Gardiner Community Center

A great multi-purpose facility

Olympic Peninsula Mycological Society
PO Box 33
Chimacum WA 98325-0033
http://olypms.org (under development, Sep 07)

OVERVIEW OF OPMS

The Olympic Peninsula Mycological Society (OPMS) is a nonprofit, volunteer organization dedicated to learning about and enjoying wild mushrooms and their environments. Annual dues are $15 per family or $10 per single person. Currently, we have about 150 members. OPMS was originally founded in 1977 as the Jefferson County Mycological Society. Now, most members are from Jefferson and Clallam counties, from Brinnon to Port Angeles, but the society is open to anyone.

OPMS holds six meetings during the year to discuss business and wild mushrooms. Usually there is a guest speaker for a specific topic, but sometimes the meetings are devoted to hands-on identification of specimens that members bring to the meeting. The November meeting is usually devoted to mushroom preparation and cooking demonstrations. Meetings alternate between the Tri-Area Community Center in Chimacum and the Gardiner Community Center.

In addition to the six meetings, OPMS conducts at least two forays for wild mushroom for its members each year, as well as informal weekend outings. Usually, one foray in the spring is into the Cascade Mountains for black morels and other spring mushrooms (snow mushroom, pink-tipped coral, boletes) and a second foray is in the fall to the eastern Olympic Mountains for golden chanterelles, russulas, boletes, hedgehogs, and matsutake (or the pine mushroom).

In October of each year, OPMS produces its annual Fall Wild Mushroom Show that is free and open to the public. In 2007, the show will be held near Sequim at the Fairview Grange 2123 Lake Farm Road, from 1:00 to 5:00 pm on Sunday, October 14.

Further, OPMS produces several newsletters each year and is developing a website to keep members informed of our activities and provide links to other sources of information on wild mushrooms: http://olypms.org.

For more information call OPMS President Jim Zard at 360-385-6692.