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Can a fantastic fungi help clean up Puget Sound?

Stormwater: It sounds a little like part of a character’s name from “Game of Thrones,” but OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAof course it usually refers to the stuff that flows off roads, driveways, parking lots, lawns and fields when it rains, much of which is channeled through drainage systems and ultimately to rivers, lakes and the sea. It’s a major source of pollution of Puget Sound, and its management is costly for businesses and cities – and its regulation and control plays a role in discussions of the state budget.

It could be that a Mason County farmer and professional mycologist has come up with an inexpensive, low-tech and natural technique for cleansing some pollutants from stormwater runoff, as KUOW-FM reports. As his vocation suggests, it involves mushrooms – specifically, Stropharia rugosoannulata, the Garden Giant. His company recently received an EPA grant to test and develop the treatment method.

Now, if only he can find a toadstool that absorbs greenhouse gases…