[quote]quote:Originally posted by Wildman

I was just kidding with this one it is a bees nest.

[quote]quote:Originally posted by Wildman

Yeah, that's what I thought

which is why I said, it actually looks like a chunk of wasp or hornet comb. There are hexagonia fungi that look like that but I've only ever seen them in places like mexico

Very strange mushroom.



A very long time ago I discovered that although hypothetically they have an annual lifecycle with all the wasps except the new queens dying off in the fall, in a mild coastal climate if a 7 year old finds a big nest in February and brings it to show and tell, once the nest warms up there may be a few live wasps left inside. [:0]
They seem pissed off to have their doze toward death interrupted. (Although wasps in general seem to be constantly in a state of seething barely suppressed rage, so not much different than those buzzing around my second grade class.) Entertaining in the classroom to say the least!

I was off to the principal's office yet again to be told to just think what a normal kid would do before I bring any more wildlife surprises to show and tell.

I was kind of suprised at your post, that all mushroom picking is banned in ALL BC Provincial parks. I somehow assumed that non-commercial mushroom picking would be akin to fresh water sports fishing, or hunting & trapping, which are allowed in many Provincial Park areas, including Strathcona Park, but you're right.

After doing a bit of internet research, I can gather why BC Parks might be a bit relunctant to allow any mushroom picking in Parks and I somewhat agree. Looking at youtube and other posts, there seems to be more than a few slobs that go commercial mushroom picking and leave a huge amount of garbage behind. I realize that I have just put a lightening rod on my head, for all of the “good” commercial pickers to zap. That's not my desire and I won't buy into that discussion.

I would however like to bring up the BC Parks policies and how they are made. Who exactly vetts the proposals and who puts them in to law?

My take is that it is, from the top down... the Premier, Minister of Environment, Senior Parks Staff and then a nod to public input.

For example, in the recent case of allowing horses into the Bedwell Valley in Strathcona Park, the public was probably well more than 90% against, the Strathcona Park Public Advisory Group was 100% against, with the Federation of Mountain Clubs and the Alpine Club of Canada supporting them.

The BC Minister of Environment ignored the public and ruled in favour of the corporate interest that wanted their horses in the Park.

So to restate my question, how does park policy get made, who makes it and how does it become law?

exploring area around Whistler this week and stumbled upon this beauty. A vibrant, fresh specimen of what I do think is Amanita Ocreata, the Destroying Angel. One delicious bite and an excruciating death from organ failure occurs within a few days. No antidote, no cure .... horrible way to go. This sample still had portions of the 'veil' attached at the base, but dislodged when I yanked it our of the ground

I would assume it is the The Lieutenant Governor in Council as he/she has the power to establish a park and therefore set the policies..http://www.bclaws.ca/EPLibraries/bcl..._01#section4.1

There is an interesting link provided by the FOSP which directs to the Minister of the Environment decision to grant PUP permit. I find this statement interesting:
" When section 9(2) is read within the context of the Act as a whole, in light of other provisions in the Act such as sections 16 and 9.1, and consistently with the other subsections in section 9, it allows for the disturbance of natural resources provided that the Minister is of the opinion that the disturbance of the natural resources is necessary for the preservation of a recreational value in the Park. Here horseback riding and hiking are both accepted in the Master Plan as recreational values for Strathcona Park. The Minister concluded that issuing the PUP was in the best interest of the Park. He should not be second guessed"

Hey, all you knowledgeable mushroom people..
Can anyone recommend for me a good book for identifying Rocky Mountain mushrooms?

"All that the rain promises and more" David Arora.

It's a decent little handbook. Somewhat coastal in focus, but most of the species are ubiquitous to the spruce-pine ecosystems of the Rockies.

It's hard to find one specifically for Rocky Mtns but here are some:
http://www.fungi.com/product-detail/...eld-guide.html
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...ptainmaxmushro
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...ptainmaxmushro
I don't have any experience with these guides but I do like Petersen's field guide books.

Thanks, I'll have a look for those.

I tend to want to find books specific to the Canadian Rockies, because books written for broader regions tend to have a lot of extra species, leading to uncertainty as to whether I have the correct species, or some variant that doesn't even exist here.