The Arizona Mushroom Society is proud to announce it has awarded four scholarships to graduate students in the study of mycology in an Arizona college or university this year!

This scholarship is a valuable opportunity for the Arizona Mushroom Society to support individuals pursuing the study of mycology in Arizona and to honor Arizona Mushroom Club founder and mycologist, Dr. Chester Leathers. 

This year's scholarship awards go to...

Danika Thiele - Danika is working on a Masters of Science and Policy at Northern Arizona University. She is studying the arbuscular fungi of Saguaro Cacti in habitat with varying fire history and invasive species presence to support Saguaro conservation.

Andrew Henning - Andrew is in a Masters of Science program at the School of Forestry at Northern Arizona University. His work focuses on identifying native bioactive endophytes and their metabolites in northern AZ Ponderosa pine. 

Ri Corwin - Ri is studying for a Masters in the Biology Department under Dr. Catherine Gehring at Northern Arizona University and transitioning into a PhD program. Her area of study is focusing on the effects of climate change on arbuscular and ectomycorrhizal fungi.

Kirby Morris - Kirby is is studying for a Masters in the Biology Department under Dr. Catherine Gehring at Northern Arizona University. His studies include an assessment of Geopora abundance under drought and whether or not they are associated with drought tolerant or intolerant pinyon trees.

Thanks to Scientific Committee Chair, Terri Clements, all of the approximately 140 fungi species observed during the August 11-13, 2023 Annual Foray have now been documented on the 2023 Annual Foray Species List.

AMS Annual White Mtn Foray 2023 Species List.xlsx

This list is helpful for knowing which species of macrofungi occur in the White Mountains in eastern Arizona. Many of these species have been DNA sequenced to confirm identification as marked on the spreadsheet.

Foray mycologist Else Vellinga and Foray Specimen Manager, Spencer Wimmer also contributed greatly to this effort.

On December 2, 2023 the Arizona Mushroom Society held annual elections to seat four elected members of the Board of Directors. The voting took place electronically for the entire day, and the results identified the following new board members to serve a term on the board from 2024-2026.

We want to congratulate your elected board members!!!

Lisa Goodwin

Jason Sartor

Spencer Wimmer

Adam Bailey

We also want to truly thank all candidates willing to volunteer their time and share their passion for fungi with all of us.

We now have an Etsy shop open for AMS merchandise! New items will be added as time allows.

Please visit here for the shop.

On Monday, December 12, 2022 the Arizona Mushroom Society Board of Directors voted unanimously to raise the annual membership costs for individuals and families from $15/year to $25/year. The change in membership costs will take place starting in 2024.

The decision to raise the annual membership cost was based on sudden increases in active members in the organization in the last few years and based on a benchmarking study that compared membership costs amongst similar organizations. The annual membership cost has remained the same since the organization was incorporated. During that timeframe, membership increased by over a factor of 10, which has resulted in greater costs and a need for more capacity to address operational limits. A look at similar mycological organizations throughout the west showed us that the Arizona Mushroom Society had the lowest membership costs of all of them at $15/year. Our neighboring mycological clubs have membership costs on par with the approved $25/year cost.

If you have questions about this decision or to discuss membership payment options or support, please contact us at azmushroomsociety@gmail.com.

The 2022 Annual Foray occurred on August 12-14, 2022 throughout the White Mountains. 

This Species List was compiled by Terri Clements based on input by foray mycologist Alan Rockefeller, and contributions by foray participants, foray leaders, and others who entered observations into the iNaturalist app during the weekend of the foray in the white mountains area.

We had a robust monsoon season with above average precipitation resulting in the listing of 250 different fungal species on the annual foray species list!

The 2021 species list from the August 20-22, 2021 Annual Foray is now available!

This list was compiled by Scientific Committee Chairperson, Terri Clements, with contributions for foray leaders. 

This year's precipitation was well above average and Terri recorded 210 different species!

To view the list, you can click here.

The Arizona Mushroom Society Annual Foray is planned to occur in the White Mountains on the weekend of August 20-22, 2021. The 2021 foray will be similar to last year, where participants are to find their own lodging arrangements and AMS will host a number of small group forays throughout the weekend. 

In addition to the forays, AMS will host an in-person presentation or mushroom identification talk for any and all registered participants during that weekend.

We're still figuring out the details, but wanted to share our current plans in case you can join us this summer.

Last year the Arizona Mushroom Society raised over $1000 for the Dr. Chester Leathers Graduate Student Scholarship Fund that we founded through silent auctions and donations.

Applications for this grant from graduate students in any fungal-related field at any of the Arizona public universities. (Forestry, ecology, microbiology, environmental engineering, plant science, etc.) 

The page below on the AMS website has full details. Those of you in the world of academia, please think about applying for this scholarship, or publicize it with your friends and coworkers if you don't qualify.

Applications must be submitted by January 30th, 2021 11:59PM to the following email: AZmushroomsociety@gmail.com 

https://www.arizonamushroomsociety.org/Chet-Leathers-Scholarship

In 2020, the Arizona Mushroom Society continued to serve its members and increase the understanding and appreciation of local mushrooms and fungi. Despite a record breaking drought and a global pandemic, volunteers with the organization hosted over 20 small group forays in 2020, almost a dozen online events, and other educational opportunities. AMS members helped to contribute several thousand dollars to local organizations and by being a member of this organization you continue to support local mycological research and the identification of new Arizona fungal species.

The Arizona Mushroom Society organization is turning a page and needs help from its members to continue operating as a volunteer run non-profit. Current president, Mike Dechter, is at the end of his term and we are looking for volunteers to become board members and take on a leadership role in the organization. While knowing how to identify wild mushrooms is a valued skill, it is not necessary to help out with the organization.

Elections for the organization will take place on December 5, 2020 at what is usually the annual meeting. If you are interested please contact us to learn more about how we work and nominate yourself for a position on the AMS Board of Directors.