kicks off tonight and will be the weekend event in Boyne City.
