Lichen Collecting

Want to Collect Lichens with Us?

Join the Selkirk Conservation Alliance as we collect arboreal lichens to support the endangered Selkirk Mountain Caribou recovery plan. Lichens collected will be dried and used by the International working group in a new maternal pen program; which will protect our remaining Selkirk herd pregnant cows and their newborn calves until they are strong enough to elude predators. To help this fall and winter, you can download the permits, carry with you, and collect on your own. Check back here or follow our Facebook page for group collection events each summer.

Please be sure to follow all the the specific permit stipulations you choose to collect under (IDL – East Side of Priest Lake or USFS – West Side of Priest Lake). You can bring any lichens collected to our Priest River Office, or call 208.443.0760 for other options closer to Priest Lake.

Some tips for collection:

Wear gloves with smooth palms. The lichens really grab onto any textured materials.

Before putting them in bags (avoid plastic, old pillowcases or airy mesh bags which encourage drying are best), wad or roll them up. This helps start the compression process and makes them less likely to grab the sides of the bags going in.

Remove twigs, branches, leaves, needles, etc. either during collection or afterwards. These don’t count towards the 100 pounds needed.

Be sure to note where you are collecting if not on private lands (where you have permission). Our permits require disclosure of the amount and types of lichens collected in each area. Township/Section/Range or GPS coordinates are needed.

Store the collected lichens, particularly if wet, in mesh or cloth bags which breathe, or brown paper sacks or cardboard boxes. Do not store wet lichens in plastic bags.

Our goal is to collect a minimum of 100 pounds (dried) each year the pen is operational so we REALLY need your help! Thank you!

Planning on Collecting Lichens?

Here are the Permits & Guidelines: