Source: Peninsula Daily News
OLYMPIC — Olympic National Forest has announced four dates on which permits for commercial salal collection will be sold.
The dates are Sept. 10, Nov. 5, Jan. 7 and March 18 at the Forks, Quinault, and Quilcene district offices.
Salal is an understory shrub commonly used in the floral industry.
It grows in dense thickets throughout Western Washington and Oregon.
A total of 100 permits will be available on each of the sale days, divided among different harvest areas.
Each permit will cost $150 and can be used for up to two months.
On each sale day, 50 permits will be offered from the Quilcene office for harvest areas located within Mason County and the east side of Clallam and Jefferson counties.
Twenty-five permits will be offered from the Forks office for the west side of Clallam County.
Twenty-five permits will be offered from the Lake Quinault office for harvest areas within Grays Harbor County and the west side of Jefferson County.
Harvest unit boundaries are defined by roads or recognizable land features. A map of the harvest areas will be distributed with the sale of each permit.
Permit holders will be limited to no more than 200 hands per day. One hand equals about 20 to 25 stems.
The Forest Service recommends that salal harvesters wear at least one piece of high-visibility clothing while in the woods.
A lottery system will be used if the demand for permits exceeds the supply.
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 only will be accepted; credit and debit cards will not be accepted.
Only one permit may be purchased per person per sale day.
For more information about salal permit sales, phone Chris Dowling, special forest products program manager, at 360-956-2272.