Where in North America is Foraging Legal & Illegal?

We all know that foraging is a great way to get free nutritious food, but how do you harvest wild plants and mushrooms legally? In what parts of North America is foraging and wildcrafting illegal? In this guide, we’ll take a look at where in North America you can and can’t forage for food lawfully.

Whether it’s in Canada or the United States, you might have to look outside your community if foraging is illegal in your area.  

Foraging Wild Food Legally & Illegally in the United States

The lawfulness of foraging in the United States is often complex, with federal, state, and municipal laws complicating and contradicting each other. Certain ordinances are vague, which widens interpretations. 

At the State level, certain regions have rather clear laws. In Alaska, the Subsistence Statute allows its residents to forage in the state for personal and traditional consumption. And Hawaii allows the foraging of fruits and seeds only in reasonable small quantities — again for personal use. Be sure to check the plant against the Federal list of endangered and threatened plants.

Where more than one territorial laws apply, it would be best to look towards the National Forests and National Parks.

National Forests & Areas Under The Bureau of Land Management

There are generally no restrictions on gathering plants and fungi in areas managed by the Bureau of Land Management. 

Likewise, it’s usually okay to pick fruits, nuts, or mushrooms in US National Forests. However, each National Forest may have its own rules about foraging. It is possible to find information about each forest’s rules online, but some information is not available unless you call.

National Parks — The Legality of Harvesting, Collecting & Gathering

In general, National Parks in the United States prohibits foraging of living and dead wildlife, plants, and fungi. Certain species of wild plants and wildlife may, however, be harvested for personal consumption or use — only if a specific park superintendent allows. Despite permission, there may be additional limits on foraging, including size, quantity, location, and purpose. 

The Shenandoah National Park, for example, allows foraging in small amounts for personal use, but requires a separate permit to forage for educational or research purposes. The following are some parks that permit wildcrafting and foraging.

National Park	Wild food
Allegheny Portage Railroad (Pennsylvania)	The following wild foods may be gathered for personal consumption: Berries — 1 gallon per person/group per day. Nuts — 1 pound per person/group per day. Mushrooms — ½ pound per person/group per day. Fruits — ½ bushel per person/group per day.
Cuyahoga Valley (Ohio)	Unless they are listed as rare, threatened, or endangered, small amounts of edible fruit, berries, and nuts may be gathered for personal consumption. Fungi and mushrooms remain illegal to collect in any amount.
First State National Historical Park(DE, PA)	One person can only harvest no more than one pint of fruits, nuts, berries, and mushrooms each day for personal consumption.
Gateway National Recreation Area (NY, NJ)	There is a limit of less than one pint of the following wild foods for personal consumption: Beach plums Bayberries Mushrooms
Gettysburg (Pennsylvania)	There is a limit of one peck (537.61 cubic inches) per person per day of the following wild foods for personal consumption: Acorns  Blackberries  Blueberries  Cherries  Crabapples  Hickory nuts  Mushrooms  Peaches  Raspberries  Strawberries  Walnuts  Wineberries  Apples can be gathered at 1 bushel per person per day.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park(NC, TN)	You may handpick no more than one pound per person per day of these fruits, berries, nuts, and aboveground fruiting bodies of fungi for personal consumption: Blueberries  Strawberries Blackberries  Grapes Elderberries  Gooseberries/Currants  Black raspberries Huckleberries  Cherries Service berries  Persimmon  Black walnut  Hickory American hazelnut  Apples, pears, and peaches Red Mulberries You can harvest mushrooms only if they are edible, growing on soil or on rotting logs, and 100 feet away from roads, parking lots, picnic areas, campgrounds, buildings, or other facilities. The same limit in quantity applies.
Minute Man National Historical Park(Massachusetts)	You can only harvest one handful of fruits, nuts, berries, and edible greens in one visit. Fungi and mushrooms remain illegal to forage.
National Capital Parks-East (District of Columbia)	There is a limit of less than one quart of the following wild foods for personal consumption: Blueberries Blackberries Grapes Paw-paws Raspberries Walnuts
New River Gorge (West Virginia)	The following wild foods are limited to one gallon per person per day (for personal consumption): Blueberries Blackberries Cherries Elderberries Gooseberries Grapes Huckleberries May Apples Raspberries Serviceberries Sumac Berries The following wild foods are limited to 3 gallons per person per day (for personal consumption): Apples Black Walnuts Peaches Pears Persimmons Plums You can only harvest edible mushrooms at the limit of 1.5 gallons per person per day.
Shenandoah National Park (Virginia)	The following wild foods are limited to one gallon per person per day (for personal consumption): Morel Mushrooms  Blueberries  Strawberries  Blackberries/Raspberries/Wineberries  Grapes Elderberries  Gooseberries/Currants Huckleberries Cherries/Plums  Serviceberries  Persimmons  Black Walnuts  Hickory Nuts American Hazelnut There is a limit of 8 gallons (1 bushel) per person per day of the following wild foods for personal consumption: Apples Pears  Peaches
Thomas Edison National Historical Park(New Jersey)	You are limited to only gathering one quart of the following wild food: Apples from the apple trees adjacent to the garage at Glenmont Grape leaves from the grape arbors adjacent to the greenhouse at Glenmont

