Late spring marks the start of the huckleberry harvest for Northwest tribes. But, Yakama Nation gatherers say it’s been really hard to find huckleberries in Gifford Pinchot National Forest. That’s because commercial pickers have taken too many. But tribal gatherers say things are changing.
Huckleberries are a culturally important food for many Northwest tribes. But, for the last few decades, gatherers with the Yakama Nation say they’ve found fewer and fewer huckleberries, and sometimes felt unsafe picking.
The Yakama Nation said commercial harvesters damaged plants and took too many berries.
“Over several decades huckleberries have declined in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest and this increasing scarcity generated safety concerns among our First Food Gatherers, their families, and the Yakama Nation,” wrote Yakama Nation Tribal Council Chairman Gerald Lewis in an emailed statement this April.
That is until commercial harvests were closed last year on the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. The forest service didn’t give commercial permits this season either. The Yakama Nation, Tulalip Tribes, and the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians requested the commercial harvest stop permanently at the forest.
“ All these years there wasn't berries. There'd just be some here and there, and it's like, ‘Oh, maybe we'll get a half a gallon today.’ And last year the bushes were just loaded,” said Elaine Harvey, a member of the Rock Creek Band of the Yakama Nation.
Personal use picking allows for gathering one gallon of huckleberries per day and three gallons per year. For personal use, pickers can print off a free permit online. Certain areas are reserved for tribal gathering only.
According to the Forest Service, huckleberry fields have also declined because of pressures from conifer encroachment, fire suppression, drought and invasive species.
Still, the only thing that has changed the past two years is that there haven’t been any commercial harvests, and Harvey said both years, she has noticed more huckleberries.
“ It's like a blessing for real, having the huckleberry commercial (harvests) stop,” Harvey said.
Gatherers also said they felt safer camping with the commercial harvests closed.
“ We never know who's already out there before us, or even after us, or if they're staying out there,” said Sheri Olney Ray, an enrolled Yakama Nation tribal member. “We didn’t have to look over our shoulders (this year).”
The forest service said it will continue talks about the future of commercial huckleberry harvests at Gifford Pinchot.
“The Yakama Nation looks forward to further collaboration with the Forest Service and finding a long-term management strategy that restores and supports our First Foods,” Lewis wrote.
