Yukon lifts ban on commercial harvest of morel mushrooms, but only for Yukoners

The Yukon government has decided to allow Yukoners to harvest morel mushrooms for profit this year after an earlier decision to stop issuing commercial harvest permits to anyone.

The government said earlier that because of the COVID-19 pandemic, there would be noForest Resources Permits issued for commercial mushroom harvesting to Yukoners or non-Yukoners and that wouldn't change until the territory's border restrictions were eased.

Border restrictions won't be eased anytime soon, but the government now says Yukoners can get commercial harvest permits for morels.

That will be good news to Bernard Stehelin, a tourismoperator in Whitehorse. Tourism is expected to take a major hit this summer because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and Stehelinhas beenlooking for other short-term opportunities.

He complained about the lack of commercial mushroom permits, and urged the government to issue permits to Yukoners.

"I mean, my plan was to grab my kids and go out to a lake and pick mushrooms for the summer and make money. And you know, that it would help us to supplement our income," he said.

Yukoners who want to pick morels for their personal use do not need a permit.

A lucrative market

Every year, morel mushroom pickerscome Northfrom far and wide to harvest the delicacy, typically in late spring or early summer. There's a lucrative overseas market for the fungiand pickers can make hundreds of dollars a day.

The COVID-19 pandemic, though, has prompted Yukon to tighten its borders and turn away any non-essential travellers. That includes travelling morel pickers.

Even if they getinto the territory, non-Yukoners won't get a permit forcommercial harvest or morels.

Yukonerswho do decide to pick morels are still urgedto observe basicpublic health measuresincluding physical distancing and frequent hand-washing.

Stehelindidn't see that as a problem.

"There's a million dollars with the mushrooms out there that people can go and pick and I think it can be done safely," he said.

"I think it's perfect for, you know, what the Yukon needs right now. We need some job opportunities. We need some cash flow. We need some money."

Morels typically flourish in areas that have recently been burned by wildfire. Stehelin says that means there will likely be good picking in the Pelly Crossing area, which saw fire activitylast summer.

Further west, the White River First Nation in Yukon has issued its own guidelines for picking morels in its traditional territory, particularly in the Snag area, which wasalso affected by wildfire last year.

The First Nation says pickers must apply at the office in Beaver Creek for a harvest permission form, specifying "camp and harvest locations, duration, group size, and method of access."