OLYMPIA — Permit sales for salal on the Olympic National Forest will begin in September.

Salal (Gaultheria shallon) is an understory shrub commonly used in the floral industry. It grows in dense thickets throughout western Washington and Oregon.

Permits will be issued from the Forks, Quinault and Quilcene offices during business hours Sept. 6, Nov. 1, Jan. 3 and March 7.

A total of 100 permits will be issued with a maximum of 15 permits for each harvest unit.

Fifty permits will be offered from the Quilcene office for harvest areas located within Mason County and the east side of Clallam and Jefferson counties.

Twenty-five permits will be offered from Forks for the west side of Clallam County.

Twenty-five permits will be offered from Lake Quinault for harvest areas within Grays Harbor County and the west side of Jefferson County.

A lottery system will be used if the demand for permits exceeds the supply.

Each permit will cost $150 and can be used for up to two months.

Valid photo ID required

A valid federal or state picture identification will be required at the time of purchase and those buying the permits must be at least 18 years of age.

Cash or checks will be accepted, but no credit cards or debit cards will be accepted.

The Quilcene office is at 295142 U.S. Highway 101. The Forks office is at 437 Tillicum Lane. The Quinault office is at 353 S. Shore Road.

At least one piece of high-visibility clothing is highly recommended while harvesting salal.

Permit holders will be limited to no more than 200 hands per day in possession. Harvest unit boundaries are defined by roads or recognizable land features and a map of the harvest areas will be distributed with the sale of each permit.

For additional information about salal permit sales, contact Mark LaGioia at 360-765-2215.

For information about Olympic National Forest, visit http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/olympic.