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Senate advances bill to create sustainable foraging task force after concerns about rulemaking
Summary
Senate File 1464 would create a legislative task force to develop recommendations on sustainable foraging on state lands; DNR said it paused rulemaking and supports stakeholder input, while foraging groups and indigenous leaders urged a science‑ and tradition‑based approach to preserve access and stewardship.
Senator Pah presented Senate File 14 64 on March 13, a bill to create a Minnesota Sustainable Foraging Task Force to study and recommend policies for foraging on state lands. The A6 amendment moved the task force to the Legislative Coordinating Commission, set membership and tightened the timeline for recommendations to reach the legislature by February 2026. The committee adopted the amendment and recommended the bill to State and Local Government by voice vote.
Multiple witnesses and stakeholders urged creation of a stakeholder‑led process. Peter Marciniak (Minnesota Mycological Society) said foraging is widely practiced across cultural communities and cited concerns that the Department of Natural Resources had discussed rule changes without including foraging stakeholders. “We support this legislation in order to better support responsible and sustainable foraging as a recognized means of connecting with our natural resources,” Marciniak said.
Sean Sherman of North American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems (NATIFS) urged the committee to acknowledge Indigenous knowledge and its role in sustainable harvesting practices, saying plant knowledge “is everything to us.” Tara Erickson, who has organized advocacy around the issue, said stakeholders sought a seat at the table after hearing of possible DNR rule changes; she said DNR staff had proposed numeric quantity limits (for example, a one‑gallon bag) without stakeholder input and that some proposed limits would not fit commonly foraged items.
Assistant Commissioner Bob Meyer of the DNR told the committee there is no active rulemaking on foraging on the department roster at this time and that the department’s intent was not to prohibit foraging but to ensure sustainable, noncommercial collection in units where volume had exceeded personal‑use intent. He described statutory differences among state land units and said some units (for example, scientific and natural areas) already restrict collection. Meyer said the department has an internal working group and a tribal relations team addressing traditional ecological knowledge and pledged to work with the task force and stakeholders.
Supporters emphasized that the task force would not itself change law but would produce recommendations for the legislature. Senator Pah said the task force would provide “robust discussions” and recommendations so legislators could consider evidence‑based policy. The committee adopted the bill as amended and referred it to State and Local Government.
Ending: The committee recommended the task force bill for further consideration and several members asked the author and DNR to coordinate on membership, scope and a transparent timeline for stakeholder meetings.
