Mushrooms come out of hiding in fall

Recent rains are generating an autumn growth spurt in native plants that goes beyond being candy for the eyes.

In dryland areas, shrubs that clammed up to conserve moisture and energy during the heat of August burst into bloom after that first cooling rain at the end of last month. The plumes of tiny yellow blossoms on the rabbit brush are still lighting up the arid hillsides from the South Hill bluffs over Hangman Creek west into the Columbia Basin.

This week’s rains, which almost surely will be followed by the sunshine of the annual “Indian summer,” will spur one more burst of greenery to sprout from the ground just at the critical time for deer, elk and other critters to lay on fat for the winter.

Wildlife biologists say the fall “green up” is key to the survival rates of game through the next seven months, especially in years of severe winters.

The fall “green up,” which was more of a “brown down” in 2002 and 2003, also weighs in on the productivity of game animals that breed in the fall.

For example, a whitetail doe that has plenty of nutritious green forage during fall is more likely than an undernourished doe to conceive and have twins or triplets in the spring.

Perhaps more important, a well-fed doe is more likely to give birth to heavy, healthy fawns that quickly gather the strength to elude coyotes and other predators.

But nothing is more obvious and captivating after autumn rains than the mushrooms that bulge from the earth almost overnight — tons of them, both edible and poisonous, but all unique and sometimes stunning in their form and beauty.

Mushrooms are one of the few things on earth that grow faster than the feet on a teenage basketball player. You know what I mean if you have to buy $120-pairs of athletic shoes — every month!

Hiking trails in the mountains throughout the Inland Northwest lead to excellent mushroom viewing that changes overnight in this kind of weather. I stumbled, literally, onto some monsters in the Canadian Selkirks north of Kokanee Glacier Park last week. A friend hiking in the Ten Lakes Scenic area in northwestern Montana said mushrooms were pushing up dirt everywhere.

Mushrooms are a fascinating life form. In simple terms, the “fruits” we see above ground are like the grapes on a vine. The part of the mushroom that corresponds to the vine is an underground web of threadlike tendrils called the mycelium.

Of course, no one lacking oodles of training should eat wild mushrooms that can’t be absolutely, positively, undeniably identified. Ingesting the wrong variety could be sickening or even lethal. That’s sobering considering the world harbors about 80,000 varieties of mushrooms.

On the other hand, you only need to invest a little effort to learn to identify fall favorites such as chanterelles, king boletes and shaggy manes.

Chanterelles resemble the bell of a trumpet that’s started to melt and deform. King boletes can look like a half a hamburger bun with a stem. With some expert help, you can quickly learn more diagnostic features.

People vary in their ability to eat mushrooms. For example, beefsteak mushrooms have no effect on most people, but a small portion can cause nausea in others.

That’s why experts usually advise new hunters to eat a small portion of a mushroom they are trying for the first time, even if it’s commonly considered edible.

The last weekend in September is the perfect opportunity to feed your curiosity for wild mushrooms. The Spokane Mushroom Club’s annual fall foray is scheduled for Sept. 24-26 based out of Hill’s Resort on Priest Lake, one of the nation’s hot spots for mushroom varieties.

This is the area’s top mycological event. The registration deadline has passed, but walk-ins are welcome if they join the club ($15 per family) and pay the foray fee, which is a bargain at $45 because it includes lectures by experts on Friday and Saturday evenings and guided field trips on Saturday and Sunday. A Saturday buffet dinner also is included.

If that’s not enough reason to join the club, consider that they have smaller forays all year round, and coming up is the annual October mushroom-tasting party and recipe exchange.

While mushrooms are emerging everywhere, including your yard, the Priest Lake area is special.

“Every year we’ll identify 130-150 species,” said Bob Morozzo, club spokesman. “We lay them out on sorting tables after they’re identified and labeled, and the leaders will talk about them. This is a good place for casual observers to get good information.”

Campgrounds are open in the area or you can book a room at Hill’s Resort, (208) 443-2551.

For information on the Spokane Mushroom Club, contact Morozzo 233-8674.

Fish til you drop: Rocky Lake in Stevens County and Ellen Lake in Ferry County are among 19 Eastern Washington lakes where gear restrictions and catch limits have been waived for the rest of the season, the Washington Fish and Wildlife Department announced.

The lakes are scheduled to be treated with roteneone later this fall and the state is giving anglers a chance to salvage as many of the fish as possible before the lakes are rehabilitated.

The catch-all-you-can seasons for Rocky and Ellen will close on Oct. 4. Closures on other lakes vary. The Hamptons and Pillar-Wigeon chain of lakes near Potholes Reservoir will close on Sept. 30 while the salvage period for Rat Lake in Okanogan County will run through March 31.

All of the lakes being treated are infested with illegally or inadvertently introduced fish species that are predators or compete with trout for space and food. Treating lakes with the organic chemical rotenone kills fish and allows for trout re-stocking either later this fall or next spring.

Horsemen project bankrolled: The Inland Empire Chapter of Backcountry Horsemen is being awarded a $4,650 grant from Recreational Equipment, Inc.

The group of about 120 families plans to use the money and a lot of muscle power to build a parking area at the Slavin Ranch Conservation Area, an natural area south of Spokane purchased with county Conservation Futures funds.

The parking area would make the area more accessible for everyone, including hikers, school groups as well as horsemen.

The grant will be awarded Monday, bringing REI’s contributions to $13,000 for projects by groups such Friends of the Falls, Friends of the Centennial Trail and Friends of the Little Spokane River.