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Salmon River / Lemhi Foraging Conditions — ForageIQ

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Salmon River / Lemhi

4,500–10,000 ft · ID🚗 Directions

A

Salmon-Challis NF and Frank Church Wilderness fringe. Remote rugged terrain. Lodgepole and Douglas fir. Excellent morel habitat in fire scars. Low competition.

Trees:Douglas Fir Lodgepole Pine Engelmann Spruce

Permit Info →

Updated Aug 27, 4:05 AM MT

AI Conditions Report

AI-generated · verify in field

# Salmon River/Lemhi — Tier A | August 27, 2026 This is a **flush window**—soil's held above threshold for a full week straight, VWC is steady, and the moisture trigger has fired. The Tier A rating reflects the breadth of viable species: hedgehogs, boletes across the board (Bay, Birch, Painted, Chicken-Fat), milk caps, Lobsters, and high-altitude specialists like Sweet Tooth and Chaga are all go. Cauliflower is marginal but worth checking dense fir stands. The limiting factor is **desiccation risk**—you've only had 0.26" in 7 days and soil VWC is holding but not climbing. This flush will be short and concentrated. Focus north aspects, dense canopy, and wet draws where evaporation stays suppressed. Watch the next 48–72 hours hard. A dry wind or warm spell breaks this window fast at 56°F soil temp. Fruiting bodies will fruit now or not for weeks. **Hot tip:** Hedgehogs and Slippery Jacks fruit heaviest in the first 36 hours of a flush—hit the mixed conifer zone above 6,500 ft elevation at dawn before the desiccation wind picks up.

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 Potential75/100

✅Moisture

✅Soil Temp

✅No Freeze

✅No Drought

Precip 7d

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Nearby Camping

Within(3)

Morse Creek Campground

developed

USFS~4.8 mi from centerFee required/night

Salmon-Challis National Forest

Bear Valley Horse Camp

developed

USFS~6.5 mi from centerFee required/night

Salmon-Challis National Forest

Bear Valley Trailhead/Upper Campground

dispersed

USFS~6.5 mi from centerFee required/night

Salmon-Challis 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

MODERATEActivating

Cauliflower MushroomSparassis crispa

soil temp marginal (56°F vs 58°F min, 6/7 days above), today 0.15 VWC, 7d avg 0.16

HIGHPrimed

Hedgehog MushroomHydnum repandum

All conditions met (soil 56°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.15 VWC, 7d avg 0.16)

HIGHPrimed

ReishiGanoderma tsugae

All conditions met (soil 56°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.15 VWC, 7d avg 0.16)

HIGHPrimed

Pink-Tipped CoralRamaria botrytis

All conditions met (soil 56°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.15 VWC, 7d avg 0.16)

HIGHPrimed

Indigo Milk CapLactarius indigo

All conditions met (soil 56°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.15 VWC, 7d avg 0.16)

HIGHPrimed

Saffron Milk CapLactarius deliciosus

All conditions met (soil 56°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.15 VWC, 7d avg 0.16)

HIGHPrimed

ChagaInonotus obliquus

All conditions met (soil 56°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.15 VWC, 7d avg 0.16)

HIGHPrimed

Panther CapAmanita pantherina

All conditions met (soil 56°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.15 VWC, 7d avg 0.16)

HIGHPrimed

Birch BoleteLeccinum scabrum

All conditions met (soil 56°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.15 VWC, 7d avg 0.16)

HIGHPrimed

Pig's EarsGomphus clavatus

All conditions met (soil 56°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.15 VWC, 7d avg 0.16)

HIGHPrimed

Birch PolyporeFomitopsis betulina

All conditions met (soil 56°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.15 VWC, 7d avg 0.16)

HIGHPrimed

Bleeding ToothHydnellum peckii

All conditions met (soil 56°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.15 VWC, 7d avg 0.16)

HIGHPrimed

Red-Capped Scaber StalkLeccinum aurantiacum

All conditions met (soil 56°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.15 VWC, 7d avg 0.16)

