Fiddlehead rustlers threatened with jail as US state tries to curb mass foraging

Fiddleheads have been a delicacy in Maine since colonial times.

Best served with vinegar or butter, the humble fiddlehead - a small, fern-like plant harvested as a vegetable - is one of the first wild edibles of Spring.

Maine’s spring fiddlehead-picking season is short, only four to six weeks long, making these ferns a delicacy with retailers selling them for up to $22 (£18) a pound. 

Now fiddleheads are at the centre of a row which has pitched landowners against those who forage for the plant and the American Civil Liberties Union.

Maine legislators are considering a bill which would impose steep fines and even a prison sentence for people who pick fiddleheads without the landowner’s permission.

“It’s fiddlehead rustling, foragers are stealing other people’s property and selling it,” said Tom Saviello, a Republican member of the state senate and sponsor of the  bill.

“This has become a commercial operation.”

Fiddleheads have become big business. A professional forager can make as much as $200 a day (£160) selling their haul to markets and restaurants.

They are not available year round. When in stock Wholefoods, one major retailer, sells fiddleheads  for upwards of $9.99 a pound, which works out at £17.73 a kilo.

Other merchants demand considerably more. Earthy Delights, a Michigan-based company which sells produce via mail order, charges $22 a pound (£39 a kilo)

Chefs say the flavour evokes asparagus or artichoke. At the Arad Evans Inn in Fayetteville, New York chef, Aaron Ames, prepares them with a Hollandaise sauce.

When in season they are served at an array of upmarket restaurants across the country including Cask in Los Angeles and Wine Cask in Santa Barbara.

“A lot of restaurants have elevated it to gourmet status and it is becoming part of the foodie industry,” said Rachel Healy, spokesman for the Maine branch of the American Civil Liberties Union.   “Under this bill, it would be possible for somebody to get six months in jail. Putting somebody in prison for picking ferns does seem rather over the top.”

“Picking fiddleheads has been a rite of passage for generations of children in Maine.”

But supporters of the measure say it is essential to give landowners protection against people coming onto their land and harvesting fiddleheads along with wild onions and wild mushrooms in vast quantities.

“I don’t think the issue is foraging,” said Bill Williams, deputy director of Maine Woodland Owners.    “It is that property owners should at least have a say on whether items should be taken from their property. “There is a law of theft in Maine, it should not be any different if you are talking about fiddleheads, mushrooms or Christmas trees.

“In Maine 94 per cent of land is privately owned and it is available for recreation such as hunting, snowmobiling, birdwatching and hiking. But that does not mean it is ok for somebody to come onto my property and take what is mine.”

Mr Saviello says his bill, which imposes a $1,000 fine and a potential jail term, would only kick in for professional foragers caught with at least 40 lbs of fiddleheads.

Others disagree, including Tom Seymour, a forager and writer.

“If it was just intended to tackle commercial harvesting of fiddleheads and mushrooms, that would be all well and good.

“But this bill would have an impact on recreational foragers. A hiker who happened to pick something up would be in violation. These are people who are not doing any harm.”

There is considerable opposition to the measure. “ This bill is regulatory overreach,” said Doug Denico, director of Maine’s Forestry Bureau.

“The State cannot and should not get involved in every dispute between a private landowner and the users of private property, nor can it afford to do so. 

“lf people trespass on the land of others to harvest wild food, the landowner already has recourse.”

Some landowners agree, including Anthony Garrity. “Rather than add another unenforceable law that could have unintended consequences, Maine's property owners should avail themselves of the perfectly serviceable trespass laws already on the books.”