# Collecting Manzanita branches



## alang (Nov 25, 2007)

Most hiking trails are in state/national parks, and its illegal to take anything out of them. Most every place else is private property and involves trespassing unless you ask the owner. Manzanita is very hard and you will need a saw to get anything of a decent size. Walking around on a park trail carrying a saw is pretty obvious. Its a risky proposition any way you look at it.

Manzanita grows high and dry. Gotta go to the mountains. Where in So Cal are you?


----------



## EdTheEdge (Jan 25, 2007)

Most places in SoCal collecting is illegal eventhough the mountains here are full of Manzanita.


----------



## BeachBum2012 (Jan 16, 2010)

I'm in the Long Beach area. Kind of border of LA and Orange Counties.

Looks like I may have to head up North to do some collecting then. I've read on here and other sites about people collecting with no problem so I guess I kind of figured it would be no problem here. Guess I was wrong there.

Anyone know of some trails up North where its not illegal to collect?


----------



## topfrog007 (Dec 30, 2007)

I searched for it for awhile before giving up and just buying it from Jake AKA Badcopnofishtank. =0


----------



## GTR (May 27, 2009)

There's a lot of it growing along Rim of the World Hwy. In fact in areas it's the only thing you'd see driving by, no trees. That area may have burned in the fires 2-3 years ago.

Years ago we'd purchase a permit to collect fire wood but the areas for collection were limited. With that permit we could collect anything down within the allowed area. Of course we were looking for big stuff to burn.



> Firewood / Fuelwood Collecting and Gathering - Please visit our Fuelwood page Other Forest Products - Those wishing to collect seeds, pine cones, plant specimens, and other forest products are required to obtain a permit before removing anything from National Forest land. The permit will tell you where you may collect and any restrictions which may apply. Contact the Ranger Station in the area you would like to visit to find out how to obtain your permit. Be sure to plan ahead, as some permits require advance notice.



Fuelwood...
http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/sanbernardino/passes/fuelwood.shtml

Contact...
http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/sanbernardino/contact/index.shtml

SteveU


----------



## BeachBum2012 (Jan 16, 2010)

GTR said:


> There's a lot of it growing along Rim of the World Hwy. In fact in areas it's the only thing you'd see driving by, no trees. That area may have burned in the fires 2-3 years ago.
> 
> Years ago we'd purchase a permit to collect fire wood but the areas for collection were limited. With that permit we could collect anything down within the allowed area. Of course we were looking for big stuff to burn.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the info. I'll look into that for sure.


----------



## Diana (Jan 14, 2010)

You might check with the various parks districts (fed, stake, local) and find out if they are doing brush clearing work in any area that might have manzanita. 

The other option: there seems to be more private land in the Sierras and if you ask, most individuals will have no problem with you taking all you want. A friend recently filled his pick up truck with nice wood. All manzanita.


----------



## BeachBum2012 (Jan 16, 2010)

Diana said:


> You might check with the various parks districts (fed, stake, local) and find out if they are doing brush clearing work in any area that might have manzanita.
> 
> The other option: there seems to be more private land in the Sierras and if you ask, most individuals will have no problem with you taking all you want. A friend recently filled his pick up truck with nice wood. All manzanita.


I'll look into that for sure too. It'll give me an excuse to head back up to Kings Canyon. Haven't been hiking up there in a few years. I could talk to some local folks on the way out about collecting some wood on their land.

Thanks for another good idea


----------



## [email protected] (Jul 17, 2008)

Check with the locals first. 
You don't want to run into someones booby trapped hidden farming operation.


----------



## BeachBum2012 (Jan 16, 2010)

[email protected] said:


> Check with the locals first.
> You don't want to run into someones booby trapped hidden farming operation.


LOL, yeah for sure. There's a town (I can't remember the name) that is just down the mountain from the National park gates at Sequoia where I usually go in. I'll ask the locals around there the next time I'm up that way. They're usually very nice people.


----------



## Alpinist (Oct 7, 2009)

I feel lucky reading this. My father-in-law has property in southern Oregon and has manzanita all over his property. I just brought back quite a bit a couple weeks ago in preparation for my next tank.


