Fern Gathering on the San Bernardino National Forest: Cultural versus Commercial Values Among Korean and Japanese Participants

Most attention to special forest products (SFPs),bothin the literatureand in management practice, has focused on economic aspects of gathering activities. The majority of bracken fern gatherers on the Arrowhead Ranger District are of Japanese and Korean backgrounds, and they pick ferns not for commercial purposes, but as a recreational, social, and outdoor activity. These findings indicate that economically and commercially based assumptions are sometimes inappropriate for managing SFP gathering activities.