Huckleberry season sending berry hounds to the hills

Huckleberries are ripening, sending berry hounds to the hills.

“It looks like a good year,” said Joe Scott, a program director for Conservation Northwest who spends a lot of time in the Cascades, “We’ve had rain consistently and now it’s getting warm.”

That positive prognosis holds true in the immediate Spokane area with perennial huckleberry hotspots like Mount Spokane State Park coming into season nicely.

“They are starting to ripen,” said Lara Gricar, the community outreach and business manager for the Washington State Parks and Recreation commission, two weeks ago. “Depending upon the location, of course.”

Berries lower on the mountain, she said, ripen first. Two weeks ago berries at the CCC Cabin were “pretty small and green” while berries at the Lower Selkirk parking lot were starting to get purple and sweet.

The story is the same in Idaho.

“The berries are ripe on Schweitzer Mountain Road and not quite ripe yet on the mountain itself,” Dig Chrismer, a spokeswoman for Schweitzer Mountain Resort, said on July 9. “Probably in the next week or so we should expect to start picking up here.”

Spokespersons for the Colville National Forest and the Idaho Panhandle National Forest said they’ve seen people out picking. Shoshana Cooper, a spokesperson for the Idaho Panhandle National Forest, reiterated that it’s shaping up to be a good year. But for would-be berry hounds, it’s paramount that they follow all laws and best practices.

First off, commercial picking is not allowed on National Forest land.

“Picking huckleberries with the intent to sell them is considered commercial gathering,” Cooper said. “The Idaho Panhandle National Forest does not issue commercial permits in order to provide ample opportunities for people to enjoy huckleberries for personal use.”

The sweet berries, which are found in the understory shrubbery in the inland forests of North Idaho, Eastern Washington and Western Montana, are also an important source of food for bears. Cooper urges pickers to only pick as many as they can eat.

“Huckleberries are a cherished resource and there is often a limited supply for everyone,” she wrote in an email. “The Forest Service asks people to not rake the bushes as it damages the bushes, and can inhibit the quantity and quality of berries the following year. Removal of huckleberry bushes is not authorized. Any methods that damage or destroy the bushes are illegal and may result in a fine for damaging natural resources.”

In particular, rakes damages the plant and wastes berries.

“The rakes often remove all the leaves and when the plant doesn’t have leaves to produce and store energy, it decreases the productivity of the plant the following year,” said Jennifer Knutson, a spokeswoman for the Colville National Forest in an email. “That means less huckleberries for all, and who wants that?”

For anyone heading into the hills to search for what some call “Purple Gold,” it’s useful to remember the cultural and ecological importance these berries hold for indigenous people.

“Huckleberries have a long tradition with native people,” said LaRae Wiley, a member of the Arrow Lakes Band of the Colville Confederated Tribes. “It was one of the staple foods, traditionally, for our people.”

Native families have traditional picking spots, areas that their ancestors have visited for thousands of years, she said. Over those centuries, certain protocols arose – protocols non-native pickers could emulate.

“You always leave the huckleberries that are low and close to the road to elders,” she said. “The young people and the strong people are the ones who should hike up higher.”

LaRae urged pickers – native or not – to consider the future.

“They are giving to us, but we can also take care of them in return,” she said. “Leave some for the bears. Pick up trash … because it’s really important that they are there for future generations.”