As warmer weather approaches, many residents may have questions regarding what kind of local food harvests they can count on. Extension’s morel mushroom website offers information from a variety of agencies and links to Extension publications designed to help you identify and make use of morels — everything from mushroom hunting checklists to instructions on including morels in delicious recipes.

A 2010 note from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) on mushroom harvesting:
"Disturbances from forest fires last summer are likely to create ideal conditions for morel mushrooms. Some people anticipate large harvests of these mushrooms throughout interior Alaska in the spring, however, their distribution will be unpredictable and uncertain. Researchers think that climatic conditions, such as when the fire burned and the amount of precipitation, determine whether morels will fruit, but little is known about why they fruit where they do. If they fruit next spring, commercial mushroom pickers will be ready to harvest this popular delicacy. As with other commercial activities [as opposed to generally allowed use] on state land, a permit is required from the Division of Mining, Land and Water. For more information on this sustainable harvest, contact the Division’s Northern Region Office."