Safety office cautions against picking wild mushrooms on Fort Drum

FORT DRUM, N.Y. (WWTI) - Safety officials are urging people on Fort Drum to avoid picking wild mushrooms.

The Fort Drum Garrison Safety Office recently worked with the Directorate of Public Works to eliminate a crop of these mushrooms, also known as Galerina marginata, from a community playground on post.

Safety Director Joe Semones said they were alerted to the issue when a community member submitted an ICE (Interactive Customer Evaluation) comment. The mushrooms are poisonous and can posed serious health risks if ingested.

Safety staff routinely checks for wild plants and invasive species when they conduct safety inspections on playgrounds, and Semones said this was a rare occurrence.

With all the rain we’ve been having, there are things growing that we normally wouldn’t see. I have