CMS/RMNP Mycoblitz —The CMS/RMNP Mycoblitz is a scientific endeavor to collect, identify, and begin an inventory of mushrooms that grow in Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP). A mycoblitz is when a group of people get together for a short period of time and focus on identifying the mushrooms in a given area.

CMS has obtained a research permit to host a mycoblitz in RMNP. Examples of all species that are collected will be housed both at the Denver Botanical Gardens Herbarium of Fungi and the RMNP herbarium. This is a great opportunity for you to participate in the scientific collection of mushrooms, and a great way to learn new mushrooms. This is a very exciting event for CMS, and it will not be successful without ample participation from the club, so I hope you can join us. Top

Mycoblitz Procedure — Here is how the mycoblitz will work for both Saturday, August 23rd, and Sunday, August 24th. When you arrive in Estes Park, follow Hwy 36 to the Beaver Meadows Visitor Center (see entrance circled in red on this map). There you will find directions to the auditorium where onsite registration will take place. Onsite registration will begin at 7:30 a.m. All participants will be issued a name tag and lanyard at this time. Top

At 8:30 a.m. all participants will meet for a 30-minute safety and introductory talk from the RMNP. This will immediately be followed by a 30-minute briefing on hunting and collecting specimens for the mycoblitz. We will then break up into groups of 10 people. Each group of 10 will have two group leaders (Leaders will be knowledgeable mushroom hunters from CMS or other mushroom clubs). Each group of 10 will carpool to a predetermined location and then split up into two groups of five (each leader will thus have four people). It is the responsibility of the individual groups to arrange carpooling. The group leaders will provide the collectors in their group with wax paper bags and collection tags for the mushrooms they find. Carpool drivers will be given a fee waiver letter that will admit that car and its occupants into the park. Each team leader will be emailed in advance of the mycoblitz a research permit that they must have in their possession while their team is in the field collecting.

Each group of ten will have a number of important responsibilities. They will bring back a single collection of each species they encounter. A collection will consist of a few specimens of a single genus in a variety of developmental stages, if possible. A collection tag will be filled out and placed in a bag with each species. The collection tag will include which location they went to, the approximate elevation, habitat, nearby trees, etc. Between 1 and 2 p.m. the groups will meet back at the research station for identification of their collections. Dr. Michael Kuo is confirmed as the chief identifier. He will be assisted by a small team of knowledgeable identifiers from CMS. The identification process will be similar to how it is done at our annual CMS mushroom fair: mushrooms will be sorted, identified, documented, and finally packaged for the herbarium. To finish off the day, we will have a round-table discussion of the mushrooms we find - the mycoblitz will also be a learning experience. Top

Lodging — Those planning to join the mycoblitz for both Saturday and Sunday may wish to stay over in the Estes Park area. There is wide variety of options for lodging. Information on lodging near the research station (RV campgrounds, hotels, etc.) can be found here under "Gateway Community Associations".

Camping: Participants in the mycoblitz who wish to have free camping at the Park must let us know well ahead of time. Please fill out the appropriate boxes in the registration form (see link to registration below) if you wish to camp on Friday night, Saturday night, or both nights. Campsites will be assigned to mycoblitz participants and there will be no charge for camping on Friday and Saturday nights for pre-registered participants. Campers are expected to bring their own camping equipment and adhere to RMNP rules for camping. Please do not bring any pets. Due to the limited space at the Park all those using a Park campsite should be participating in the mycoblitz.

Motels: More information about available motels in the Estes Park area is available here. Estes Park is very busy in August so make your reservations early.

RV Campgrounds: More information about available campgrounds for RVs is available here. Mary's Lake Campground and RV Park is located close to the location where we will be meeting. Top

What You Will Need To Bring

Equipment for collecting:

• Wax paper bags will be provided by CMS.
• Collection tags for mushrooms will be provided by CMS. Top

Personal Equipment to Bring (see the CMS Forays page for more Information):

• Basket or sturdy paper bag — No plastic (mushrooms can’t breathe in plastic) or mesh sacks (your specimens will get squished).
• Knife — A sturdy knife with a lanyard or string to attach to your person. It's uncanny how knives get lost.
• Small hand scoop — useful for removing the entire mushroom base.
• Pen — You’ll need to write down information about each collection you pick.
  Whistle — Useful for keeping in touch with other members of the foray group.
• Compass or GPS — Carry one and know how to use it. It is very easy to get lost when you are concentrating on finding mushrooms and not watching your surroundings.
• Rain Gear — Be prepared for inclement weather.
• Fluids and food —Be aware that you will be in the woods for approximately 3 hours looking for mushrooms. Bring as much food and water as necessary for and others accompanying you. Top

