HARRISVILLE — The Alcona County Conservation District will be hosting a spring mushroom hunt with a mushroom specialist from the Michigan Mushroom Hunter’s Club Saturday.

District Manager Janet Reins said Saturday Sister Marie Kopin will be at the event, which will be hosted on land in Tawas City, to give her expert opinions on mushroom hunting and species identification.

The event will be located on a piece of land on Bischoff Road off Anderson Road in Iosco County near Tawas City. Directional signs for the event will be posted, Reins said.

She said the hunt will take place from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. and will be held rain or shine, adding that participants should dress for the weather.

The event is free and open to the public; more information can be found by visiting www.alconaconservation.org. She said there is an interactive map of the mushrooming location on the website.

Kopin is known for her mushrooming prowess and has much information about the recreational activity.

“Every year she comes out and is willing to lead a mushroom hunt with us,” Reins said.

She said the event typically is well attended by the public.

“Last time we had 24 participants at one time,” she said. “These are very popular events for mushroom hunters.’

Reins said one thing that mushroom hunters need to remain cautious about is the possibility their mushroom finds are toxic. Reins said anyone who may pick mushrooms needs to contact an expert before they ever attempt to eat them.

“You need an expert opinion. You can’t just go pick mushrooms and eat them,” she said. “There are some like morels that are easy to identify, but even with morels you need to know the difference because there are poisonous mushrooms called ‘false morels.'”

Reins said there are some mushrooms that are very good to eat and others that are extremely toxic and will put a person in the hospital.

In recent years the Michigan Department of Natural Resources has issued an online map cataloging areas where controlled burns have been conducted on state land for morel mushroom hunters.

According to the DNR website large burn sites in forested areas are ideal for morel mushroom hunting, especially in burned areas where jack, white or red pine once grew. Grassy and other non-forest areas are not as likely to produce the mushrooms.

More information on the website can be found by visiting www.michigan.gov/dnr.

Jason Ogden can be reached via email at jogden@thealpenanews.com or by phone at 358-5693. Follow Jason on Twitter @jo_alpenanews.

What: Alcona Conservation District mushroom hunt

When: Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Where: Tawas City, see directions at www.alconaconservation.org.