Commercial Morel Harvesters and Buyers in Western Montana

Book excerpt: This exploratory study examined aspects of the social organization of the commercial wild morel industry in western Montana during 2001. We talked with 18 key informants (7 buyers and 11 pickers) and observed social interactions at one buying station near the Kootenai National Forest and three buying stations near the Bitterroot National Forest. The key informant and observational data permitted us to construct a picture of social interactions at field buying stations, buyer strategies for attracting pickers, changes in prices over the course of a season, and the ways in which various participants in the wild morel harvest construct their livelihoods. In the discussion, we contrast our findings with the results of a recently published study on nontimber forest product harvesters in the Eastern United States. We end the report with a discussion of management implications for managers and scientists.