“Mushrooms have a key role to play in nutrition, ecological restoration, detoxifying brownfields, purifying drinking water, and restoring forest health. Fungi are crucial parts of our past and they will prove pivotal to our future.”
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Raised on a Christmas tree farm in central Illinois, Evans studied environmental sciences and environmental engineering. Graduated from the University of Montana in 1979 with a degree in botany and a minor in microbiology.
In the early 1980s, Evans found his way to Japan and traveled extensively to Indonesia, Thailand, China, India, Bangladesh, Tibet, and Australia, carefully studying the mycology of each region visited.
He returned to North America in the early 1990s, settling again in Missoula, Montana, and co-founding the Western Montana Mycological Association (WMMA) in 1991.
In 1993, he traveled to the Russian Far East in search of mushrooms and medicinal plants, ultimately publishing a paper for the Institute of Soviet-American Relations on “Non-Timber Forest Products in the Russian Far East.” It was during this trip that Russians tagged Evans with the moniker “the Indiana Jones of mushrooms.”
Evans also initiated a decade of participation in the nonprofit video advocacy group Cold Mountain, Cold Rivers with a 15 minute educational video titled Welcome to the Fungal Jungle, which won honorable mention at the 1994 International Wildlife Film Festival. After morel season, he returned to the Russian Far East for three more months in 1994.
In 2006, Evans traveled to Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia, photographing fungi from Mindo to Machu Picchu and attending the inaugural celebration of President Evo Morales. He obtained “visiting scientist” status with the Charles Darwin Foundation for his tours of the Galapagos, and continues to advise them on mycological issues.