While pathogens will dissipate over time above the surface since they are exposed to sun and other elements, they are likely to persist in the soil for much longer. The biggest issue with morel mushrooms on flooded river and creek bottoms is actually the possible presence of human pathogens in the soil from livestock manure, municipal sewage, and other sources and potential chemical or industrial wastes. Flood waters were confirmed to contain E.coli bacteria and other contaminants after recent testing. Morels and other wild edible plants that are on or near the flood plain should be assumed to be contaminated.

It’s important to note that any mushroom which grew from or was exposed to flood waters should never be eaten.

Aside from your own trees, shrubs, grasses and fruit trees, you may have been looking forward to morel mushroom hunting season. The flooding and subsequent ponding have had profound effects on plant life and fungi in the landscape. John is based at the Douglas-Sarpy County Extension Office in Omaha, NE: Kathleen Cue, University of Nebraska Extension Horticulture Educator and Master Gardener Program Coordinator at the Dodge County Extension Office based in Fremont, NE, and John Porter, who is the Urban Agriculture Program Coordinator/Omaha Metro District for the University of Nebraska Extension and Nebraska College of Agriculture. I put those questions and others to some of the most renown morel mushroom foraging experts I know to get answers to help you be safe and give you solid, accurate information for your morel mushroom hunting harvesting expeditions this season. Photo by Greg Wagner/Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. So, as an outdoor enthusiast, maybe you’ve been thinking: I wonder what impact the flooding has had on my morel mushroom picking spots? Will there be any morels there to harvest this spring? Are they safe to eat if I do find a few in the flooded areas? Should I go elsewhere to search for the tasty morels, perhaps into the hills? The rolling, wooded hill country of northern Douglas County, NE where I have found morel mushrooms typically around Mother’s Day. In my 40 years with the agency and growing up near the Platte River, I have never witnessed any natural catastrophe to this magnitude. This is the most widespread damage the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission has experienced due to a natural disaster. There is no doubt that your morel mushroom hunting grounds along river bottoms and their tributaries in eastern and central Nebraska were greatly impacted by recent catastrophic flooding.

Morel mushroom hunting s dakota