6:30 pm – OMS Mushroom Identification Session
If you have found mushrooms that are in good condition, wrap them in waxed paper, aluminum foil, or a put them in a paper bag and bring them (with a spore print, if possible). Bring your field guide to reference the mushrooms that are on display.

7:00 OMS Society Business: Announcements, Introductions, or Short Presentations

7:15 pm Presentation: Heather Dawson. Wait, don’t eat the truffle! Truffle dog training and dog-found truffle diversity

Truffle dogs are gaining popularity in the Pacific Northwest because they can easily be trained to find the native Oregon white and black truffles. Rye the truffle “diversity dog” will find any truffle with an aroma, good or bad. While truffle dogs are well-established as the best method to harvest top quality culinary truffles, their high-powered scenting abilities are rarely employed for exploring the diversity of the hundreds of truffle species that don’t find a home in the kitchen. Rye is proving that dogs can find them all. Learn about truffle dog training, what makes truffles unique, and take a tour of the amazing truffle diversity to be found in the Pacific Northwest.

Heather Dawson is a PhD student at the University of Oregon and studies truffle biodiversity with a focus on truffles in oak savanna. She has spent the last 5 years following her truffle dogs around the woods learning first-hand about the vast number of truffle species that are easily detected by a canine nose. Heather trains her dogs to recognize truffle aromas of any type, so they are able to find truffle species that they have never encountered before. Her current truffle dog, Rye, has an exceptional talent for generalizing truffle aroma and has found countless truffles from around 50 fungal genera. Given the challenges in studying these hidden fungi, Rye’s abilities demonstrate an exciting method to expand current knowledge of truffle diversity and ecology.