Gathering - Outdoor pursuits - A living territory

In the National Park’s central zone, landowners or their beneficiaries have free use of mushrooms, medicinal plants and wild fruits. Nonetheless, public gathering for home use is tolerated. To encourage practices that respect the environment, walkers and owners, regulations have been put in place.

Picking mushrooms

Picking mushrooms is one of the great pleasures of the autumn, when the beneficial rain makes ceps, boletus, chanterelles and other much prised species appear. But note that mushrooms also play an important part in the eco-system and that they are sensitive to changes to their environment.

When climate conditions in the autumn have been propitious for mushrooms, the Cévenol massifs are much frequented by pickers. Their impact on the environment is very negative: intense traffic, destruction of plant species, disturbance of animals, litter, etc.

Landowners, elected representatives and nature lovers support the National Park’s actions in limiting both disturbances to the natural environment and violations of landowners’ rights. In fact, in contrast with game, mushrooms belong to the landowner. The Park’s actions have been formalised in regulations.

Regulations

Throughout the National Park’s central zone, mushroom picking is regulated by a specific decree (n°2002-G of 18 July 2002).

In particular, note that:

In the absence of any mention to the contrary on the land (“Cueillette de champignons réservée”), limited picking is considered to be tacitly approved by the landowner;
This tacit approval applies to all land and all persons;
The maximum quantity is set at 10 litres per person per day, with the exception of the king trumpet mushroom, also called the french horn mushroom or king oyster mushroom (pleurotus eryngii), for which the maximum quantity is 2 litres per person per day. These quantities are identical to those set by the Prefect of Lozère for the rest of the département.

Regular controls are carried out by park rangers. Those who infringe the regulations (through excessive picking, driving on unauthorised tracks, etc.), may be prosecuted, fined or subject to an on-the-spot fine of 135 euros.

Blueberry picking

Blueberry picking used to be a good additional income, especially for farmers, but has been in decline because on all the massifs, the quality of blueberries has fallen. This is due to unfavourable climate conditions – summer droughts – and to overgrowing, which has reduced blueberry habitats.

Picking medicinal, aromatic and perfume-related plants

Demand for aromatic and medicinal herbs is rising. In the Cévennes, producers harvest and market sachets of dried plants. These are picked in specific sites with the landowners’ agreement. There are also workshops for transforming herbs into essential oils or medicated water by distillation.