Project Contributors
The Alaska Mycoflora Project website is a public resource run by Adam Ryzska (Co-founder, Web Architect), Noah Siegel (Taxonomist, Contributor), Steve Trudell (Taxonomist, Contributor) and Kate Mohatt (Contributor).
However, assembling a Mycoflora for Alaska is a never ending effort; this website exists to represent the work of many hands - amateur mycologists, botanists, general natural history enthusiasts, land managers, academic researchers, and university students, among others. A project of this scope and scale necessarily involves the volunteered time, passion, expertise, and support of many dozens of people. The following individuals and organizations have been instrumental in making this resource a reality.
Daniel E. Stuntz Memorial Foundation
The Alaska Mycoflora website was made possible by a grant from the Danial E. Stuntz Memorial Foundation, with a mission to advance mycological research, education, and appreciation for fungi in the Pacific Northwest.
Find out more about the foundation at their website www.stuntzfoundation.org.
Noah Siegel
Noah's field mycology skills are extensive - he has spent over two decades seeking, photographing, identifying, and furthering his knowledge about all aspects of macrofungi.
He has hunted for mushrooms throughout the United States and Canada, as well as on multiple expeditions to New Zealand and Australia.
He is one of the premier mushroom photographers in the nation, having won numerous awards from the North American Mycological Association (NAMA) photography contest.
His technique and attention to detail are unrivaled, arising from a philosophy of maximizing utility for identification purposes while maintaining a high degree of aesthetic appeal.
His photographs have appeared on the covers and been featured in articles of multiple issues of FUNGI Magazine and Mushroom the Journal, the primary mushroom enthusiast magazines in the United States, numerous mushroom books, as well as many club publications.
He completed, along with Christian Schwarz, Mushrooms of the Redwood Coast, a comprehensive guide for the northern California coast.
Noah travels and lectures extensively across America, following the mushrooms from coast to coast, and everywhere in between.
Noah has been collecting and photographing fungi annually in Alaska since 2014.
Steve Trudell
Author of Mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest (a must-have reference for Southern Alaska), Tricholomas of North America, and Mushrooms of the National Forests in Alaska, Steve has been identifying and photographing mushrooms and studying their ecology for over 30 years.
Steve belongs to the Mycological Society of America, North American Mycological Association, and the International Mycorrhiza Society, writes for several mycological publications, and frequently serves as foray mycologist or invited lecturer for mycological societies and other nature groups.
His research interests include the roles of fungi in forest nutrient cycling.
Steve has been collecting and photographing fungi annually in Alaska since 2008.
Kate Mohatt
Kate Mohatt is a zone ecologist for the Chugach National Forest.
She has co-organized the Girdwood Fungus Fair since its inception in 2008 and is founder and president of the newly formed Turnagain Arm Mycological Society, and co-authored the Mushrooms of the National Forests in Alaska brochure.
She received her undergraduate degree in Biology at Lewis and Clark College in Portland, OR. and completed a Masters in Plant Science at Montana State University in Bozeman, MT. studying mycorrhizal fungi associated with whitebark pine.
She has been collecting fungi in Alaska since 2006, with annual trips to the west coast in the fall to extend the mushroom season.
Adam Ryszka
Adam Ryszka is the co-founder, webmaster and site architect for the Alaska Mycoflora Project, and is also the data coordinator for the UCSC Fungal Herbarium Sequencing Project.
Turnagain Arm Mycological Society (TAMS)
The Turnagain Arm Mycological Society was formed in January of 2017 to provide support for the Girdwood Fungus Fair, and to expand educational opportunities for mushroom enthusiasts in Southcentral Alaska.
TAMS members provide local mushroom identification services and presentations to a variety of groups in the area, support visiting mycologists, and participate in the collection and vouchering of Alaskan mushrooms for the mycoflora project.
TAMS hosts monthly meetings throughout the winter months, and club forays in the spring and fall.
Website: www.fungusfair.com/mycological-society
Puget Sound Mycological Society
The largest club in the Pacific Northwest, the Puget Sound Mycological Society boasts over 1,200 members.
Membership provides access to a newsletter, field trips, admission to the annual mushroom show, identification classes, bookstore discount, and membership meetings, provided you can travel south.
Website: www.psms.org