Recommended:

• Two way radio — You can keep in contact with other groups to call them over to a special mushroom or let them know what you have collected so they don’t duplicate the species you find. You can monitor communication so you don’t duplicate species being collected.
• Mushroom book or key — The more resources we have on site, the easier we will be able to ID our mushrooms.
• Camera — We would like to have photos of our mushroom collections in the field. Top

Do not bring:

• Pets — Please do not bring any pets. Pets will not be allowed on the mycoblitz. Top
  

Pre-Register for the Mycoblitz — There is no charge for participating in the mycoblitz. However, it is important that we know who will be participating and when they can work the mycoblitz. Therefore, please fill out this registration form if you wish to participate in the mycoblitz. Each participant will need to fill out a separate form (each member of a family will need to fill out their own form). It is imperative that we have this information on hand as soon as possible so we can adequately plan the mycoblitz. Remember, park fees for entrance and camping will be waived for pre-registered participants.Note: Walk-in registrations on day(s) of the mycoblitz will not be permitted.

The registration form will ask you what roles you would like to fill at the mycoblitz. We need a lot of help to make this a successful mycoblitz so we hope you will volunteer to help. You will as lo be asked which days you plan on attending and whether you require a campsite.

Family or Other Groups — If you are coming to the mycoblitz as part of a family or other group and would like to stay together on a collecting team, please indicate names of the other adult(s) in your group in the "Comments" box on the registration form. We will make every effort keep your group together on a collecting team.

Children — If you plan on bringing children or minors to the mycoblitz, please include their names and ages on the registration form . Children or minors accompanying collectors will be expected to follow along with the group and are the responsibility of the accompanying adult(s). We suggest that one adult have no more than one or two children to be responsible for.

The deadline for pre-registration is Friday, August 15, 2008. No registrations will be accepted after this date. There are a limited number of spaces available for participation in the mycoblitz and all pre-registrations will be on a first come, first served basis. Top

Volunteers Required — Below is a list of volunteer roles that we require along with the specific responsibilities for those positions and the requisite knowledge of mushrooms you should have for those positions. Please select on the registration form all the positions that you are interested in. Top

Collector: Individual collectors will go out with a small group to collect mushrooms from approximately 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.. Everyone in this small group is expected to stay together and bring back one good collection of each species encountered. All collections will need a collection tag completely filled out. After returning to the research station, all collectors will place one collection on a single plate and put them on the table for sorting. All collectors agree that they will not take any mushrooms outside the park. Top

Group leader: We will send two groups of five people to the same location. These groups will then split up but remain in contact. Each group of 5 people will have their own group leader. Leaders will lead their group to a location to look for mushrooms from approximately 10 a.m. to approximately 1 p.m.. Group leaders will be given a map and directions to a specific location, wax paper bags, and collection tags for their group. They will be responsible for making sure their group of 5 stays together, give additional instructions as needed, and coordinate with the other small group at their location to bring back one good collection of each species. Group leaders need not be experts in mushroom identification, but should be seasoned mushroom hunters. Each group leader will be issued a research permit for their group which must be in their posssession while in the field collecting. Top

Sorter: Help collectors coming back from their trips with putting specimens on plates and make sure that all necessary information is on the collection tags. The sorters should be able to group similar mushrooms together (i.e. polypores, toothed mushrooms, amanitas, etc) and keep things organized for the ID team. Sorters will also place identified and recorded mushrooms on tables for general viewing. Sorters need not be expert identifiers, but should be able to group similar kinds of mushrooms together. Top

Identifier: Work with the Identification team on identification. This is the only task at the mycoblitz that requires serious knowledge of mushrooms. Top

Recorder: Enter the scientific names of mushrooms into a spreadsheet on a laptop. This job will require a general familiarity in dealing with Latin names of mushrooms (or in the very least, not an aversion to the Latin names). Top

Cleanup: Stay an hour on Sunday afternoon to package mushrooms for the herbarium and clean up the room. This job requires no knowledge of mushrooms. Top

Onsite Registration Table: This person will keep track of who is present and make sure everyone has a nametag. This job requires no knowledge of mushrooms. Top

Photographer: We need several people to help with making a photographic record of the mushroom finds. You should have experience in photographing mushrooms. You should also have basic equipment for photographing mushrooms including a digital camera, flash, and tripod. This job requires no knowledge of mushrooms, but you should have experience taking pictures of mushrooms, plants, or flowers. Top