Where is it legal to forage in the US?

Picking fruits, nuts, and mushrooms is usually legal in US National Forests. To learn more, check out this map of National Forests and click on the forest name for more information. Harvesting plants, fungi, and other items is generally allowed in Bureau of Land Management areas.

fourseasonforaging.com - Foraging Legality

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Twin Cities residents can explore the Midtown Greenway for wild edibles and medicines. The Midtown Greenway is a bike corridor in south Minneapolis that runs east-to-west between 28th Street and Lake Street. It was converted from railroad tracks and is owned by the Hennepin County Regional Railroad Authority. Foraging along the Greenway isn't illegal, but it isn't sanctioned either, due to concerns over soil contaminants from the railroad, which include arsenic and petroleum products. However, there are ways to work around soil contamination; see this blog post for more information. Many people express surprise when they learn that foraging is completely illegal in most city and county parks. The Twin Cities Metro has an extensive park system, a map of which can be found here. The ordinances concerning city and county parks are listed below in alphabetical order.

Anoka County Parks

Chapter V, section 1 of the ordinance says that “it shall be unlawful for any person to intentionally remove, alter, injure, or destroy any tree, plant, rock, soil, mineral, or other natural feature without a Permit.” (source) Mushrooms are not explicitly mentioned in this ordinance, so I called the parks office to ask. They told me that mushroom harvesting is not allowed in the park unless requested via a special use permit.

Bloomington City Parks

According to Section 5.21, ordinance #17, “no person shall break, cut, mutilate, injure, remove or carry away any tree, plant, flower, shrub, rock, soil, sand, fence, bench or any other property in any park.” (source)

Carver County Parks

Section 91.07 of the ordinance states that “it shall be unlawful for any person to intentionally remove, alter, injure or destroy any tree, other plant, rock, soil or mineral.” (source) Once again, mushrooms are not mentioned. I called the parks office and they said that the ordinance covers living things in general, so they don’t authorize or permit mushroom harvesting.

Dakota County Parks

According to Chapter V, Section B of the ordinance, “it shall be unlawful, when in a County Park, for any person to intentionally remove, alter, injure, or destroy any tree, plant, or other vegetation, soil, mineral or other natural resource.” (source) Can’t get much clearer than that!

Minneapolis City Parks

Until recently, foraging in Minneapolis parks was completely illegal. (source) Getting caught “molesting vegetation" (as they call it) resulted in fines for many people. At Four Season Foraging we actually know a few people who have been ticketed for this. On November 29th, 2017, the MPRB rule regarding "molesting vegetation" changed. It is a lengthy read, but basically states that the general public may harvest certain fruits or nuts from certain areas within the park system, as long as it's for non-commercial use. Here is the document detailing where and what you can forage in the Minneapolis Park System.

Ramsey County Parks

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According to Chapter 11, Section B of the ordinance, “it shall be unlawful for any person to intentionally remove, alter, injure or destroy any natural resource without written authorization from the Director.” (source) I tried calling the parks office twice to ask how one receives authorization from the director, but both times the person who handles those things wasn’t available, and I haven’t received a call back yet. If you’re interested in obtaining permission, you can try calling 651-748-2500, or filling out this contact form.

Saint Paul City Parks

“The intentional removal of any natural resource from within the park system without prior written permission from the director is not allowed. This includes but is not limited to: trees, plants, shrubs, flowers, water, soil, wildlife, stones, and turf." (source: Chapter 4/Section 13) To try to obtain permission, email a request to parkscustomerservice@ci.stpaul.mn.us with the desired date, time, and location.

Scott County Parks

The ordinance states that, “it shall be unlawful for any person to intentionally remove, alter, injure, eat, or destroy any tree, plant, rock, soil or mineral without a permit.” (source: Chapter 5/Section 1) Scott County Parks are in partnership with the Three Rivers Park District, so the law is the same. A limited amount of permits are issued for educational purposes.

Three Rivers Park District

According to Chapter V, Section 1 of the ordinance, “it shall be unlawful for any person to intentionally remove, alter, injure, eat, or destroy any tree, other plant, rock, soil, or mineral without a permit.” (source) Notably, mushrooms aren’t mentioned on this list. So I called the parks office to ask about mushroom hunting, and they told me it is not permitted. They issue limited permits for educational purposes.

Washington County Parks

The ordinance states that “it shall be unlawful for any person to intentionally remove, alter, injure or destroy any tree, other plant, rock, soil or mineral.” (source: Chapter V/Section 1) Again, this ordinance does not mention mushrooms, but I called the parks office and they said that you are not allowed to pick them.

State Parks, National Parks, and other Wilderness Areas

fourseasonforaging.com - Foraging Legality

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