Foraging in the Arizona Mountains: Why the Mogollon Rim is Special

Born in Brooklyn, NY, and raised in Arizona, Michael has a profound passion for the state's diverse flora and fauna. A dedicated advocate for mycology, he currently serves as the President of the Arizona Mushroom Society. Michael's fascination with fungi began in 2016 during a trip to Denmark, where he discovered the excitement of wild mushroom foraging. Inspired by this experience, he returned to Arizona with a new enthusiasm for mycology. After attending an Arizona Mushroom Society foray as a guest in 2017, he officially joined the organization in 2018. In addition to his work with the Arizona Mushroom Society, Michael actively volunteers with several other mycological organizations, including the North American Mycological Association and the Los Angeles Mycological Society.

Born and raised in Canada, since childhood, Brent developed a real passion for the outdoors and nature. He has completed 29 multi day back packing trips into Grand Canyon country. After moving from Canada to Flagstaff AZ in 1998, Brent found a love for mushrooms because of stumbling onto them on his many outdoor adventures. He joined the AMS May 1, 2016 on the unforgettable Slide fire morel foray and was hooked. Currently he serves as a board member. He is a foray guide and is passionate about Fungi education. He is involved with the Inaturalist Fungi of Arizona project and as part of that effort has contributed a good number of species to the Gilbertson’s herbarium collection of over 1000 AZ fungi species. He looks forward to being part of NAMA and to meeting all the other passionate members.

Chad Hyatt spent a decade cooking in restaurants and private clubs around the San Francisco Bay Area and, for the last 5 years, has worked as a freelance chef specializing in private events. He has been deeply connected to the mushroom community for the last 10 years and has taught about mushrooms and mushroom cookery all over the USA. He wrote and published the groundbreaking The Mushroom Hunter's Kitchen in 2018. Chad is working on a 2nd edition, which should be available in summer 2025. Chad and his wife Rosa first fell in love with the mountains and mushrooms of Arizona in 2015 and return every chance they get.