Salal Permit Sales to Begin at Olympic National Forest

Olympia, WA - Forest Supervisor Dale Hom announced today that permit sales for salal will begin at 9:00 AM on Wednesday, September 15, for a harvest period that runs from September 15 through November 9.  Permits will be issued from the Olympic National Forest offices located in Quilcene, Forks, and Quinault.  Salal (Gaultheria shallon) is an understory shrub commonly used in the floral industry.  It grows in dense thickets throughout forests in western Washington and Oregon.

A limited number of permits will be issued.  A lottery will be used if the demand for permits exceeds the supply.  Each permit will cost $150 and can be used for up to two months.  A valid United States picture identification will be required at the time of purchase and those buying the permits must be at least 18 years of age.  Cash or checks will be accepted, but no credit cards or debit cards will be accepted.

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A total of one-hundred harvest permits will be sold.  Fifty permits will be offered from Quilcene for harvest areas located within Mason County and the east side of Clallam and Jefferson Counties.  Twenty-five permits will be offered from Forks for the west-side of Clallam County.  Twenty-five permits will be offered from Lake Quinault for harvest areas within Grays Harbor County and the west side of Jefferson County.
 
Three additional harvest periods are planned and permit sales will begin on the first day of each harvest.  The permit fee of $150.00 will remain the same for all permitting periods.  The future salal harvest periods are as follows:

        November 10 through December 31, 2010
        January 5 through March 9, 2011
        March 10 through May 11, 2011

For additional information about salal permit sales, please contact Ray Hershey at 360-956-2275.  For general information about Olympic National Forest, visit http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/olympic.

The mission of the USDA Forest Service is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the Nation’s forests and grasslands to meet the needs of present and future generations. The Agency manages 193 million acres of public land, provides assistance to State and private landowners, and maintains the largest forestry research organization in the world.