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Kisatchie NF Foraging Conditions — ForageIQ

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Kisatchie NF

80–400 ft · LA🚗 Directions

S

Kisatchie NF — Louisiana's only national forest, spread across central LA in seven ranger districts. Longleaf pine, loblolly, white oak, magnolia, and beech in stream bottoms. Excellent chanterelle and indigo milk cap grounds; oysters and chicken on hardwoods.

Trees:Longleaf Pine Loblolly Pine Water Oak

Updated May 29, 4:16 AM MT

AI Conditions Report

AI-generated · verify in field

**Kisatchie NF – S Tier | May 29, 2026** This forest has entered a peak window: 74°F soil, seven straight days of sustained moisture (0.30 VWC 7-day avg), and recent rain totaling 2.58" over two weeks have triggered everything simultaneously. You're looking at a rare convergence where both saprotrophs and wood-decay species are lighting up—from wine caps and oysters to the polypores and cup fungi. The full 31-species viability list reflects the real deal here: conditions are legitimately hot across multiple guilds. The only whisper of friction is *moderate desiccation risk*, which means don't dawdle. That 0.32 VWC will drop if we get a dry spell or wind event. Louisiana heat in late May can evaporate gains fast. Prioritize the fleshy fruiting bodies (oysters, wine caps, morels) in the next 48–72 hours; the wood conks and polypores have more runway. No limiting bottleneck yet—humidity and soil temp are aligned. Watch the weather window close rather than species availability. **Hot tip:** Dryad's saddles and half-free morels peak under exactly these conditions; hit open forest margins and riparian zones before the sun climbs harder mid-week.

Generated by Claude (Anthropic) from the structured weather, soil, and phenology data on this page. The LLM can misread edge cases — treat this as a starting hypothesis, not a guarantee. Always verify conditions on the ground before committing to a long drive.

Foraging Potential95/100

✅Moisture

✅Soil Temp

✅No Freeze

✅No Drought

Precip 7d

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Nearby Camping

Within(1)

Stuart Lake Recreation Complex, Camping/Day Use

developed

USFS~5.8 mi from centerFee required/night

Kisatchie National Forest

⚠ Road Access Notice

Always verify road access is public before following GPS directions to mountain areas. Many forest roads are seasonal, gated, or require 4WD. Dispersed camping follows USFS/BLM rules (typically 14-day limit). Check ranger district offices for current road and campground conditions.

Viable Species

Confidence × Primordia state

HIGHPrimed

Oyster Mushroom

All conditions met (soil 74°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.32 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Wine Cap

All conditions met (soil 74°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.32 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Turkey Tail

All conditions met (soil 74°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.32 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Dryad's Saddle

All conditions met (soil 74°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.32 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Witch's Butter

All conditions met (soil 74°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.32 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Jelly Ear

All conditions met (soil 74°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.32 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Dead Man's Fingers

All conditions met (soil 74°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.32 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Fairy Ring Champignon

All conditions met (soil 74°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.32 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Artist's Conk

All conditions met (soil 74°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.32 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Birch Polypore

All conditions met (soil 74°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.32 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Tinder Fungus

All conditions met (soil 74°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.32 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Devil's Urn

All conditions met (soil 74°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.32 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Mica Cap

All conditions met (soil 74°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.32 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Fool's Mushroom

All conditions met (soil 74°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.32 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Fairy Inkcap

All conditions met (soil 74°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.32 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Red-Belted Conk

All conditions met (soil 74°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.32 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Thin-Walled Maze Polypore

All conditions met (soil 74°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.32 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Mossy Maze Polypore

All conditions met (soil 74°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.32 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

False Turkey Tail

All conditions met (soil 74°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.32 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Half-Free Morel

All conditions met (soil 74°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.32 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Eyelash Cup

All conditions met (soil 74°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.32 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Snow Fungus

All conditions met (soil 74°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.32 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Wood Ear

All conditions met (soil 74°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.32 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Black Cup

All conditions met (soil 74°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.32 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Green Elfcup

All conditions met (soil 74°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.32 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Aspen Oyster

All conditions met (soil 74°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.32 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Wolf's Milk Slime

All conditions met (soil 74°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.32 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

King Alfred's Cakes

All conditions met (soil 74°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.32 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Oak Mazegill

All conditions met (soil 74°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.32 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

HIGHPrimed

Golden Teacher

All conditions met (soil 74°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.32 VWC, 7d avg 0.30 — moisture sustained)

Primordia readiness: Cold = mycelium dormant. Activating = soil warming, primordia building. Primed = 5+ sustained warm days at species threshold; fruiting imminent if moisture cooperates. Based on Schmidt 1983 / Mihail 2007.