NOW IS THE BIG PUSH! We need help from as many of you as possible. This is our last chance to get a foraging task force into the budget and if it doesn’t go through this time, it’s probably not going to happen.
WHAT WE NEED YOU TO DO: Call or write to the conferees (listed in the letter below) ASAP saying you support a task force to help develop policy on the future of foraging on state lands. A sample letter is provided at the end of this post if you want a little help with what to say or write.
The following letter is copied from an email from Peter Martignacco, the President of the Minnesota Mycological Society (MMS). For sake of time, I have copied and pasted it here as it contains a lot of information and details. Although this letter was written to MMS members, this is pertinent to anyone that forages.
Dear Members of the Minnesota Mycological Society,
We need your help. The legislature is in the final days of its session and we are close to getting a task force established to develop policy guidelines for the future of foraging on Minnesota state lands. We need to reach out to the members of the conference committee below to let them know how important it is that we begin this discussion with our land managers.
For the past two years, MMS has been advocating for fair and science-based foraging policy in Minnesota. This effort began when we learned—at the DNR’s own annual conference—that foraging would soon face major restrictions in State Parks. Despite our offers to collaborate and help problem-solve, we were told our only opportunity to weigh in would be after rules were drafted and through a limited public input process.
Thanks to our persistence—including outreach to the Governor and a front-page Star Tribune article—the DNR eventually agreed to meet. Yet they offered no specific ecological concerns, only a blanket statement that foraging was “incompatible” with their responsibility to protect park resources despite 35 years of sustainable management under current rules and guidelines.
Since then, the DNR has shifted gears. Rather than pursuing rule changes exclusively for State Parks, they are now developing new foraging policies across all state-managed lands. They’ve already released new guidelines that would require area-specific permits—at $25 each—for harvesting forest products like mushrooms and berries in amounts intended for preservation. Our interest is to specifically support responsible and sustainable foraging for personal use, including responsible quantity limits to allow us to share and sustain our natural ecosystems. Read the guidelines here: Harvesting on state forest lands | Minnesota DNR
This is why MMS and our partners—including the Minnesota Foraging Alliance, Minnesota Conservation Federation, and Backcountry Hunters & Anglers—have worked with a bipartisan group of lawmakers to introduce legislation establishing a Sustainable Foraging Task Force. This legislation is only to create a group of experts and stakeholders to develop scientifically grounded recommendations that balance ecological sustainability with Minnesotans’ longstanding rights to forage for personal use on public lands. Not setting rules themselves.
Here’s the status: The DNR has been testifying and lobbying against this bill in both houses of the legislature as being unnecessary. At the same time DNR has offered no other proposal to include public landowners in discussions on this topic.
Currently this legislation is included in the Senate Environment Omnibus bill but is not currently in the House version. We are now in the final days of the session, and this issue is in the hands of the House-Senate conference committee.
We urgently need you to contact the conferees and urge them to include the Sustainable Foraging Task Force in the final bill and why it is important to you.
This legislation is just for the creation of a task force, for public landowners to transparently consider the future of foraging in Minnesota.
Conferees with their emails or email forms are:
House Conferees: Co-Chair Rep. Heintzemen, Rep. Isaac Schultz, Rep. Nathan Nelson, Co-Chair Rep. Peter Fischer, Rep. Kristi Pursell, Rep. Leigh Finke
Senate Conferees: Chair Foung Hawj, Sen. Steve Green, Sen. Mary Kunesh, Sen. Ann Johnson-Stewart, Sen. Jen McEwan
This task force must include genuine foraging experts—not just agency staff or general outdoor recreation representatives—so that Minnesota’s rich cultural traditions, Indigenous knowledge, and science-based sustainability practices are part of the conversation. We are proud that nationally recognized foragers like Linda Black Elk and Tim Klemens have expressed interest in serving, and we hope to also include Hmong community experts, Indigenous knowledge keepers, and respected figures like Brad Gausman of the Minnesota Conservation Federation.
Foraging is a gateway to conservation. It connects people to the land, fosters respect for nature, and reflects centuries of cultural practice. This is our chance to protect that connection and shape policy that respects both ecology and equity.
Thank you for your continued passion and advocacy.
In solidarity,
Peter Martignacco
President
Minnesota Mycological Society (Since 1899)
125 Years of Citizen Science 612-308-2156 president@
SAMPLE SCRIPT FOR AN EMAIL OR PHONE CALL:
Subject: Support for Legislation to determine rules on foraging on state lands
Dear [Legislator’s Name],
My name is [Your Name], and I am a resident of [Your City or District] and a forager of wild foods. I am writing to respectfully ask for your support for bipartisan legislation that will determine rules for responsible and sustainable foraging on state lands. The bill ensures that public organizations are at the table when Rules are being formed. This aligns with my goals of collaborating with the DNR on sustainable foraging practices.
Foraging is a time-honored tradition practiced by many cultural groups in Minnesota that promotes outdoor education, food security, and sustainable land stewardship. I carefully follow ethical foraging practices that preserve natural ecosystems while benefiting local communities. Protecting public access for responsible foraging would ensure that future
generations can continue to engage with Minnesota’s rich natural environment.
I would appreciate your support on this issue and ask that you support putting this legislation into the omnibus bill for the budget. Please let me know if you would be open to discussing it further. Thank you for your time and for your service to our community.
Sincerely,
[Your Name]
[Your Contact Information]