2026 Cloquet Forestry Center Weekend

A Mycology Weekend with MMS Funga, Tavis Lynch, and Noah Siegel

This is an annual paid all-weekend event with forays and presentations plus optional lodging and catering for MMS members only – no guests, no plus-ones. Full details can be found on the registration site. This is a popular event, get your reservations now!

Note to members: Registration links are sent via MMS emails. After the ‘registration opens’ announcement is sent, these links can be found at the bottom of the “MMS Upcoming Events” block in each email. Access codes will also be provided if required.  

Cloquet Forestry Center (CFC) is a University of Minnesota forest research site with lodging, catering and a  classroom. The founder of the MMS at CFC project, is an MMS Golden Chanterelle recipient. Tanner Barnharst has worked with forest research staff to obtain a mushroom collecting permit for MMS members. This event is a citizen-science focused mycology retreat led by members of the MMS Funga Scientific Committee, and aided this year by guest mycologists Tavis Lynch and Noah Siegel.

The official event kick-off is on Friday, August 7, 2026 at 10AM with attendees introductions, event overview and instructions by Funga members on Why’s and How’s on collecting specimens for the Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas and The MycotaLab MMS Network. Two guided forays for survey of fungal diversity of the CFC property (Friday PM and Saturday AM) will be followed by an ID session and table talk, as well as specimen processing. 

MMS at CFC is not all science and no fun! Attendees can look forward to a potluck dinner on Friday evening and bonfire socials Thursday and Saturday evening. Cooking, art and similar presentations by ‘members – for members’ are planned. On the last day of the event, your foray leaders will take you hiking and foraging at the beautiful Jay Cooke State Park. You may choose to arrive on Thursday instead of Friday, and connect with fellow attendees for an additional day of scouting, informal forays, hikes, cooking and socializing.

It’s beautiful up there, in the Northwoods! Mushrooms are there just waiting for us to discover them!  Look for registration to open soon for this great event!

Tavis Lynch is an amateur mycologist from Northern Wisconsin. He has been studying our local fungi for over 40 years. Tavis is the author of Mushroom Cultivation (Quarto), The Beginner’s Guide to Mushrooms (Quarto), and Grow Your Own Mushrooms (Quarto). He is currently working on a two-volume book, The Gilled Mushrooms of Wisconsin. He teaches mycology classes in about 35 schools around the Upper Midwest and focuses most of his time on the study of the genus Russula. Tavis is very active with the Wisconsin Mycological Society and is currently their chief mycologist. Tavis will also be a chief mycologist at the NAMA Yoop! Foray in Marquette, MI, Aug 27-30, 2026.

Noah Siegel is one of North America’s foremost field mycologists. He has spent over three decades seeking, photographing, identifying, and furthering his knowledge about all aspects of macrofungi. He travels and lectures extensively across America, following the mushrooms from coast to coast. Noah was the recipient of the 2022 North American Mycological Association’s Award for Contributions to Amateur Mycology. His primary research interest is on the taxonomy and systematics of fungi. He authored, along with Christian Schwarz, Mushrooms of the Redwood Coast, a Comprehensive Guide to the Fungi of Coastal Northern California and Mushrooms of Cascaida, a Comprehensive Guide to Fungi of the Pacific Northwest. His most recent book, Mushrooms of Alaska, with Steve Trudell and Kate Mohatt was released fall of 2025.