Remembering What We’ve Forgotten!

Michael Beug completed his Ph.D. in Chemistry at the University of Washington in 1971. After one year teaching at Harvey Mudd College, he spent 32 years at the Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington where he taught chemistry, mycology, and organic farming. He mentored mushroom expert Paul Stamets, who has gained acclaim in the mushroom community.

Beug started mushrooming in 1968 and his photographs have appeared in over 80 books and articles. He has belonged to the North American Mycological Association since 1974, where he chaired the toxicology committee, edited the Journal McIlvainea, and wrote 25 free PowerPoint mushroom identification programs. He has also been a member of the Pacific Northwest Key Council since 1974, a group dedicated to writing keys for mushroom identification and producing the free MycoMatch program with nearly 7,000 photos of over 2,500 species and detailed descriptions of over 4,500 species.

Dr. Beug’s specialties are the Ascomycota, the genus Ramaria, and all toxic and hallucinogenic mushrooms. He is researching oak-associated fungi of the Columbia River Gorge, especially the Cortinarius species. He has discovered nearly 100 new mushroom species from a dozen genera. He is also fungi photo editor for the University of British Columbia E-Flora website and supplies mushroom photos to the Burke Museum (University of Washington). His latest book is “Mush-rooms of Cascadia: An Illustrated Key.” His website is www.mushroomsofcascadia.com. This book is designed as a field companion to MycoMatch (or traditional field guides). The illustrated key makes identification much easier and faster, and allows for more species to be covered in a small book of just 314 pages. Beug’s hobbies are organic farming and winemaking.

With coauthors Alan and Arleen Bessette, he wrote Ascomycete Fungi of North America: A Mushroom Reference Guide, University of Texas Press, 2014. Dr Beug is also a contributing editor of Fungi magazine and a coauthor of MatchMaker, a free mushroom identification program covering 4,092 taxa with over 5,000 images of 1,984 illustrated taxa (www.matchmakermushrooms.com).]

All Community Resiliency programs are co-sponsored by Stevenson Community Library and Stevenson Grange #121. This program will be held downstairs in the Library Gallery.

Library events and programs are open to the public and provided at no cost. Special accommodations may be requested using the Disability Accommodation Request Form no later than 15 days prior to the event.

Los eventos y programas de la biblioteca están abiertos al público y se brindan sin costo. Se pueden solicitar adaptaciones especiales utilizando nuestro formulario de solicitud de adaptaciones para personas con discapacidades (en inglés) hasta 15 días antes del evento.

For program information, please call Mary Repar at (360) 726-7052 or e-mail repar@saw.net. Call Stevenson Community Library at (509) 427-5471 for directions or information.