Huckleberries are enjoyable for us, but critical for bears

Flannel shirts, good beer, outstanding ski seasons and spectacular wilderness areas are all characteristic of our Pacific Northwest paradise and, unless you’re a newcomer to the region, you’d also add the huckleberry to the list. Sold at farmers’ markets every year as summer fades to fall, “hucks” are a regional favorite, with knowledge of the best mountain patches handed down through generations.

As a critical food source for bears preparing for winter hibernation, this tiny berry also plays an outsized role in the ecology of our region.

But this year, there’s a problem. Pickers say that in some places the berries are shriveled and hardly worth a trip to the mountains. In other places, the berries appeared a month earlier than expected. The week of near 100-degree weather in late June bumped up a season that was already creeping in earlier and earlier each year because of a changing climate, shortening an already brief window of harvesting. In Eastern Washington, picking began in early July, according to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the harvest isn’t expected to last much longer.

Even more of a concern, the region’s bears lost a major late-season food source. If they can’t build up the fat stores they need, they could face malnourishment or even starve over the winter. I shudder to think what this might mean for our black bears, but I am especially concerned about our recovering Selkirk grizzlies. With only 10 in Washington and 70 to 80 in the entire recovery zone, losing food sources means the recently collared mother bear and her three cubs may not all survive through winter. This would be a major blow to the population.

Because of the extreme heat, bears are searching out alternative sources of food. Washington wildlife officials say they are fielding more calls this year about bears raiding bird feeders, beehives, fruit trees and trash. It also means that we’re seeing more bears along roadways, where the cubs are especially prone to getting hit by vehicles. The mother of a family of bears recently relocated from Ilwaco had a pet food container stuck around her neck.

Long term, this may only be a preview of what is to come as climate change impacts accumulate and fire seasons increase in severity. Short term, it will likely only get worse as drought settles in and we approach winter.

But here in the PNW, we look out for each other. This year, we need to extend that spirit to the bears. I implore you, please be bear aware as you drive and if you are berry picking. And please secure your trash in your shed or garage and pick ripening fruit trees early. Bears that become habituated to humans will have to be captured or even killed.

Be bear aware, because it is not just the huckleberries that make our PNW such an amazing place. It’s the bears, too.

Zoe Hanley

Northwest Representative for Defenders of Wildlife