Maria Visits the Capitol: Sustainable Foraging Task Force Update
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I was honored to recently receive an invite to join a panel discussion on sustainable foraging at the Minnesota State Capitol. It's been a bit of a hot button issue as of late; in 2023, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) attempted to impose new foraging restrictions in state parks and other state-managed land. This venture failed due to grassroots organizing by a coalition of foragers, led largely by the Minnesota Mycological Society (MMS). As a result of this organizing, the state legislature passed a measure to create the Sustainable Foraging Task Force, which exists to gather data and information regarding foraging and develop recommendations for foraging guidelines. Chaired by Senator Pha, the task force consists of a diversity of members, including state representatives, DNR employees, foragers, and tribal members. As part of their efforts, they invited Luke Black Elk, Tim Clemens, Sam Thayer, and me to give short talks and answer questions about sustainable foraging. I was nervous to speak in front of such an esteemed assembly, but reading from a prepared statement helped soothe my nerves and I think I did a pretty good job overall! My co-panelists definitely spoke eloquently to the challenges facing foragers and the reciprocal and restorative practices that foragers engage in.
You can watch a recording of the event above. This link skips the intro part of the meeting and starts with the panel discussion. The livestream unfortunately cut out at one point, so here is a link to part two of the meeting.
Overall, I felt that the task force members asked compelling questions and listened attentively to our feedback. I was heartened to hear some of their own personal experiences with foraging, like Sen. Pha's and Nibi Ogichidaa Ikwe's cultural connections to the practice, owing to their respective Hmong and Ojibwe backgrounds.
How You Can Help: Speak Up to Protect Foraging Access
The Sustainable Foraging Task Force is seeking input from the public! Here is a list of their upcoming meetings, which all have time allotted at the end for public comment. In addition, they scheduled four public listening sessions—three online, and one in person. They are regionally focused, but all testifiers are welcome. Here is the schedule:
Tuesday, November 18th, 1-2:30pm, in person (after task force meeting)
Wednesday, November 19th, 8:30-10am, Zoom, northern Minnesota focus
Thursday, November 20th, 3-4:30pm, Zoom, southern Minnesota focus
Wednesday, December 3rd, 11:30am-1pm, Zoom, central Minnesota focus
If you would like to attend a listening session or provide testimony to the Task Force, please email nick.nigro@lcc.mn.gov.
Thank you for speaking up in defense of foraging in Minnesota!