HIGHPrimed

Gypsy MushroomCortinarius caperatus

All conditions met (soil 56°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.15 VWC, 7d avg 0.16)

HIGHPrimed

The PrinceAgaricus augustus

All conditions met (soil 56°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.15 VWC, 7d avg 0.16)

HIGHPrimed

Bay BoleteImleria badia

All conditions met (soil 56°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.15 VWC, 7d avg 0.16)

HIGHPrimed

Bitter BoleteTylopilus felleus

All conditions met (soil 56°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.15 VWC, 7d avg 0.16)

HIGHPrimed

Painted BoleteSuillus spraguei

All conditions met (soil 56°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.15 VWC, 7d avg 0.16)

HIGHPrimed

Chicken-Fat BoleteSuillus americanus

All conditions met (soil 56°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.15 VWC, 7d avg 0.16)

HIGHPrimed

Shrimp RussulaRussula xerampelina

All conditions met (soil 56°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.15 VWC, 7d avg 0.16)

HIGHPrimed

The SickenerRussula emetica

All conditions met (soil 56°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.15 VWC, 7d avg 0.16)

HIGHPrimed

Short-Stemmed RussulaRussula brevipes

All conditions met (soil 56°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.15 VWC, 7d avg 0.16)

HIGHPrimed

Woolly Milk CapLactarius torminosus

All conditions met (soil 56°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.15 VWC, 7d avg 0.16)

HIGHPrimed

Coker's AmanitaAmanita cokeri

All conditions met (soil 56°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.15 VWC, 7d avg 0.16)

HIGHPrimed

Deadly WebcapCortinarius rubellus

All conditions met (soil 56°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.15 VWC, 7d avg 0.16)

HIGHPrimed

Bloody WebcapCortinarius sanguineus

All conditions met (soil 56°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.15 VWC, 7d avg 0.16)

HIGHPrimed

Bleeding AgaricusAgaricus haemorrhoidarius

All conditions met (soil 56°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.15 VWC, 7d avg 0.16)

HIGHPrimed

Red-Belted ConkFomitopsis pinicola

All conditions met (soil 56°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.15 VWC, 7d avg 0.16)

HIGHPrimed

Sweet ToothHydnum umbilicatum

All conditions met (soil 56°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.15 VWC, 7d avg 0.16)

HIGHPrimed

Jelly AntlerCalocera viscosa

All conditions met (soil 56°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.15 VWC, 7d avg 0.16)

HIGHPrimed

Red CoralRamaria araiospora

All conditions met (soil 56°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.15 VWC, 7d avg 0.16)

HIGHPrimed

Brown Roll-RimPaxillus involutus

All conditions met (soil 56°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.15 VWC, 7d avg 0.16)

HIGHPrimed

Angel WingsPleurocybella porrigens

All conditions met (soil 56°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.15 VWC, 7d avg 0.16)

HIGHPrimed

Yellow Fly AgaricAmanita muscaria var. guessowii

All conditions met (soil 56°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.15 VWC, 7d avg 0.16)

HIGHPrimed

Scaly Wood MushroomAgaricus silvaticus

All conditions met (soil 56°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.15 VWC, 7d avg 0.16)

HIGHPrimed

Amethyst DeceiverLaccaria amethystina

All conditions met (soil 56°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.15 VWC, 7d avg 0.16)

HIGHPrimed

Lobster MushroomHypomyces lactifluorum

All conditions met (soil 56°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.15 VWC, 7d avg 0.16)

HIGHPrimed

Slippery JackSuillus luteus

All conditions met (soil 56°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.15 VWC, 7d avg 0.16)

HIGHPrimed

Hawks Wing

All conditions met (soil 56°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.15 VWC, 7d avg 0.16)

HIGHPrimed

Amanita Muscaria

All conditions met (soil 56°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.15 VWC, 7d avg 0.16)

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.