----------



## Nate McFin (Mar 19, 2009)

Alpinist said:


> I feel lucky reading this. My father-in-law has property in southern Oregon and has manzanita all over his property. I just brought back quite a bit a couple weeks ago in preparation for my next tank.


 We do indeed have loads and loads of it. I guess technically most of it is Madrone...but close enough. roud:


----------



## teris1stuf (May 28, 2012)

*Manzanita in california*



BeachBum2012 said:


> I've read quite a bit about people collecting Manzanita branches here in California and I wanted to give it a shot. I'm looking for some new hiking trails anyhow. Anyone know of any good places in Southern California to go collecting?
> 
> Thanks.


Hey there. I live in nothern CA but from what I've read the Manzanita is all thru the Sierra mountains. I live at the elevation of 4100 ft. You could look around down there as I've read that Manzanita run's clear down into Mexico. I'd check at about that elevation to see if it's there. My Dad lives at about 3000 ft and it is all over his property. Sorry I'm not more help but it's an idea.


----------



## PlantedRich (Jul 21, 2010)

There are some other options which might work. Much of the regulations are meant to stop the really gross abuse of the public land. That leaves many of the rules totally unworkable but put in place to use when things are getting abused. One of the rules which gives me pause is a Texas state rule. It says one can not disturb the soil. Shoot, I can't even get out of the car without disturbing the soil so that leaves me to wonder if there is not a fair amount of slack and room for interpretation. 

With that in mind, I go the straightforward way and ask. If approached correctly and with full knowledge that they CAN say no, I often find the right warden, ranger or host who says, YES! They tend to like honest people. 

I've not collected manzanitia but it works for holey rocks. Catch somebody when he is not busy or harrassed and it might do wonders since there really isn't a shortage of the sort that one more or less is going upset the balance of nature. 

I find that people in positions of authority really are just people if approached correctly.


----------



## jeremyTR (Mar 21, 2012)

EdTheEdge said:


> Most places in SoCal collecting is illegal eventhough the mountains here are full of Manzanita.


only illegal if you get caught.


----------



## PlantedRich (Jul 21, 2010)

As a person who has done a lot of collecting and also volunteered at a number of parks around the country, I have a different outlook on collecting. Have you had any experience with being the guy in charge of seeing people follow rules? There seems to be a general attitude among rangers and park supers that things have to be a give and take with some flexible policies. 
They often have a deeply political job to do. They have to find the folks who do the real damage and drop the hammer on them. They have to also maintain the park while keeping the good will of the park users. That means that if the user is slightly out of bounds on the rules, it is often better to let it go as part of goodwill if there is no real harm done. Like picking up some rocks or wood when it is there by the tons and never going to be a shortage. I suspect manzanita in CA parks is quite plentiful so if a guy wants to find one or two nice sticks, he is not depriving wildlife of habitat. As long as the ranger knows who you are and what you are about, he likely will okay the deal. 

If he finds you are trying to sneak in and do something, he may get really upset. Nobody likes to have his nose rubbed in failure! The guy who trained me told me that the folks who sneak in also are the ones who like to leave a few beer cans, drive over trees and carve their names in things so he hammers them!! 

Honest people tend to treat honest people with respect.


----------



## wrenn420 (May 22, 2014)

It Grows all over San Louis Obispo. I would check into the local laws though, I wouldn't want you to get in trouble.


----------



## lochaber (Jan 23, 2012)

I'm not certain, but I was under the impression that you could collect stuff off of BLM land, and there is quite a bit of that in SoCal


----------



## lindajooo (Mar 14, 2016)

BeachBum2012 said:


> I'm in the Long Beach area. Kind of border of LA and Orange Counties.
> 
> Looks like I may have to head up North to do some collecting then. I've read on here and other sites about people collecting with no problem so I guess I kind of figured it would be no problem here. Guess I was wrong there.
> 
> Anyone know of some trails up North where its not illegal to collect?


