$40 Million In Morels

摘要

GROVELAND Calif. (Reuters) - Smugglers in northern California's fire-ravaged Stanislaus National Forest are sneaking out pricey contraband - not marijuana this time, but a favorite delicacy of Mushrooms: The luscious morel mushroom.Despite a record "flush," or bloom, of the tasty, wild fungi, mushroom hunters are banned from the forest because officials believe that scorched, unstable tree trunks, eroded soil and logging operations after last August's massive Rim Fire have made the area too dangerous. That means as much as $40 million in a bumper crop of morels — ironically sparked by the same fire that is blocking hunters — is rotting in the woods west of Yosemite Park. "It's a shame to let those morels go to waste," said Curt Haney, president of the San Francisco Mycological Association, who doesn't believe conditions are any more dangerous than in other, less productive, burn areas where gatherers have access.