Forest Products Permits

Special Forest Products (SFP) are natural resources such as, wild edible mushrooms, fruits and nuts; medicinal plants and fungi; floral greenery and small plants for transplanting; fiber, oil resins, and other chemical extracts from plants, lichens, and fungi; including fuelwood and small diameter wood used for poles, posts, and carvings. Special forest products are a significant cultural value representing a long history of ecological knowledge and an important part of local economy.

What are Special Forest Products?

Special Forest Products defined by the Forest Service are: items collected from National Forest System lands that include, but are not limited to: bark, berries, boughs, bryophytes, bulbs, burls, Christmas trees, cones, ferns, firewood, forbs, fungi (including mushrooms), grasses, mosses, nuts, pine straw, roots, sedges, seeds, transplants, tree sap, wildflowers, fence material, mine props, posts and poles, shingle and shake bolts, and rails. All of these products are derived from plants.

What is excluded?

Special Forest Products do not include: sawtimber, pulpwood, non-sawlog material removed in log form, cull logs, small roundwood, house logs, telephone poles, derrick poles, minerals, animals, animal parts, insects, worms, rocks, water, and soil. If you wish to gather any of these contact your local Ranger District office.

Rules and Regulations

A permit is required to remove products from the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. Authorization to remove products falls under various programs.

Rules and regulations regarding harvest of forest products vary depending on the land management agency. It is the responsibility of the harvester/permitted individual to understand and follow these regulations and to be aware of ownership or management regarding private, State and federally managed lands. The permit issued by a USDA Forest service office or ranger station is valid only on Forest Service lands.

Gathering, harvesting, or collecting is Prohibited inside the Legislated Wilderness Areas, Research Natural Areas, Experimental Forests, and other administratively closed areas. Harvesting rare, threatened or endangered plants is Illegal. Contact the nearest Ranger District office for additional information.

Do Your Part

If you pack it in, pack it out. Please remove all trash!

• Do your part and respect the Forest by leaving it clean and free of trash.  For more information on how you can help, read the following information about practicing Leave No Trace principles. 
• Follow all permit conditions.
• Follow general rules and regulations for use of National Forest Systems lands, which are available at Ranger District offices.
• Proper gathering techniques of Special Forest Products to ensure future availability.
• It is ILLEGAL to harvest rare, threatened, or endangered plants.