Where Foraging Is Illegal in the US

The majority of city and county parks (not National Parks) in the US prohibit foraging. The following are summaries of some parks that prohibit foraging.

• Anoka County Parks: Foraging is illegal without a permit. Mushroom cultivation is also prohibited without a special permit
• Bloomington City Parks: Foraging is illegal.
• In Carver County Parks: Foraging is banned.
• Dakota County Parks: Foraging of vegetation or any natural resources is forbidden.
• Ramsey County Parks: Foraging is illegal.
• Scott County Parks: Foraging is illegal. The park does grant limited permits purely for instructional purposes.
• Three Rivers Park District: Foraging is illegal.
• Washington County Parks: Foraging is illegal.

Still, if you are going to forage wild food, you should confirm with your regional office regarding local laws, protected species, and conservation areas. After all, many states have their own laws about harvesting and wildcrafting.

Need help with foraging?

Foraging Wild Food Legally & Illegally in Canada

In Canada, you can go foraging on most public land (also known as Crown land) with some limits. Foraging on private property, however, requires the permission of the landowner. In the same way, you must obtain permission from the local First Nations Community before you enter customary land. 

The country prohibits endangered and threatened species of wild plants from being harvested. Please check against this database.

At the provincial level, there are also laws that govern and limit the type, quantity, and areas in which wild foods can be harvested. Here are a few popular provinces.

Legal foraging in British Columbia

Just like the other provinces, British Columbia does not allow harvesting or foraging in its provincial parks. However, foraging is allowed on Crown land. Find out more about British Columbia’s protected species that you’re prohibited from harvesting in this database. 

When it comes to Huckleberry harvesting, the BC provincial government closes commercial-scale foraging seasonally in some areas of the Kootenay Boundary region. The wildlife species there rely on wild huckleberry there. 

Legal Foraging in Ontario

In Ontario, foraging of edible wild plants and mushrooms is permitted on Crown land for non-exclusive use. In provincial parks and conservation reserves, commercial foraging is prohibited. Some parks do, however, let you apply for a Harvesting Permit. 

In areas where foraging is legal, such as public land, you still cannot harvest any plant listed as endangered, threatened, or extinct both nationally and provincially. 

Within Toronto, foraging is banned in city-run parks, forests, and ravines.

Check out the Crown Land Use Policy Atlas and Ontario’s First Nations Maps to identify land use and ownership. With this information, you should be able to seek permission from the right owners (if the land isn’t public).

Legal Foraging in Quebec

Quebec’s National Parks do not allow foraging of plants and any objects. Similar to all provinces, Quebec prohibits the harvesting of threatened and vulnerable species, including Ramps. Anyone caught with more than 50 bulbs of Ramps will be fined at least CAD $500.

Here is the current list of wild plants that are illegal to forage in Quebec.

The Bottom Line: Find out if foraging for wild food is legal in your area

Foraging for wild food is a great way to get in touch with nature and connect with the outdoors. Before you go out and start picking mushrooms or digging up roots, make sure that foraging is legal in your area. 

Check with your local parks department or government office to find out what wild plants are edible and legal to harvest in your area. Get a permit if necessary. Most importantly, be respectful of the land and take only what you need.