I used to live in Idyllwild and closer to you Wrightwood. Manzanita grows in both areas. I used to make Manzanita jelly with the berries, for those of you interested just follow an Apple jelly recipe (boil the berries till they change color to a reddish color from green and the water till be reddish too. The bushes we had produced edible berries every other year.


----------



## AmaranthRose (Mar 2, 2018)

BeachBum2012 said:


> LOL, yeah for sure. There's a town (I can't remember the name) that is just down the mountain from the National park gates at Sequoia where I usually go in. I'll ask the locals around there the next time I'm up that way. They're usually very nice people.


Yea, that town is Lemon Grove...they have manzanita.


----------



## Davoid13 (Aug 18, 2018)

Killing or possessing manzanita trees is illegal under the California Endangered Species Act. It is unlawful to harvest anything but the fruit of a manzanita tree without a permit, and owning any other part of a manzanita tree is also against the law.

https://legalbeagle.com/7454514-tree-maintenance-law-california.html


----------



## Davoid13 (Aug 18, 2018)

jeremyTR said:


> only illegal if you get caught.


No, it's illegal. You only get CITED for it if you get caught.


----------



## MrT. (May 21, 2018)

Davoid13 said:


> No, it's illegal. You only get CITED for it if you get caught.


Yep, it is definitely illegal to harvest or be in possession of without a permit in California as it is an endangered native species.


----------



## PlantedRich (Jul 21, 2010)

There seems to be a lot of unnecessary hysteria to this posting and part of it may be just due to the way different groups want to pass out the information. I deal with the forest service and it is my firm opinion that they are fully aware of the laws pertaining to manzanita! 
The above posting may sound like a legit and authoritative article but then we may need to look closer. 
Who owns the legalbeagle site? Are they actually a legal group or simply a group who does not want anybody to touch a tree? Have we not yet learned that there are folks who WILL mislead us and they are really thick on the internet? 
QUOTE:
Killing or possessing manzanita trees is illegal under the California Endangered Species Act. It is unlawful to harvest anything but the fruit of a manzanita tree without a permit, and owning any other part of a manzanita tree is also against the law.

Can you legally dig up or cut down a manzanita tree? Quite likely not without a permit. Can you legally own some part of a manzanita ? I think you will find it in lots of fish shops and made into lots of furniture!

Don't swallow hog swill! Ask the true authorities who manage the land where you might want to collect some of the downed wood and they may tell you quite a different story. There is a major difference between cutting down a tree, collecting a truck load or picking up a branch that is totally dead and off the tree! ASK the ranger in the area and get the right scoop! Where I camp, dead wood of all kinds is stacked in the camp areas for use as campfire wood, whether it is pine ----or manzanita!


----------



## voyetra8 (Sep 24, 2010)

A ton of dubious info in this thread. 

Only SOME manzanita in CA are protected, such as the Presidio Manzanita. There are something like ~60 different species in the state. 

You can learn more here.

Legal harvesting depends on too many factors to list, but can be summed up simply with: get a permit or ask permission.


----------



## PlantedRich (Jul 21, 2010)

That article does seem to be one which is rational rather than just a ranting! 
I was camping in an area where one of the campground was named Manzanita and there was lots of it growing but I am not tree guru enough to know which species. But in that campground the situation was pretty different. There had been a serious fire which killed many of the manzanita as well as the smaller pines and that was creating a hazard for the campground due to lots of dead wood. Dead wood that had fallen off the trees was collected and stacked for burning as they do not want it left on the ground in and around the campground buildings. There are many signs at the roadside pulloffs which explain what is prohibited. Collecting in mass quantities like a dealer might is prohibited. They don't want some fool making a living off the forest! 
They are also very much against cutting or collecting LIVE manzanita! 
So a little thought on what those two rules leave open may help. As a person wanting a branch to add to a tank, you are likely to be okay on both IF you use some sense. You don't need a ton of it and you certainly don't want the new green stuff with all the sap and tannin problems. 
My suggestion is that we should ask the person in charge, find out for sure what is allowed and you may find it is okay to pick up a dead branch that has separated from the plant. Don't get greedy and don't go ripping it off the tree, even if it looks like it is broken!


----------

