Fungi do a lot for us – they delight, feed, educate and inspire us. So what can we do for fungi? Many species of fungi are under threat but don’t receive any kind of protection or conservation. Of the 1,300 species listed as endangered in the US none are fungi. Fungi are invisible to policymakers.
We need to give fungi the spotlight they deserve – and a great way of doing so is is by designating a State Mushroom.
Please use the hashtag #I
NY
The club has spent the last few years working hard to get bills into both the New York State Assembly and Senate to declare Lactarius peckii the New York State Mushroom. They are now ready to be passed!
But representatives will only pass them if they feel that constituents are passionate about the issue. We need you to let your representatives know that you want these bills passed – now!
Doing this is easy and takes less than two minutes
Step: 2: find out who your state senator is
Step 3: click through to their pages, find their contact email and email them a copy of the following letters – there’s one letter for the Assembly and one letter for the Senate (feel free to personalize them!)
That’s all!
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FOR YOUR STATE ASSEMBLY MEMBER
Dear Assembly Member [NAME]
As a constituent and member of New York Mycological Society I urge you to support Bill A1919 Designating Lactarius peckii as the official state fungus of the state.
Though often overlooked, fungi are vital to the health of ecosystems and are beautiful and fascinating.
We have put forward Lactarius peckii because it is common in wooded areas throughout the state, including in the parks of the five boroughs of New York City.
The mushroom was first described by Gertrude Simmons Burlingham in 1908. A native New Yorker, Burlingham is a notable figure in North American mycology. She named this Lactarius for Charles Horton Peck, the New York State botanist from 1867 to 1915, who himself described over 2700 species of North America fungi.
Lactarius peckii is neither edible nor poisonous; it is noteworthy because it serves a vital role in maintaining a healthy and vibrant forest ecosystem through its symbiotic (mycorrhizal) partnership with trees. If Lactarius is present it means the forest is healthy.
I urge you to support Bill A1919, and in so doing, assert New York’s appreciation of our great forests and parks and the need for their protection.
Passage of this bill would make New York one of only six states to have a state fungus. Let’s be at the forefront of this movement!
Kind regards
YOUR NAME
______________________________
FOR YOUR STATE SENATOR
Dear Senator [NAME]
As a constituent and member of New York Mycological Society I urge you to support Bill S1854 Designating Lactarius peckii as the official state fungus of the state.
Though often overlooked, fungi are vital to the health of ecosystems and are beautiful and fascinating.
We have put forward Lactarius peckii because it is common in wooded areas throughout the state, including in the parks of the five boroughs of New York City.
The mushroom was first described by Gertrude Simmons Burlingham in 1908. A native New Yorker, Burlingham is a notable figure in North American mycology. She named this Lactarius for Charles Horton Peck, the New York State botanist from 1867 to 1915, who himself described over 2700 species of North America fungi.
Lactarius peckii is neither edible nor poisonous; it is noteworthy because it serves a vital role in maintaining a healthy and vibrant forest ecosystem through its symbiotic (mycorrhizal) partnership with trees. If Lactarius is present it means the forest is healthy.
I urge you to support Bill S1854, and in so doing, assert New York’s appreciation of our great forests and parks and the need for their protection.
Passage of this bill would make New York one of only six states to have a state fungus. Let’s be at the forefront of this movement!
Kind regards
YOUR NAME
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We are so close, but unless you help us give it this last push we won’t get the bill across the line.
We thank Eugenia Bone, Vicky Tartter for their tireless work over the last three years and Mical Moser for assistance during a critical period. We also want to thank Maya Han for the very cool original logo concept and Phyllis Ma for turning it into an actual logo.
Feel free to share this email with anyone who might be interested!
Thank you very much!
CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
Without mushrooms like Lactarius peckii that partner with trees, our forests would fail to thrive. This species also shows up in the history of mycology in New York State. It was named for an Averill Park native, Charles Horton Peck, the State Museum’s botanist from 1866 through 1913. Peck described over 2700 new species of mushrooms, establishing New York state as a scientific hub mushroom research.
